Followers

Friday 13 April 2012

Senad Hadzic. A walk to remember.

Each year millions of Muslims make the annual pilgrimage to the Saudi city of Mecca.


The Hajj, as it is known, is still far away, this year it is in the end of October, but 47-year-old Senad Hadzic has already set off in that direction.

That is because he is on foot.





He started from his hometown in northern Bosnia back in December 2011 and is walking all the way to Mecca. The distance is about 3,600 miles from Bosnia to Mecca and he covers between 12 to 20 miles a day. And for the Geo Quiz we are asking you to tell us where he has reached now.

He has reached a waterway that separates Europe from Asia.

The Bosphorus, the waterway that divides Istanbul and Europe from Asia, is the answer to the Geo Quiz. Just before hitting the road again, Senad Hadzic proudly shows the meager contents of his backback. He’s got a Koran wrapped in plastic for protection against the elements, a bible, maps and flags of the six countries he plans to cross.

“To be honest, before i started on this trip, everybody was frightened for me, asking how will I, as a Muslim, be able to travel though Christian countries like Serbia and Bulgaria,” says Hadzic.

But he was never scared, he says. Traveling with very little money, Hadzic says he’s depended on the kindness of strangers for much of the 600 miles or so he’s walked so far.

“In Serbia, people came out on the street and gave me a hat, or some socks,” Hadzic says. “In one case, a professor in Serbia invited me to stay in his house. This Serbian professor, who was a Christian, told me that I was the first Muslim who had stepped in his house in his life. It was a great honor for me.”

Istanbul has presented a bit of a snag. He’s spent 20 days here, he says, trying to get permission to walk across the Bosphorus bridge connecting Europe to Asia. It’s only open to vehicles. Hadzic doesn’t even want to mention the details of how he got it resolved.

“I’ll tell you, this trip has had millions of problems,”Hadzic says. I’ll explain it to you like this: God willing, I’m going to enter Asia today, and then Syria. And I’m not afraid of a tank or a bullet, only God. And then when I get to Mecca I will say a prayer for all of us.”





When he finally leaves the hotel, he’s excited to be on his way. Wearing a reflector safety vest and a shabby backpack, with Bosnian and Turkish flags sticking out, it’s easy to see how his eccentric character endears him with many that he meets on his way.

“An old Turkish wise man appeared and when he saw that I came from Bosnia to Istanbul on two feet, he offered me the money to sit on an airplane and go directly to Mecca for the Haj,” Hadzic says. “But I rejected this.”

Hadzic says he must travel by foot because God told him to in a dream. His act of faith is not just for his own benefit but for everyone he meets along the way as well.

“By this act, I am proving that everything I do is for the love of God,” Hadzic says. “For all the riches in the world, I would never stop what I am doing.”

Walking through this city of 13 million, in a fitting parallel with his bizarre quest, we run into a group of Bosnian tourists. Hadzic is clearly well-known in Bosnia and doesn’t need an introduction. After pictures are taken and greetings exchanged, Hadzic is back on his own.

He’s not even half way there yet but Hadzic has already learned a lot.

“The point, my friend, is learning the meaning of ‘thank you’. The poor people who live in the countryside love God and support me with generosity. The rich people in the cities love their ATMs,” Hadzic says.

After walking the more than 500 miles from Istanbul to the Syrian border, Hadzic says he plans to continue through Syria. It’s a bit risky he admits, but with God’s help he says he won’t feel fear. He plans to wave a Syrian flag with the word “victory” written on it, and pray for the victims of the conflict.

Wassalam
Note: I do not think I'll be able to walk from Malaysia to Makkah. However, I do wish I have the courage and strength of this man to finish what I have started. Insya-Allah.

Have a nice weekends with your loved ones!

Friday 6 April 2012

Friday, Al-Fatehah & tears

  

In the name of Allah, the most beneficent the most merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The most beneficent, the most merciful.
The lord of the day of Judgement.
Thee alone do we worship and thee alone we seek for help.
Guide us to the right path.
The path of those upon whom thou has bestowed favors, Not of those who thou has cursed once nor of those who have gone astray.



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Today I shed more tears than ever. Is it normal for ordinary person to feel sad and cry when looking at these pictures? Or is it only me becoming too emotional nowadays? Oh! Ya Allah! Please let our children survive this world under Your hidayat. I feel so helpless.



Tuesday 3 April 2012

Mourning for the death of knowledge

Gigapedia is officially gone.

I have been frequenting the website one too many times to get hold of some valuable textbooks that are hardly available in Malaysia. I even wrote a post on my Gigapedia experience in this blog some times ago.

Today when I decided to make another visit for another retrieval (a book once published in 1978!) I was shocked to learn that the virtual library was 'put to sleep' by some ugly old hags..! 

@#$%&*@#$) oh! crap!

More of the information on the closure of the website can be read here.

So that's the end of the free flow of knowledge all around the world. I once asked in my post, how on earth did this website manage to survive when many authors and publishers are labeling its act as piracy. I guess I've got the answer now. Pretty much too soon for me...

Goodbye Giga. To be more precise, goodbye to all the invisible but serious 'staff' of Library.nu. Will be missing you a lot, now that I do not know where to turn to for a fast solution to my textbooks problem.

* sigh! *

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