Jalan-jalan (walkabout in) Sungai Petani...

Assalamualaikum semua! Sempena memecah "kesenyapan" bulan puasa ini tergerak saya untuk suka-suka bercerita tentang jalan-jalan di Sungai Petani... Cerita ini boleh dikatakan sambungan kepada posting bertajuk A typical day in Alor Setar? dalam blogspot BERPETUALANG KE ACEH yang baru dibuat sebentar tadi... Dan ia memang ada kena-mengena dengan posting Masjid (mosque of) Sungai Petani, Kedah dan (and) September 11?... yang dibuat di blogspot ini 4 hari lepas. Sila...
Greetings all! In order to break the ice for this fasting month of Ramadhan, I feel like making story for fun on a walkabout in Sungai Petani... This story can be said to be a continuation of the posting titled A typical day in Alor Setar? made in the blogspot BERPETUALANG KE ACEH a moment ago... And it sure is related to the posting Masjid (mosque of) Sungai Petani, Kedah dan (and) September 11?... made in this blogspot 4 days before. Go on...

Selepas 2 malam di Alor Setar, saya bergerak ke Sungai Petani... Niat saya adalah untuk singgah sebentar kemudian mendapatkan bas terus ke Kulim tetapi saya sampai ke bandar ini agak lewat lalu terpaksa bermalam di sini.

After 2 nights in Alor Setar, I moved to Sungai Petani... My intention was just to stop by and then get a bus straight to Kulim but I arrived at this town quite late and was forced to spent the night.

Gambar di atas diambil keesokannya... Apabila melihat nama Jalan Patani ini, terfikir pula saya, apakah nama bandar Sungai Petani ini diambil sempena nama sungai yang ada kena-mengena dengan wilayah Pattani di selatan Thailand? Sambil itu sempat pula menggantungkan poster promosi siri buku "Berpetualang ke Aceh" pada satu papan tanda jalan...

The picture above was taken the following day... When I saw the name of this road Jalan Patani, there came a thought, is the name of the town Sungai Petani made to commemorate a river (in Malay sungai...) related to the province of Pattani in southern Thailand? Meanwhile I had the time to hand the "Berpetualang ke Aceh" book series poster at a road sign...

Pandangan tadi diambil daripada belakang... Nampak tak papan-tanda jalan tempat poster tadi digantungkan?

The previous view taken from behind... Can you see the road sign where the poster was hanged at?

Ini pula gambar tempat tadi juga tapi diambil daripada hentian bas Sungai Petani...

This is a picture of the same place but taken from Sungai Petani's bus stop...

Hentian bas Sungai Petani... Saya ke sini untuk melihat jadual bas ke Kulim... Ternyata saya telah tertinggal bas pagi yang baru berlepas sekitar 15 minit tadi... Terpaksalah menunggu bas petang jam 3 begitu...

Sungai Petani bus stop... I was here to look at the bus schedule to Kulim... Turned out I just missed the morning bus by about 15 minutes... Had to wait for the afternoon bus at 3 o'clock or so...

Kebetulan hari itu hari Jumaat... Saya pun berjalan kaki menyusuri Jalan Patani untuk menunaikan solat Jumaat di masjid jamek... Baca sedikit cerita tentang masjid ini di Masjid (mosque of) Sungai Petani, Kedah dan (and) September 11?...

It happened that the day was Friday... So I walked up Jalan Patani to do the Friday prayers at the main mosque.. Read a bit on the mosque in Masjid (mosque of) Sungai Petani, Kedah dan (and) September 11?...

Pemandangan selepas solat dengan kereta-kereta meninggalkan masjid...

A view after the prayers with cars lining up to leave the mosque...

Saya pula berjalan kaki menghala kembali ke stesyen bas... Ternampak papan tanda iklan Hassani ini lalu tergerak mengambil gambar... Sepanjang di Kedah, saya dapati banyak anak syarikat di bawah nama Hassani berada di mana-mana...

