Trip to Colorado [Part 2/3]

Royal George Bridge

We drove at early morning from the hotel after take a fatty food, made from cheese: Ukraine styles. It’s sweet, and so delicious…. That Slava was told me. The journey from our hotel took about 2 hours. We reached there at 10am. The sun already almost vertically on our head, but the weather is still nice at more than 12,000 feet above sea level. I took some UV protection on my face and hand since we are already at the high altitude and the weather is getting hot.

Awesome, beautiful, majestic scene! That the best words to describe the highest suspension bridge in the world and an unforgettable quarter-mile journey through the clouds of the Royal George Bridge in Colorado Spring. Historically, this place was a quarry activity to get the silver at the upper stream of Arkansas River in 1877 and has the railroad beside the river. That’s little bit history about this place that I can remembered. Otherwise, we can visit their website.

[ http://www.royalgorgebridge.com/ ]

From engineering point of view, this bridge is impossible to build because it connected with two mountains across the deep river at more than 1km high. This bridge was built across the Arkansas River at 384m length, 5m width, and for walkway, it is screwed up with 1,292 planks of deck; about 250 are replaced annually. It’s very strong. Sometime the tram that bring people can go across over on this bridge too and I at the first time I have to hold at the side of the bridge! The bridge starts to shake a little. I feel dizzy when I looking down through two planks! Fuh… (gayat!) hehe

This is the best place to take a day vacation with family. Not so much that I can share about this place except the interesting place that I was visited at that day. The mains attractions is of course the Royal George Bridge, Aerial Tram, world's steepest Incline Railway, the world's scariest Sky coaster (I didn’t do this!), natural park, shows (gazebo, pavilion shows, plaza theater), shopping and food with BBQ deer meat and also outdoor activity i.e. white water rafting. I paid for 19buck for the fee and you can play anything that you want but not including the food and lodging cost. It will be my own expenses.

We started with the steepest incline railway brought us downward to the river. It was very fantastic experience and little bit different with railway in Langkawi, Malaysia that I took 5 years ago. I snap some photos of Slava and me with the view of along the river. I catch up the photos those who take white water rafting while they are shouting at the visitors. Slava and I miss the chances to take white water rafting since we little bit late arrive at the check point and have to wait for the next trips at 1.30pm. Furthermore, we did not bring our clothes. At this time, we are already plan to go back at Denver.

phonnn… phonn. phonnn.. Suddenly, we hear the echo sound: train’s bell. The echo sound created by the rocky mountains along the river. There was a mono train’s trail beside the river, brings the tourists to the panorama of the mountains along the river. After 15 minutes, we went to next location: the Aerial Tram. Again, I felt dizzy when I was in the tram. Damm….While the tram across the river at 4km/hr (consider slow!). We reached at the middle of the trail! Through the window, we can feel the wind blow at our face and make our tram shaky and unstable. There was one young girl shouting in the tram … may be she is scared!

Her mom tries to calm down her. Then when reach at the finish point, we take a walk little bit through the Pine tree. What the nice smell? Slava told me that the smell is come from Pine tree; make me feel fresh though. I also take a chance to see others wild life that I never seen before such as wild goat, deer, and white bison. I am really enjoy took a chance to brought some t-shirt of Colorado as well as Royal George Bridge cap. At least I got something to bring home!

After almost three hours we went back and take a short break having a lunch. I just have the big tuna sandwich together with the salad. Enough for me! Then we continue our tour to Garden of The Gods.

Cheer…

[Royal George Bridge; not so clear]

[Aerial Tram across the Arkansas River]

[ Who this guy?]

[Water clock: running by water]

[Shopping centre: to get some survenior]

[View of the rocky mountains]

[Arkansas River snapped from the bridge]

[Incline tram brought me to the river]

[Can you see who watching at me?]

[Railway to bring a tourist along the river]

[SAD... I miss white water rafting]

Cheer......

