One Day

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.

Early Twenties

'That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it and think how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a long moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on that memorable day.' 

                                                                                 Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Late Twenties

'We spent as much money as we could and got as little for it as people could make up their minds to give us. We were always more or less miserable, and most of our acquaintance were in the same condition. There was a gay fiction among us that we were constantly enjoying ourselves, and a skeleton truth that we never did. To the best of my belief, our case was in the last aspect a rather common one.' 

                                                                                  Charles Dickens, Great Expectations 

Early Thirties

'Sometimes you are aware when your great moments are happening, and sometimes they rise from the past. Perhaps it's the same with people.'

                                                                               James Salter, Burning the Days

The Day 

'She philosophically noted dates as they came past in the revolution of the year;...her own birthday; and every other day individualized by incidents in which she had taken some share. She suddenly thought one afternoon, when looking in the glass at her fairness, that there was yet another date, of greater importance to her than those; that of her own death, when all these charms would have disappeared; a day which lay sly and unseen among all the other days of the year, giving no sign or sound when she annually passed over it, but not the less surely there. When was it?'

                                                                         Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Ubervilles  

 All these quotes were taken from a very memorable book.

"A totally brilliant book" indeed! It focuses on the platonic relationship between two people who never knew that they actually love each other for the past twenty years. Typical? Yes.

Actually, it's more than that. It's a story about dreams.

In the early twenties and late twenties, you had so many vibrant dreams and wishful thinkings of how terrific the future would be. To think that you could have total control of shaping events the way you like it. That you have the means and power to do what you want. But as years went by, you got older, there are people who came and go, you're occupied with a life entirely different than what you have dreamed before. The good old youthful days filled with zeal, passion and determination are now forgotten. Dreams remain as dreams. Without you realising it, there is now a strand of grey hair amidst the once raven black. The fine wrinkle that began to take its form, permanently residing on your guise. You're old now. The time of which you'll be called upon by Allah to meet Him is imminent. Anytime now. Anywhere. To think that you spent oh-so-many years on this Earth without actually doing anything.

I love this book. I'm going to read it again. My heart aches for these two people on how things do not turn out as they planned them to be.

The title of the forum is  'In 10 years time, who should we be?'

My answer: ' We should be someone who is beneficial to others. It doesn't matter how small that benefit is'.

'Jadilah orang yang bermanfaat, tak kira sekecil mana pun manfaat itu'.

And thus, I constantly remind myself  "It's okay Sarah. Allah knows best. You may dislike what is good for you, and like what is bad for you. Allah knows best. Do everything for the sake of Allah.Make use of what you have to help others in need'.

We, the humans, the chosen ones, are appointed as khalifahs by Allah s.w.t, to bring upon prosperity and peace in this world. It saddens me to witness the you-know-what events that currently happen in our Muslim society today. The so-called Muslims who are not abiding and adhering to the rules of Islam. The so-called good and pious Muslims who left their so-called Muslim brothers mentioned above 'to live in so-called kekafiran' due to 'Differences. In.Political.Understanding'.

May Peace be Upon you, my brothers and sisters! :D