I on the other hand walked back to the bus station... Saw this Hassani advertisement bill-board and felt like snapping a picture... While in Kedah, I found many little companies under the name Hassani everywhere...

Mungkin ia sekadar sebuah syarikat yang membuat pelbagai perniagaan seperti khidmat pelancungan dan kursus perkahwinan tetapi saya melihat ini dari sudut lain... Dalam pencarian saya mencari asal-usul keluarga sendiri, saya mendapati bahawa terdapat ramai keturunan cucu sulung Nabi Muhammad SAW, Saidina Hassan berada di Tanah Melayu ini tetapi ramai daripada mereka tidak menyedari mempunyai darah ini. Maka papan tanda Hassani itu saya anggap sebagai suatu petunjuk akan wujudnya ramai keturunan berkaitan di Kedah. Wallahualam... Cukuplah...

Maybe it's just another company making all sorts of business like travel and tours and conducting marriage courses but I see it from a different angle... In my search to understand my family roots, I've found that many offsprings from Prophet Muhammad SAW's eldest grandchildren, Saidina Hassan exist in the Malay lands but many of them don't realise they have this blood. Thus I consider the Hassani bill-board as a sign that there exist many related lineage in Kedah. God knows best... That's all...

Masjid (mosque of) Sungai Petani, Kedah dan (and) September 11?...

Assalamualaikum semua... Hari ini 11 September 2007, 6 tahun setelah berlakunya peristiwa keruntuhan menara berkembar World Trade Centre di New York, timbul rasa untuk mengenengahkan gambar-gambar Masjid Jamek Sungai Petani di Kedah. Sila...

Peace be upon you all. Today, 11th September 2007, 6 years after the fall of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, came the urge to feature pictures of the main mosque of Sungai Petani in Kedah. Come in...

Gambar-gambar ini diambil semasa perjalanan hampir sebulan yang meliputi beberapa buah lokasi di negeri-negeri Pahang, Kelantan, Kedah, Perak dan Selangor lebih 2 bulan lalu. Kebetulan hari itu adalah hari terakhir saya di Kedah setelah 6 malam di sana dan kebetulan hari itu hari Jumaat. Maka saya menunaikan Solat Jumaat di masjid itu... Sempat pula menggantungkan poster promosi siri buku "Berpetualang ke Aceh" di pagar masjid...

These pictures were taken during an almost month-long trip which covers some locations in the states of Pahang, Kelantan, Kedah, Perak and Selangor more than 2 months ago. It happens that day was my last day in Kedah after spending 6 nights there and it also happens the day was Friday. So I did my Friday prayers at the mosqe... Had the time to hang up the promotional poster for the "Berpetualang ke Aceh" book series at the fences...

Masjid ini adalah masjid baru... Tetapi senibinanya ada ciri-ciri Arab lama... Saya tak pasti di belah mana tetapi hati ini mengatakan ada kena-mengena dengan senibina di sebelah Maghribi, sebuah negeri majoriti Arab di benua Afrika yang diperintah seorang raja daripada keturunan Saidina Hassan, cucu sulung Nabi Muhammad SAW...

The mosque is a new mosque... But the architecture has the characteristics of old Arab... I'm not sure of which part but this heart says it has something to do with the architecture around Morocco, a country of Arab majority in the continent of Africa ruled by a king from the lineage of Saidina Hassan, the eldest grandchild of Prophet Muhammad SAW...

Lihat menara azan masjid ini... Nampak seperti salah sebuah menara World Trade Centre yang runtuh pula!

Look at the mosque's azan (call to prayer) tower... Looks like one of the towers of the World Trade Centre which went down!

Sebenarnya masjid ini diberi nama Masjid Sultan Mudzaffar Shah sempena nama Raja Kedah yang dikatakan pertama sekali memeluk Islam... Sedikit cerita tentang Sultan ini ada dinukilkan di dalam blogspot berbahasa Inggeris BERPETUALANG KE ACEH , di bawah tajuk Sultan Muzaffar Shah, the first king of Kedah? . Silalah menjenguknya...