Trip to Colorado [part 1/3]

Heading to Denver

Slava and I left at 830am from Lincoln, Nebraska. Slava started to login the address of the hotel at Denver in the GPS pathfinder. It is very helpful as a guide for us. I think I should buy one if I want to go travel around USA for next time, perhaps. Along the journey to Denver, Colorado, we were sharing of our interest, hometown and our hobby. We talked about history he knows better than me about Empayar of Uthman at Turkey and at the South of Ukraine: the country he belongs. I open up our sharing when I told him that I am practicing as a Muslim. ‘I am a Muslim when I was born’. He knew that Muslim must pray for 5 times a day, Muhammad saw if our prophet, and some historical about Islam in Europe country i.e. Turkey, Ukraine, and Egypt. Slava is very good person, and very polite. He kinda classical people who comes from classical country which is Ukraine to the high tech of United States, the country that he got position as a lecturer about 8 years ago. He’s religions is Christian Orthodox: old Christian religion, during the Prophet of Musa a.s perhaps.

[GPS is very helpful while tracking the location. But make sure the address is correct! If not she will bring you unexpected location]

He knew that Allah send 5 holly books to the 5 different prophet which is for Ibrahim a.s, Musa a.s (Thaurat) , Isa a.s (zhabur) Daud a.s (Injil) and then lastly Muhammad s.a.w (Quran) and another one called suhuf’. And I told him that those entire book was mentioned in Quran and there is another book called suhuf’ for the other prophet too. He added, that he said he doesn’t know the content of the Quran. Another interesting about the food, he did not eat pork meat, drink alcohol, nor does smoking neither go for night club. While driving he replied ‘I am old guy’. I made a conscious smile. After a few minutes he wants to hear some explanations on the book, from the tape that he got in the internet. Tape was discussed about German scientist in Ukraine language; initiate the microbiology research in Anthrax. Kind of very good ideas perhaps sometimes got boring driving along the West Highways 80, heading to the Denver, Colorado.

Then he told me about the war between the Poland and Ukraine, how the Ukraine got independent from the Poland’s King just because of different religion: Orthodox in Ukraine and Catholic in Poland. They got independent on 1918. I pretty sure! Then he continued to play nice Ukrainian song. Very nice song and seems its very gentle and classic song. I told him that I like that song. That song that was singing by old guy in Ukraine language; kind of M. Nasir or Jamal Abdillah in Malaysia, though. “Ok, now I know what song you like. I like this song too” he replied spontaneously.

After 4 hours drove, we stop by at the Runza to get our lunch. I just had fish burger and a French fries. At coincidently we drop by at the Sod House Museum which is more to history of Native American located beside the highway. It is very nice stop actually. I went inside the ‘soil house’ and I saw they had a bad made from the cotton, small dining table and also the kitchen (they bake corn as their main food). This house was made from the layer of the clay soil. They put the soil as the roof and as wall too and make the temperature inside the house is pretty cold compare to the outside.

[View from outside of the museum]

[House made from clay soil]

Then we continue our journey. After one hour, we stop by at Cabela’s Store. They got sale for the summer stuff. We will take a rest, to relive back paint! (Huhuhu sempat lagi nak bershopping). I bought very nice, soft black jacket with really reasonable price and it has the deer head at the top right. Then, we continue driving and as a co-pilot I just need to entertain Slava, so that we are so boring while heading to Denver for 8hrs! (release stress hehe)

[Inside Cabela’s: Very nice theme for the fishing, hunting and outdoor gears. They sell most common famous outfits]

After 30minutes, he makes a call to his master student: Dwight Estherly as well as friend of me. We drop by to see the new machine for wheat combine harvester with new type of header that he used. It was very exciting moment. I got a chance to get on the combine and get some experience to harvest the wheat. As usual, the farm in US was so huge and at that times it so hot. I never know before how the wheat looks like! Then I take a chance to get there. I pared the whole wheat from the stalk and try to get the seed. It was brown, hard and crunchy (I tasted it). Its look like almost same with rice but it is on brown and little bit bigger that rice. It was wonderful moment and we again continue our trips.

[This is how the wheat looks like]

[Me and huge wheat farm]

[My advisor start to test this combine with Dwight ]

At last, we arrived at 7pm and I have to change the time. At this time, I prayed jamak ta'khir in the hotel. It tooks almost 9 hours journey from Lincoln. The time different between Lincoln and Colorado is one hour early in Colorado. We had a dinner at the hotel and go to the bed early since we are already tired. We plan to go to some places tomorrow morning at Colorado Spring and at the evening we have to come back to register for the conference.

