Majlis Tilawah Al-Qur'an (MTAQ) PETRONAS 2026 - KL Convention Center, 25 Oktober

 

Susulan daripada penyertaan dalam kategori Murattal Pidato pada tahun 2025, tahun ni saya ambil kembali ke kategori asal: Hafazan.

Kategori yang dah berkali-kali masuk sejak 2013, namun tak pernah berjaya meraih Johan. Paling kuat dapat Naib Johan pada tahun 2019, dan tempat ke-3 pada tahun 2022.

Tahun ni, saya masuk dengan harapan & azam: mungkinkah 2026 peluang saya? Can I breakthrough my achievement ceiling in 2026?  

Keputusan malam tadi:

Alhamdulillah, Naib Johan 🥈 . Ceiling tetap maintain. 

Pi blajaq, come back stronger 🤣 

Johan hafazan dewasa lelaki adalah milik Dr. Muhammad Sani dari Nigeria 🇳🇬 , pensyarah UTP, dan saya akui, bacaannya cukup baik Masha Allah.. Well-deserved! ❤️ Allahumma barik 🤲🏽 

Tahun ni silibus Hafazan Dewasa lebih mencabar dari tahun2 sebelum. Tahun ni silibus termasuk keseluruhan Juzuk 1 (Surah Al-Baqarah ayat 1-141), surah Al-Kahf, surah Luqman, Al-Qalam, Al-Haaqqah, Yasin dan Ar-Rahman (mencabar untuk ditebuk, ya) 

Tahun ni sepatutnya Peringkat kebangsaan dianjurkan di Kota Kinabalu, tetapi memandangkan MTAQ tahun ini adalah tahun istimewa, sempena MTAQ ke-25 (Jubili Perak 🥈), pihak penganjur adakan khas di ibu pejabat. 

Masha Allah, 25 tahun dah program ni Jalan.. Menunjukkan komitmen management dalam sungguh2 menganjurkan MTAQ ni. Walau bagaimana cabaran2 Industri - Harga minyak jatuh mendadak, COVID... MTAQ tetap berjalan, tetap istiqamah. 

Betapa banyaknya manfaat yang ramai warga PETRONAS sekeluarga dapat manfaat dalam memperingkatkan kemahiran Al-Qur'an. Kami sendiri pun rasa banyak kebaikan semenjak saya mula turut serta pada tahun 2013.. Saya sendiri, dulu tak hafal pun surah2 ni.. Tapi bila daftar dan commit, kita paksa diri untuk pulun menghafal. Dan hafalan tu, manfaatnya berterusan. Di samping tu, seronok bertemu kawan2 baru dan dapat inspirasi daripada peserta warga PETRONAS lain yang hebat2 Masha Allah, allahumma barik 🤲🏽. 

Semoga Allah kurniakan keberkatan kepada barisan kepimpinan yang konsisten dan istiqamah agar meneruskan komitmen dalam MTAQ, dan inspirasi kepada sahabat2 untuk join sebagai peserta! 

Visionary Leadership: Navigating Change & Future Challenges - Huffaz Leadership Camp: Masjid Asy-Syakirin KLCC

 

Alhamdulillah it was an honor to connect and share with 109 students from 14 educational institutions across the nation, including International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Malaya (UM), Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) as well as 4 universities from Indonesia and Thailand.

The topic assigned to me was "Visionary Leadership: Navigating Change & Future Challenges", which I broke down to two parts:

1. High Aspirations - redefining what it means to be a "visionary", which we can break down to 3 dimensions: Aim High, Look Far, and Think Wide.

We focused on "Look Far": thinking long term. And that goes beyond "where you see yourselves in 10-20 years", or even the legacy you leave behind.
For Muslims, the mindset goes much further: the Hereafter.
When we view the world with this End in Mind, we can easily reframe hardships into blessings, pain into forgiveness, investment instead of sacrifice, for the wisdom not to be deceived by our present state of wealth (or lack of it), and even our social lives: to approach relationships mindful of the consequences Hereafter.

2. Future challenges: How we can build Resilience in facing a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world.

For this one, I break down the case study of Surah Yusuf. Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) is a unique example of a person who has gone through the highest and lowest hierarchy in society: from being raised in a prophetic household, to being sold into slavery serving the family of a noble Egyptian leader, to being imprisoned, and finally elevated to a position of leadership, taking over the position his former Master.