Actually this mosque is given the name Masjid (mosque of) Sultan Mudzaffar Shah based on the name of the king of Kedah said to be the first to embrace Islam... Some story on the Sultan was made in the English blogspot BERPETUALANG KE ACEH , under the title Sultan Muzaffar Shah, the first king of Kedah? . Do have a look...

Sebenarnya, saya masih ada banyak lagi koleksi gambar-gambar bangunan terutama masjid yang diambil dalam pengembaraan demi pengembaraan yang dilakukan tetapi saya pun tidak pasti kenapa pula masjid ini dipilih pada 11 September ini...

Actually, I still have plenty of collections of pictures of buildings especilly mosques taken during trips after trips which was made but I myself am not sure why this mosque is chosen this September 11...

Mungkin juga gambar-gambar ini dipilih kerana berdasarkan turutan gambar-gambar daripada pengembaraan hampir sebulan yang telah diketengahkan dalam blogspot-blogspot saya, sudah sampai masanya gambar masjid ini dikongsi bersama...

Maybe these pictures were chosen because based on the turn of pictures taken during the almost month-long trip which have been featured in my blogspots, it is time pictures of the mosque are shared here...

Tetapi kalau difikirkan kembali, saya boleh sahaja memilih gambar-gambar lain untuk sesi penulisan kali ini... Mungkin saya tergerak untuk menggunakan gambar masjid ini disebabkan satu, menaranya memang hampir serupa dengan menara-menara World Trade Centre yang gugur ke bumi dan kedua, masjid ini dinamakan sempena Sultan Muzaffar Shah? Wallahualam... Cukuplah!
On the other hand, I could have chosen other pictures for this particular session of writing... Maybe I felt the urge to use pictures of the mosque because one, its tower does look a bit like the World Trade Centre towers which fell down and second, the mosque is named after Sultan Muzaffar Shah? God knows best... That's all!

Lagi, Menara Condong (More, leaning tower of) Teluk Intan

OK... Kita sambung cerita tentang menara condong...
OK... Let's continue the story on the leaning tower...

Ini adalah pandangan ke bawah melalui sebuah lubang yang terletak pada tingkat ke 2 (atau ke 3? Saya sudah lupa) Menara Condong Teluk Intan. Yang pasti, pada tingkat inilah kelihatan tangki air di menara itu...

This is a view downwards through a hole situated at the 2nd level (or was it 3rd? I can't remember) of the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan. What's sure, this is the level where the water tank inside the tower can be seen...

Pandangan di sisi tingkat itu...

Look at the sides of the level...

Satu pandangan ke atas menghala ke bumbung...

A look upwards towards the roof...

Tangga ke tingkat lebih atas. Ada notis menyatakan orang awam tidak dibenarkan naik. Pintu gate nya pula terkunci..,.

Staircase towards an upper level. There's a notice saying the public is not allowed to go up. The gate is also locked...

Saya pula tidak dapat menahan diri untuk memanjat... Kelihatan sarang burung di satu celah...

Well, I can't resist the temptation to climb up... There looms a bird's nest in one corner...

Seseorang juga boleh melihat loceng besar untuk jam di puncak menara!

One can also see the huge bell for the clock on top of the tower!

Ini pula pusat membeli-belah Kompleks Menara Condong dilihat dari atas...

This is the Kompleks Menara Condong shopping complex seen from the top...

Sebahagian bandar Teluk Intan yang dapat dilihat...

Part of the town of Teluk Intan which can be seen...

Dan akhir sekali, besi timbang untuk jam di menara. Cukup ya!

And lastly, the balancing weight for the clock on the tower. Enough ya!

Masjid Alaeddin (The Alaeddin mosque)

Kita bertukar angin sebentar. Semalam, saya telah melawat kawasan Jugra di Selangor... Singgah sebentar di sebuah masjid berdekatan dengan rekabentuk dan warna yang agak unik...