[Train is the main transportation to bring all the agricultural product between the states]

[We are almost close to Denver]

Zahir yang tak terucap

Assalamualaikum...

Awal-awal pagi pintu sliding apartmentku sudah ku buka. Sejuk pula rasa pagi ni. Memang lain dari biasa. Sekarang sudah nak masuk peralihan cuaca, dari musim panas ke musim luruh. Suhu amatlah berbeza, dan pada puratanya sekarang suhu hanya 25 deg C. Nice bukan! Awal pagi sabtu aku kebiasaanya aku bangun agak awal sementara membaca journal-journal pilihan yang bertaburan di atas meja. Sejenak membaca, terasa mengantuk! :) argg....

Aku kemudian pergi menyinggah ke dapur, panaskan air. Rasa macam nak minum nescafe. Dah lama tak ada tabiat minum coffee pagi-pagi hari begini. Kerna sebelum ini, cepat sangat rasa sakit kepala kalau selalu sangat minum coffee. Kemudian, ku ambil cawan yang berpenebat, yang boleh preserve haba untuk sekian waktu. Ku ceduk satu sudu gula dan satu sudu coffee. Fuh!... Terasa nikmat minum coffee pagi-pagi hari ni.

Sambil-sambil memegang salinan journal 'anugerah' advisorku, aku pun mencapai laptopku: teman hidup aku dikala sunyi. Lantas aku mainkan lagu-lagu melayu rock klasik. Lagu pilihan aku pada pagi sabtu, ' zahir tak terucap' ... agak jiwang lagu-lagu begini. Layan saja... asal boleh bantu aku membaca journal ini. Hihi


Lirik:
Nyata bukan khayalan apa yang aku alami
Kau menjelma setelah menghilang
Kini berdiri di lamanku
Teramat getir keadaan ini
Nak kubiarkan tak sampai rasa di hati
Andai kusambut itu bererti, berdosanya diriku ini
Aku terpaksa kuburkan walaupun kasihku ada
Harus kuterima hakikat dia masih memerlukanmu

Nyata bukannya khayalan apa yang aku alami
Kau menjelma setelah menghilang
Mengharap suatu yang tak mungkin
Terbongkar kini yang dulu terkunci
Namun semua itu sudah tak bererti
Silapnya kita saling memendam
Sukar meramal perasaan

Aku sememangnya ada
Menyimpan kasih padamu
Cuma zahir tak terucap
Kerna dibayang rasa sangsi

::Nash

The Power of Supplications (Du'a)

Supplication or Dua in Arabic is the greatest gift which God has bestowed on human beings. It is like a hotline, where the needy person is able to directly communicate with the Most Powerful Almighty God, who is ever willing to listen and help. I vividly remember an incident during my childhood when one of my friends climbed a tree and the branch he was standing on broke down.

The branch started falling down when suddenly he cried and shouted "God please save me". Like a miracle the tree branch stuck with another branch and the boy managed to safely come down. In myriads of situations the power of Dua has saved drowning people, dying patients, and improved hopeless situations.

Why Dua is so powerful and after all what supplication is? To answer the first part of the question why Dua is so powerful is provided in the Holy Quran? In the Holy Quran God tells Prophet Muhammad

"When My servants ask you (Prophet Muhammad) about Me, I am always near. I answer their prayers when they pray to Me. The people shall respond to Me and believe in Me, in order to be guided." A saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad states that. Verily your Lord is ashamed (i.e. shy) of His servants when they raise their hands to Him in Supplication to return them empty."

The Holy Prophet has also reported to have called Dua or supplication as the kernel of worship and as the weapon of a believer. "Dua is conversation with Allah, out Creator, our Lord and Master, the All Knowing, the All Powerful. This act in itself is of extraordinary significance. It is the most uplifting, liberating, empowering, and transforming conversation a person can ever have. We turn to Him because we know that He alone can lift our sufferings and solve our problems. We feel relieved after describing our difficulties to our Creator. We feel empowered after having communicated with the All Mighty. We sense His mercy all around us after talking to the Most Merciful." Baig Khalid (2008).