His journey takes him across Palestine to Egypt, Full of twists, turns, unexpected encounters, and so lots of much-needed life lessons and wisdom we can learn from.

It was also an inspiration to spend time with the organizing lecturers who made this event happen: Prof Fadzlin and her team, including Dr. Saifuddin and Dr. Liyana. They put in immense effort and overcome challenges with dedication and persistence to make this camp happen, where they faced all sorts of roadblocks, and at the same time, surprising support from sources they never expected.  An inspiring reminder of verse 2 from Surah At-Talaq that if we are sincere, Allah will send help and provide a way out: sometimes, in the form of uniting us with other like minded people.

Alhamdulillah, the students are blessed for having such passionate educators who yearn for their students holistic education on character development. Keep up the great work, allahumma barik.

May Allah continue nurturing these future leaders towards success, and leaving behind a positive, long lasting legacy for future generations.

👂🏽Being a Better Listener

Public speaking gets a lot of hype. Sure, but How many of us emphasize good listening? 

In many ways, being a great listener is an even more important life skill: for learning & development, building better relationships, strengthening rapport, resolving conflicts, influence, even negotiation. 

In his book, "Never Split the Difference", EX-FBI hostage negotiator writes about the role and importance of Listening in every negotiation (and yes, including the infamous task of "negotiating with terrorists"):

"Emotions and emotional intelligence (are) central to effective negotiation, not things to be overcome. 

It all starts with the universally applicable premise that people want to be understood and accepted. Listening is the cheapest, yet most effective concession we can make to get there. By listening intensely, a negotiator demonstrates empathy and shows a sincere desire to better understand what the other side is experiencing.

Psychotherapy research shows that when individuals feel listened to, they tend to listen to themselves more carefully and to openly evaluate and clarify their own thoughts and feelings. In addition, they tend to become less defensive and oppositional and more willing to listen to other points of view, which gets them to the calm and logical place where they can be good Getting to Yes problem solvers.

Contrary to popular opinion, listening is not a passive activity. It is the most active thing you can do." (End Quote) 

Likewise, Scholars of the past would constantly emphasize the importance and etiquette of effective listening: 

Ibrāhīm ibn al-Junayd advised his child:

"Learn the art of good listening just as you learn the art of good speech. Among the traits of good listening are: giving the speaker time until they finish, maintaining focus without darting your eyes away, facing them directly with your demeanor, and refraining from interrupting." (Kitāb al-Ṣamt - Book of Silence).

 

​Aṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ (عطاء بن أبي رباح) — the famous Tābiʿī, scholar, and Muftī of Makkah (d. 114 AH / 732 CE) said, 

​"A young man will share a narration (piece of knowledge) with me, and I listen to him as though I have never heard it before, even though I had already learned it before he was born." (Al-Adab al-Mufrad) 

The great tabi'ee, ​Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, advised his students on conversation etiquette:

"When you sit in the company of scholars, be more eager to listen than you are to speak. Learn how to listen well just as you learn how to speak well, and never cut off anyone's speech." (Jāmiʿ Bayān al-ʿIlm wa-Faḍlih)

Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah, teacher of imam Ash-Shafiee said, 

"The beginning of knowledge is listening, then understanding, then memorizing, then acting upon it, then disseminating it."

Let's make Listening Great again! 

🇬🇭 Connecting with Ghana (28/9 - 2/10)

My first international business trip (and in fact, first time to Africa 🌍) brought me to Ghana, Land of the Black Star,

previously known as the Gold Coast due to the nation's status as a major gold producer. 

Known also as “Home of African

Independence”, Ghana was actually the first sub-Saharan African colony to gain independence from British colonial rule in March 1957, the same year Malaysian gained independence, too 🇲🇾. 

Unfortunately, because we were on a short business trip, we didn't get to experience much of the city of Accra. But one thing we did experience for sure, that Ghana was famous for: the warmth of the Ghanaians. 

Our colleagues from Ghana National Petroleum Corporation  were very friendly and made us feel very welcomed throughout our stay. Since English was their national language (and they love their spicy chilli), we felt right at home. 

We had the privilege of meeting their CEO, Kwame Ntow Amoah, their directors, and our awesome technical counterparts. 

Alhamdulillah, our first time in Africa turned out to be a fruitful learning experience and meeting new friends. Looking forward for exciting opportunities to come!