Let's change wind for a moment. Yesterday, I visited the area of Jugra in Selangor... Stopped by a moment at mosque nearby with rather uniqe design and colour...

Inilah Masjid Alaeddin... Perhatikan rupanya yang seakan-akan sebuah bangunan daripada cerita dongeng...

This is the Alaeddin mosque... Notice the looks like that of a building out of a fairy-tale...

Menara ini pula kelihatan seperti tempat seorang puteri disorokkan oleh ahli sihir!

This tower looks like the place where a princess is being hidden by a witch!

Menara azan ini kelihatan seperti menara azan biasa di mana-mana masjid. Cuma warnanya yang kuning kejinggaan menyebabkan ia begitu menonjol...

This azan (call of prayer) tower looks like the usual azan tower at any mosque. It's just the yellow-orange colour made it stands out so much...

Sebahagian daripada dinding luar masjid... Nampak seperti kota daripada Hikayat 1001 malam pula!

Part of the mosque's outer walls... Looks like a fort from the 1,001 Arabian Nights!

Batu peringatan ini menyebut masjid ini dibina tahun 1905 dan diberi nama sempena Sultan Selangor ke 5, Sultan Alaeddin Suleiman Shah ibni almarhum Raja Muda Musa... Sultan ini menggunakan masjid tersebut untuk bersolat Jumaat. Rekabentuknya dikatakan menerima pengaruh kerajaan Deli, Sumatera... Sekian...

This plaque says the mosque was built in 1905 and named after the 5th Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Alaeddin Suleiman Shah ibni almarhum Raja Muda Musa... The Sultan used it for the Jumaat prayers. The design is said to receive the influence of the kingdom of Deli, Sumatera... That's all...

Menara Condong (leaning tower of) Teluk Intan

OK... Sudah 10 hari saya tidak menulis. Maka biarlah dibuat satu cerita baru ya, cerita ringkas tentang Menara Condong Teluk Intan berdasarkan gambar-gambar yang diambil dalam perjalanan hampir sebulan yang meliputi tempat-tempat tertentu di Pahang, Kelantan, Kedah, Perak dan Selangor 2 bulan lepas...
OK... It's been 10 days I haven't written. So let's make a new story ya, a brief one on the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan based on pictures taken during an almost month-long trip covering certain places in Pahang, Kelantan, Kedan, Perak and Selangor 2 months ago...

Gambar di atas rasanya dikenali hampir seluruh rakyat Malaysia. Inilah Menara Condong yang terkenal di Teluk Intan, Perak...

The picture above should be recognised by most Malaysians. This is the famous leaning tower in Teluk Intan, Perak...

Ia sebenarnya adalah menara tempat menyimpan bekalan air yang dibina oleh British berdekad lalu...

It's actually a tower for storing water built by the British decades ago...

Lihat rekabentuknya yang menyerupai bangunan Pagoda China. Rekabentuk menarik yang melindungi fungsi sebenarnya sebagai menara menyimpan air ini menyebabkannya menjadi salah sebuah bangunan utama tarikan pelancung...

Look at the design which resembles a Chinese Pagoda building. The interesting design which covers its actual function as a water storing tower made it a major building for tourist attraction...

Saya telah banyak kali melawat menara ini tetapi inilah kali pertama saya masuk ke dalamnya...

I've visited this tower many times but this is the first time I went inside...

Tu dia... Gambar-gambar lama menara turut diabadikan di dalam...

There... Old pictures of the tower gracing the inside...

Tangga untuk naik ke tingkat seterusnya...

Staircase to reach the next level...

Ini pula gambar yang diambil daripada set tangga seterusnya...

This is a picture taken from the next set of stairs...

Lihat... Inilah bahagian bawah tangki air di dalam Menara Condong Teluk Intan...

Look... This is the bottom section of the water tank inside the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan...

Ini pula medan selera bandar Teluk Intan dilihat daripada tingkat menara di mana tangki air tadi kelihatan...

This is the town of Teluk Intan's food court seen from the tower level where the water tank was seen...

