3 weeks into IPBA

Despite having to wake up extra early to go to college, I do enjoy staying out of the hostel. Commuting is not so bad; You just have to avoid the peak hours. And to combat boredom from the 20-minute journey, you just need to have a book in hand or occupy your mind with thinking about something.

It's also nice that I have my sister with me. We usually stop for a roti canai at the Kerinchi station before embarking for IPBA/UM. The 15-minute morning walk is refreshing. Seriously. No embellishment here.

I do miss IPBA occasionally. I miss going for dinner with friends, going to the surau, playing volleyball, and having a nice afternoon nap in my room after one whole morning of lecture.

Semester 1 is quite ok thus far. I like all my tutors. They are all wonderfully-different from one another. One lecturer likes to narrate his experiences at the expense of not completing the task at hand. But that's ok because I really admire his love for the teaching profession and how he always have the students' best interest at heart.

Another lecturer likes to give homework *groan*. But the tasks she set us will tremendously help us prepare for the exam, so that's ok too I suppose. Plus, she cracks us up with her "umbrella, ella, ella" joke.

I have a former lecturer as my tutor for another subject. I've always like her so there's no problem there. Another lecturer is a very lively individual. That makes learning so much more enjoyable.

But while tutorials are all right, lectures are quite hard to endure.
I find it difficult to pay attention, or even keep awake. I've tried sitting in front - it didn't work.
Need to find another strategy!

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Excerpts from "Ketika Cinta Bertasbih"
by: Habiburrahman El-Shirazy

Bakda shalat Isya ia tetap di masjid untuk mengaji kitab Al Hikam karya Ibnu Athaillah As Sakandari dengan Adil Ramadhan. Malam itu ia mendapat pencerahan sangat berharga dari kitab Al Hikam tentang hal yang sangat penting baginya sebagai seorang penuntut ilmu. Ibnu Athaillah mengatakan,

"Khairul ilmi ma kaanatil khasyyah ma'ahu. Ilmu yang paling baik adalah yang disertai khasyyah."

Adil Ramadhan menjelaskan bahwa khasyyah adalah rasa takut kepada Allah yang disertai mengagungkan Allah. Maka segala jenis ilmu yang tidak mendatangkan rasa takut kepada Allah dan juga tidak mendatangkan pengagungan kepada Allah tiada kebaikannya sama sekali. Adil Ramadhan berpesan pada Azzam,

"Untuk mengetahui ilmumu bermanfaat atau tidak cukuplah kaulihat bekasnya. Jika dengan itu kau semakin takut kepada Allah dan semakin baik ibadahmu kepada-Nya, maka itulah tanda ilmumu benar-benar bermanfaat. Jika sebaliknya maka berhati-hatilah, Saudaraku!"

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"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell, where his influence stops"
-Henry Brooks Adams-