Now to answer the second part of the question let us see what Dua is? A.H Farid in the prayers of Muhammad states’ that "There are two Arabic words in common use related to prayer. They are Salat and Du´a. Salat in its Arabic sense, signifies the liturgical form of worship, prescribed by the Prophet. Du´a simply means petition or supplication addressed to God by the supplicant while he is walking, standing, sitting, or resting. It is without any prescribed form, and may be concerning any matter, spiritual or temporal". In this article we are concerned with Dua a petition to God for fulfillment of one’s legitimate desires.

General principles for supplications:We can seek God´s blessings all the times. However the following are certain principles which will make our supplication more effective:

1. SUPPLICATE ALWAYS:

According to Tirmidhi, the Holy Prophet Muhammad said that only Dua can change Allah´s decree and people´s fate. So we must always day and night pray to God for his blessings and help. Not only must we pray to Him when we are in troubles but we must also thank Him for what we have and seek his blessings to protect it. The Prophet Muhammad said: "Whosoever desires that Allah answers his Duas in unfavorable and difficult conditions, he should make plentiful Dua in days of ease and comfort." Also he said: "The person who does not ask from Allah, Allah becomes angry with him." So whether you are enjoying the bounties of God or facing challenging situations seek God´s help and supplicate at all times.

2. SUPPLICATE WITH HOPE AND CONVICTION:
In one of the sayings Holy Prophet Muhammad said ''When you are making Dua do not say; 'O Allah, forgive me if You wish. O Allah, forgive me if you wish.' You should be firm in your asking, for there is no compelling Him." We must ask God with total conviction, passion, and hope that our prayers will be answered, as there is nothing which is impossible to God. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) have also said: "Know that Allah does not answer a Dua from a distracted heart." Tirmidhi.

3. SUPPLICATE ALSO FOR OTHERS:
Not only must we pray for ourselves but we must also pray for others. We should supplicate for our parents, spouses, siblings, relatives, friends and the world at large. The Prophet said: "The Dua of a Muslim for his brother in his absence is readily accepted. An angel is appointed to his side. Whenever he makes a beneficial Dua for his brother the appointed angel says, 'Ameen. And may you also be blessed with the same.'" [Sahih Muslim] In the Dark Age we are living in today, every day brings fresh news of atrocities, calamities, and pain and problems. We should pray God that people who are facing these challenging are relieved. Specifically we must ask God for peace in the world as war profiteers and destruction mongers are bent on killing others, grabbing people´s countries, and destroying the world.

4. NEVER DESPAIR:
There is no hopeless situation rather God has specifically promised that with every problem there is a solution embedded into it. In the Holy Quran this assurance has been repeated many time, that with every difficulty there is a relief (Holy Quran 94:5-6). Abdullah Yusuf Ali in the translation of Holy Quran in his note on these verses explained that "whatever difficulties or troubles are encountered by human being, God always provides a solution, a way out, a relief, a way to lead to ease and happiness. If we follow His Path and show our Faith and Patience and well-doing. The solution or relief does not merely come after the difficulty; it is provided with it" So taking cue from the Holy Quran we must never despair but be always optimistic and hopeful that our problems are just temporary phases which will be solved sooner or later.


5. BE PATIENT:
The Holy Prophet Muhammad said "The invocation of anyone of you is granted (by Allah) if he does not show impatience (by saying, "I invoked Allah but my request has not been granted)." On the other hand if our Dua is not answered we must accept it as blessings as there must be a wisdom why God did not reply our decree for help. May be He has better things in store for us which our finite mind cannot comprehend. Indeed if our prayers are not granted we are sure to receive better blessings from God than what we desired. "Seek help with patience and prayers" Holy Quran (2:153) The Holy Quran thus emphasizes the need for patience.

6. TAKE DUE ACTIONS:
No doubt Dua is the most powerful weapon but it must also be backed by human endeavour. The Quran clearly states that " Man can have nothing but what he strives for" Quran 53:39. So we also need to play our part and take necessary action towards the fulfillment of our goals while at the same time asking God´s blessing for their fulfillment. In the decisive battles against the crusaders, Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi was busy day and night. His days were devoted to Jihad. His nights were spent making Dua, crying, seeking Allah's help. This has been the practice of all true mujahideen who blend Dua with pure hard work and massive actions. There is a famous Urdu language saying that in order to recover from a sickness people along with Dua also need "Dawa" the later being medicine. We must play our part by taking due actions towards the goal we set for ourselves. However at the same time we must also not forget that despite every worldly endeavor we need the blessings and assistance of our Creator.