Sedikit mengenai (A bit about) Pulau Besar, Melaka...

Assalamualaikum para pembaca sekalian. Setelah lebih kurang 11 hari tidak membuat apa-apa penambahan baru dalam mana-mana blogspot saya, kesenyapan ini telah dipecahkan semalam apabila saya membuat artikel baru bertajuk Trip to Europe 1995... Getting classical (and Merdeka too) in Austria! untuk blogspot BERPETUALANG KE ACEH . Ini diikuti sedikit preview daripada buku ketiga saya yang sedang dalam proses suntingan, buku "Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih pulang ke Gagang?" atau BKA III. Preview yang diberi tajuk Seorang tua tariqat di Langsa, Aceh... ini dibuat untuk blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU tadi.
Greetings dear readers. After some 11 days not making updates in any of my blogspots, the ice was broken last night when I made a new article called Trip to Europe 1995... Getting classical (and Merdeka too) in Austria! for the blogspot BERPETUALANG KE ACEH . This was followed by a preview from my third book which is undergoing an editting process, the book called "Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih pulang ke Gagang?" or BKA III. The preview which was given the title Seorang tua tariqat di Langsa, Aceh... was made for the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU just now.
Oleh itu saya rasa blogspot ini juga perlu dibuat penambahan baru. Cuma saya kesuntukan masa untuk mengatur bahan dan cerita, maka biar disajikan sahaja satu cerita pendek sebagai pembuka selera ya. Kebetulan 2 hari lepas saya telah pergi ke Pulau Besar, Melaka setelah setengah tahun tidak ke sana. Maka biar kita bercerita sedikit tentang pulau misteri ini berdasarkan gambar-gambar yang telah diambil setengah tahun lalu, gambar-gambar yang pernah dijadikan cerita untuk blogspot BERPETUALANG KE ACEH lebih sebulan lalu... Ini dia...

Therefore I feel this blogspot must also be updated. It's just that I don't have much time to arrange the material and story, so let's just have this short story as an appetiser ya. It happens that 2 days ago I went to Pulau Besar, Melaka after half-a-year not being there. So let me just tell something about this mysterious island using pictures taken half-a-year ago, pictures which have been used for stories in the blogspot BERPETUALANG KE ACEH more than a month ago. This is it...

Kawasan makam Tok Putih dan Tok Janggut di pesisir pantai Pulau Besar. Tok Putih dikatakan seorang ulamak dahulukala sementara Tok Janggut pula dikatakan seorang pahlawan daripada Aceh yang menjadi pengawal peribadi Tok Putih.

The Tok Putih and Tok Janggut tombs area at Pulau Besar's seaside. Tok Putih is said to be an olden religious scholar while Tok Janggut is said to be a warrior from Aceh who became Tok Putih's bodyguard.

Sebuah makam betul-betul di luar makam utama Sultanul Ariffin Sheikh Ismail.

A tomb just outside the main tomb of Sultanul Ariffin Sheikh Ismail.

Bangunan utama makam Sheikh Ismail.

The main building for the tomb of Sheikh Ismail.

Makam Sharifah Rodziah, dikatakan cucu perempuan Sheikh Ismail.

The tomb of Sharifah Rodziah, said to be a grand-daughter of Sheikh Ismail.

Makam Nenek Kebayan...

The tomb of Nenek Kebayan (something like a mystical old hag)...

Makam Tujuh Beradik...

(literally) Tombs of the seven siblings...

Makam Seribu, dipanggil begitu kerana dikatakan ia menempatkan badan 1,000 pahlawan Islam yang mati syahid dalam usaha memerdekakan kota Melaka daripada cengkaman penjajah Barat!

The 1,000 tombs, called so because it is said to contain the bodies of 1,000 Islamic martyrs who died while trying to free the city of Melaka from the grip of Western colonialists!

------------------------

Hmm... Cukuplah. Kalau mahu tahu cerita lebih lanjut dan mendalam, sila masuk ke...

Pulau Besar 1: Enter the 'big' island!

