Berpuasa dan beraya di Mekah

PENGERUSI Eksekutif Andalusia Travel & Tours Sdn. Bhd., Datuk Mohd. Daud Che Ngah tidak asing lagi dengan bumi Mekah, Arab Saudi.

Dia berpengalaman selama berpuluh tahun menguruskan ribuan jemaah umrah dan haji dari negara ini. Malah, beliau sempat menyambut Hari Raya Aidilfitri di sana pada tahun 2001.

Tutur Mohd. Daud, suasana menyambut 10 malam terakhir bulan Ramadan di Mekah lebih meriah berbanding sambutan Aidilfitri sendiri.

Ini kerana umat Islam dari seluruh dunia mengejar malam Lailatul Qadar yang ganjaran pahalanya lebih baik daripada 1,000 bulan. Lailatul Qadar merupakan satu malam daripada malam-malam bulan Ramadan.

Rasulullah S.A.W. pernah bersabda: "Sesiapa yang berdiri (solat) pada malam al-Qadar dengan penuh keimanan dan mengharap pahala daripada Allah, maka diampuni dosa-dosanya yang telah lalu." Hadis riwayat Bukhari dan Muslim.

SELAIN musim haji, kota Mekah yang penuh berkat ini
gemar dikunjungi pada bulan Ramadan. MASJIDIL HARAM
akan dipenuhi umat Islam sepanjang malam untuk
bertarawih dan qiamulail.
Selain itu, baginda juga pernah menceritakan malam al-Qadar adalah malam yang indah, penuh kelembutan, cerah, tidak panas dan tidak juga dingin.

Pada keesokan harinya pula sinar matahari kelihatan lemah kemerah-merahan.

Sambut raya

"Biasanya 10 malam terakhir Ramadan sehingga 1 Syawal merupakan cuti umum di Arab Saudi bertujuan menggalakkan umat Islam beribadat dengan bersungguh-sungguh.

"Malah, ada orang Arab yang menyewa bilik hotel selama sebulan khusus untuk tujuan itu," katanya kepada Jurnal.

Mohd. Daud berkata, antara amalan yang dilakukan pada masa itu ialah solat wajib disertai ibadat solat sunat tarawih di Masjidil Haram atau masjid-masjid berhampiran.

"Solat tarawih dilakukan sebanyak 20 rakaat bermula pukul 9 malam dan berakhir dua jam kemudian. Tetapi kebiasaan ramai yang menunggu untuk melakukan solat sunat tahajud secara berjemaah.

"Mereka akan membaca al-Quran atau iktikaf di masjid. Keadaannya seperti solat Jumaat," jelasnya.

Mohd. Daud memberitahu, soal makanan untuk berbuka tidak menjadi satu masalah kerana ramai pihak yang mendermakan kurma, manisan serta air zamzam di sekitar masjid di Mekah dan Madinah.

"Makanan sentiasa mencukupi tetapi sebenarnya makanan tidak menjadi isu kerana semua jemaah menumpukan pada ibadat wajib dan sunat semata-mata," ujarnya.

Dipetik dari : KOSMO ONLINE

Proton Preve dalam ujian perlanggaran ANCAP


Model terbaru Proton Preve akan memasuki pasaran Australia dalam masa terdekat, paling awal dijangkakan mulai hujung tahun ini.

Mengikut info, ujian perlanggaran ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program) telah dilakukan pada bulan Februari 2012 yang lalu, namun tidak dapat dipastikan berapakah ‘rating’ yang diperolehi oleh Proton Preve.

Adakah Proton Preve mendapat penarafan penuh 5 Bintang ANCAP?

Valentino Rossi returns to Yamaha for 2013 MotoGP season

Valentino Rossi will return to Yamaha in 2013 after leaving Ducati at the end of the current season, the Japanese manufacturer confirmed on Friday.

Ducati announced this morning that Rossi was leaving the team following a disappointing two-year spell at the Italian squad, where the Italian rider struggled to be competitive, managing just two podiums and no victories so far.

Rossi enjoyed a very successful time at Yamaha, which he joined from Honda at the start of the 2004 season.

With the Japanese squad, the nine-time world champion took the titles in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009 and scored 46 victories before leaving for Ducati at the end of 2010.

Rossi will rejoin Yamaha alongside Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, who was his team-mate at the team before he decided to leave for Ducati.

The Italian rider has signed a two-year deal with Yamaha.

"This announcement is once again excellent news for Yamaha," said Yamaha's Lin Jarvis. "In June we were able to sign Jorge Lorenzo for the 2013-14 campaign and now we are able to confirm Valentino Rossi for the next two years.

"In doing so we have been able to put together the strongest possible team to challenge for victories and to promote the Yamaha brand.

"The target for the future is obvious and we will do our utmost to achieve our goals.

"I have no doubt that with the experience, knowledge, skills and speed of these two great champion riders we will be able to challenge for many race wins and for the 2013 & 2014 World Championship titles."  click video

Valentino Rossi back to Yamaha Racing MotoGP for 2013 and 2014

The Sideshow Killer crocodile sets record as world’s largest in captivity

Bunawan Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde stands over Lolong, the giant crocodile.

Lolong, a man-eating beast feared by locals, has set a Guinness Book of World Records mark as the world's largest saltwater crocodile in captivity.

The giant crocodile measures 20.24 feet, weighs more than a ton and was blamed for several deaths before its capture by officials in the southern Philippines town of Bunawan in September, 2011.

And while Lolong has brought some tourist dollars into the small town, its capture has also stirred fears that other giant killer crocs might be lurking in the local waters.


"There were mixed feelings," Bunawan Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde told the Associated Press. "We're really proud because it proves the rich biodiversity of our place but at the same time, there are fears that Lolong may not be alone."

In fact, Elorde says he spotted an even larger crocodile escape when he and about 100 others combined their efforts to capture Lolong. It took a combination of ropes and cranes to bring in the giant crocodile, which was pursued after a child was killed in 2009 and a fisherman went missing. Lolong was named after an official who died of a heart attack after traveling to Bunawan to assist in the capture.


Since its capture, Lolong has become something of a tourist attraction and is the star of a new ecotourism and research center in the town. And while the park has brought in $72,000 in park fees since Lolong's debut, most of that money goes to feeding and taking care of the crocodile.

Williams' Pastor Maldonado wins Spanish Grand Prix

William's Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado drives at the Circuit
de Catalunya on May 13, 2012 in Montmelo on the outskirts of
Barcelona during the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix. 
-- PHOTO: AFP
BARCELONA (AFP) - Venezuela's Pastor Maldonado claimed his maiden Formula One win, and handed Williams their first since 2004, with victory in the Spanish Grand Prix here on Sunday.

Spaniard Fernando Alonso finished second with Finn Kimi Raikkonen in third as Maldonado made the most of inheriting pole position from Lewis Hamilton after the Briton was relegated to the back of the pack on Saturday. McLaren driver Hamilton finished in eighth place at over a minute behind as Maldonado won a thrilling duel with Ferrari's former two-time world champion Alonso.

Alonso's runner-up place gave him 18 points and the championship lead at the expense of defending world champion Sebastian Vettel, who was sixth in a Red Bull having started from seventh on the grid.

Maldonado's maiden win handed Williams their 114th overall, but their first in the series since fellow South American Juan Pablo Montoya won the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2004.