Dua and prayer is one of the greatest gifts of God to human being. It is a direct communication with the Omnipotent Creator Who listens to us and Who fulfill all our needs and wishes. Dua is the most liberating, empowering, and uplifting conversation which a person can have with the Most Powerful Creator of the universe. The beauty is that you do not need a medium or intermediary but can directly knock on God´s door which is never closed. This give us access to God´s throne and bring us in direct contact with Him. There are no security guards who stop us or there is no need for an appointment as He is ever willing to listen to us. So what are you waiting for? Right now raise your hands and pray for the sustenance of your blessings or for the solutions of your problems. Pray always and pray for others, pray with the conviction and hope that your prayers will be answered. Never despair if there is a delay as the help may be under way or a better solution may be granted. Pray on as this is the most potent weapon and protection. Pray on as The All-Knowing and All-Hearing Creator of the universe is ever ready to give all of us a patient hearing. The harder we knock on his door the more is he pleased with us and grants us our wishes. May your prayers be granted-Ameen!

Referrences:

Dr Adalat Khan is an international columnist who is based in Malaysia and can be reached at dradalat@gmail.com http://www.mina.edu.my/

Mina Resources Sdn Bhd Malaysia
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/71378

Tangan Mencatat Di Bumi, Jiwa Mendongak Ke Langit

Pena Jujur Bukan Pedang

Si ZalimPena yang amanah bukan seperti pedang si zalim yang mencederakan sesiapa sahaja yang dibencinya. Pena yang amanah bagaikan pedang keadilan yang hanya menghukum yang zalim dan mempertahankan yang benar.
Pedang si zalim amat berbeza dengan pedang perwira yang soleh. Pedang si zalim tidak pelu bertanya tentang salah dan bukti untuk ia menebas seterusnya. Dia hanya perlu tahu siapa yang ada di hadapannya? Orang yang dia suka atau yang dia benci.

Sesiapa yang dibenci, maka dia dihukum walaupun dosanya tidak terbukti, atau kadar dosa itu belum cukup untuk dia dihukum demikian rupa. Ini bercanggah dengan arahan Allah dalam

Surah al-Maidah: 8:(maksudnya): Wahai orang-orang yang beriman, hendaklah kamu semua sentiasa menjadi orang-orang yang menegakkan keadilan kerana Allah, lagi menerangkan kebenaran; dan jangan sekali-kali kebencian kamu terhadap sesuatu kaum itu mendorong kamu kepada tidak melakukan keadilan. Hendaklah kamu berlaku adil (kepada sesiapa jua) kerana sikap adil itu lebih hampir kepada taqwa. Dan bertaqwalah kepada Allah, sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui dengan mendalam akan apa yang kamu lakukan”.

Penulis Bukan Pelacur

Pena yang menulis atas kehendak orang lain sedangkan empunya tahu apa yang ditulis itu meminggirkan hakikat kebenaran sebenarnya adalah ‘pena lacur’. Seperti seorang pelacur yang memperalatkan tubuh dan rupanya untuk memuaskan nafsu orang lain atas upahan yang dijanji atau diharapkan, demikian penulis yang memperalatkan kebolehannya mengatur rangkap ayat dan bahasa demi memuaskan kehendak orang lain kerana mengharapkan sesuatu. Allah mengutuk Ahl al-Kitab disebabkan mereka menyelewengkan fakta kitab-kitab Allah kerana mengharapkan habuan dunia.

Firman Allah:(maksudnya) : Kecelakaan besar bagi orang-orang yang menulis Kitab (Taurat) dengan tangan mereka (mengubah perkataan Allah dengan rekaan-rekaan mereka), kemudian mereka berkata: “Ini datang dari sisi Allah”, supaya mereka dapat membelinya dengan harga yang murah (keuntungan dunia yang sedikit). Maka kecelakaan besar bagi mereka disebabkan apa yang ditulis oleh tangan mereka, dan kecelakaan besar bagi mereka dari apa yang mereka usahakan itu. (Surah al-Baqarah: 79).

Baca seterusnya disini... http://drmaza.com/home/?p=358#more-358