Pulau Besar 2: Why so many long tombs?

Pulau Besar 3: Time to move on...

Cuma satu sahaja masalah. Cerita-cerita ini ditulis dalam bahasa Inggeris sahaja. Sekian!

Hmm... Enough. If you want to know much more just enter...

Pulau Besar 1: Enter the 'big' island!

Pulau Besar 2: Why so many long tombs?

Pulau Besar 3: Time to move on...

It's just that these stories are were written in English only. So long!

Masjid Jamek (main mosque) of Muar...

Sekarang saya betul-betul mahu melepaskan satu rasa nostalgik... Siang tadi, saya ada membelek-belek koleksi gambar lama yang disimpan di dalam komputer laptop lalu terjumpa gambar-gambar Masjid Jamek Muar ini, tempat jatuh bangun saya bermain zaman budak dan remaja dahulu. Ini ceritanya...

Now I really want to let out a feeling of nostalgia... During the day, I went through an old collection of pictures kept inside the laptop computer and found these pictures of the Muar main mosque, the place where I felt, stumbled and got up while having fun as a kid and a teenager once upon a time. This is the story...

Ini adalah menara Masjid Jamek Muar. Suatu masa dahulu, menara ini merupakan salah satu tempat kegemaran saya dan kawan-kawan untuk panjat-memanjat seraya berangan menjadi anggota perisikan ala James Bond 007 yang sedang menjalani latihan komando...

This is the tower of the main mosque of Muar. Once upon a time, this tower is one of the favourite place for me and friend to climb up and down while pretending to be members of intelligence ala James Bond 007 undergoing commando training...

Lihat... Cantik bukan? Boleh kata setiap bahagian masjid yang kelihatan ini (kecuali bahagian bumbung) pernah saya jejaki dan panjat seraya berlari-lari sejak masuk umur 9 tahun lagi!

Look... Beautiful isn't it? You could say that every part of the mosque seen here (except for the roof) have been been under my footsteps and has been climbed while running since the age of 9!

Adapun Masjid Jamek Muar merupakan salah sebuah masjid terbesar dan paling cantik di Johor. Saya tidak pasti bilakah ia dibina, rasanya sekitar tahun merdeka 1957. Rekabentuknya hampir serupa dengan Masjid Negeri Johor iaitu Masjid Abu Bakar di Johor Bahru, hampir 200km selatan daripada Muar...

As it is, the main mosque of Muar is one of the biggest and most beautiful mosque in Muar. I'm not sure when it was built, perhaps around the year of independence of 1957. The design is similar to that of the Johor state mosque, that is the Abu Bakar mosque in Johor Bahru, nearly 200km south of Muar...

Menara dilihat daripada sudut lain. Nampak tak kawasan pejalan kaki yang berbumbung ini? Ia menghubungkan bangunan utama masjid dengan bangunan balai di belakang. Bumbung sepanjang 50 meter ini pernah menjadi tempat saya dan kawan-kawan berlari berulang-alik seraya berlumba-lumba.

The tower seen from a different angle. Can you see the roofed walkway? It connects the mosque's main building to the hall behind. The 50 meter-long roof used to be the place for me and friends to run to and fro while trying to outdo each other.

Pernah ketika berada di Darjah Enam, seorang kawan dengan seronoknya melompat daripada kawasan tembok batu yang kelihatan dalam gambar ke kawasan bumbung seraya menjerit "The Professionals! (Siri penyiasatan British yang popular di televisyen ketika itu, tahun 1982)". Apa yang terjadi, bumbung itu bobos lalu kawan ini terjatuh terus masuk ke dalam parit di bawah!

Once in Standard Six, a friend excitedly jumped from the brick walls seen in the picture onto the roof area while shouting "The Professionals! (A British investigation series popular in television then, in 1982 that is)". What happened was, the roof broke down while this friend fell and got stuck inside the drain below!

