AlhamdulilLah! Had an interesting post-class supper conversation with Ustaz, his family and some other students as we concluded the series of courses for this run. The topic of music came up and I learnt alot from Ustaz's sharing - maqamat, the definition of music, the adab of putting music in its proper place, use vs. abuse of a knowledge or skill, ziryab, 'Islamising music vs. musicising Islam', and the inspiration for P Ramlee's song "Achi-Achi buka pintu"... Indeed, the soul can be affected by the vibrations of sound and how I realised in the past, the elders would hum solawat, qasidah, etc while cradling a baby, almost like a soothing 'lullaby'. Sheikh Hamza Yusuf mentions hudur (presence of heart) in relation to music and the 4-beat like the song above 'La illaha ilalLah', subhan-Allah!
Also, catch up on Arabic tutorial (terms flashed in my mind's eye), barakalLah feek (you know who you are). As the saying goes - "Buah cempedak di luar pagar, ambil galah tolong jolokkan. Ana budak baru belajar, kalau salah tolong tunjukkan"... Loosely translated, "Sighting the jackfruit behind the gate of brick, prod at it with a long stick, as a student new at this trick, errors made correct me quick" :)