Kalau tak salah ingatan, ketika itu bulan Ramadhan. Kawan yang terjatuh itu sedang menjerit kesakitan sementara orang ramai berkerumun datang untuk menolong. Saya dan kawan-kawan lain pula bertempiaran lari membawa diri masing-masing. Maklumlah, budak-budak umur 12 tahun begitu... Takut dimarah orang tua. Dah lah ponteng solat Tarawikh, berlari-lari main atas bumbung sampai seorang jatuh ke dalam parit pula...

If memory serves right, it was the month of Ramadhan (the fasting month in the Islamic calendar). The friend who fell down was shouting in pain why people rushed to help. Me and the other friends scampered all over the place. What do you expect? 12-year-old boys... Scared of being scolded by elders. As it is, we ran away from doing the Tarawikh (extra prayers during the nights of Ramadhan), then we ran and played on the roof until one fell down the drain...

Keesokannya kami berjumpa di sekolah kami iaitu Sekolah Ismail Dua. Kebanyakan yang suka bermain di masjid ini adalah budak Darjah Enam Beruang, kelas budak paling pandai di sekolah. Ternyata kawan yang terjatuh itu lukanya tidaklah seteruk mana. Tetapi dia terpaksa jalan berdengkut-dengkut beberapa hari... Ah... Kenangan zaman kanak-kanak dahulu...

The next day we met in our school which is Sekolah Ismail Dua. Most who like to play at the mosque are the boys from Darjah Enam Beruang, the most brilliant class in school. It turns out the friend who fell didn't suffer so much. But he still have to walk funny for days.... Ah... The memories of childhood once upon a time...

Apapun, Masjid Jamek Muar tetap menjadi tempat untuk kami berjumpa dan berkumpul sampai beberapa tahun akan datang terutama ketika datang untuk bersolat Jumaat... Tapi itu dahulu, cerita lebih 20 tahun lalu. Sekarang banyak yang telah berubah, terlalu banyak...

Whatever, the main mosque of Muar still became the place for us to meet and assemble for many years to come especially when going for the Friday prayers... But that was then, more than 20 years ago. Now plenty have changed, too much...

Salah satunya, Muar sudah ada sebuah lagi masjid besar dengan rekabentuk yang hampir sama. Itulah dia Masjid Jamek ke dua Muar yang terletak di seberang Sungai Muar... Ini bermakna kehadiran orang untuk bersolat Jumaat telah terpecah dua dan tidak bertumpu lagi pada masjid utama yang asal. Malah sudah terdapat beberapa buah lagi masjid sekitar bandar Muar di mana solat Jumaat didirikan. Maka berpecahlah jemaah yang dahulunya cuma bertumpu di satu tempat.

One of it, Muar has another big mosque with similar designs. That is Muar's second main mosque situated just across the Muar river. This means the attendance for the Jumaat prayers have been split into two and no more concentarted at the original main mosque. In fact there's a few more mosque around Muar town where the Jumaat prayers are held. And so the congregation which used to converge at one place is broken up.

Lagipun inilah hakikat perubahan zaman. Bandar Muar pun sudah banyak berubah sementara kawan-kawan semua sudah besar panjang dan menetap di pelbagai tempat di seluruh Malaysia. Allah! Rindu juga untuk bertemu semua tapi apakan daya, masing-masing sibuk dengan keluarga dan kerjaya. Dan ramai yang telah putus hubungan... Mungkin satu hari nanti kita akan berjumpa lagi? Mungkin cerita-cerita di blogspot-blogspot saya ini dapat mempertemukan kembali kawan-kawan lama yang sudah lama membawa diri masing-masing? Insyaallah! Tak lama nanti berjumpalah kembali kita! :]

Anyway it is the fact of changing times. The town of Muar has also changed a lot while our friends have all grown up and scattered in many places around Malaysia. Allah! I missed meeting them but what could I do, everyone is busy with their own families and careers. And many have lost contact. Maybe one day we'll meet again? Maybe the stories posted in my blogspots will gather back old friends who have been busy with their own businesses? God willing! It won't be long before we'll meet again! :]