Malay Guerilla Marketing

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Opinion leaders: these are the people who you listen to. Put a flyer in the mailbox and it’ll probably end up in the dustbin unread. Give it to an opinion leader for distribution and that piece of paper can turn to gold.

The malay community has a couple of opinion leaders, but one particular one I feel has been untapped and underestimated. I often go to the nearby shopping mall near my place. A particular stall was rented out, and weeks later was replaced with one which could be easily noticeable from a distance. There would be a group of male malays, not consuming anything at all, just outside the shop talking away. Ages range from 30s to 50s. They, by defacto, hold the spending power of their family, and they listen to these particular chaps of the stall. So if you are thinking of targeting this segment, give this rather guerilla marketing like strategy a try:

• Place adverts at the windows. The windows of these particular shops normally are void of dressing anyway. It’s like Kinokuniya at Takashimaya, how they wrap the glass panels with famous persons to welcome customers traveling up on the escalators.
• Give these opinion leaders your flyers, upon which after service ask them to distribute. You could spend alittle and buy a couple of combs to bundle your flyer with, instructing these opinion leaders to give the flyer and complimentary comb to the customer. Don’t worry about the pitch, they are natural pitching pros.

So who are these opinion leaders I’m talking about?

The Malay Barber and his Malay Barbershop.

Marriage in Islam

Today my good friend and Arabic teacher for the past one and a half years, Ustaz Afif Pasuni, got married.

Attending a wedding reception with so many asatizahs in the gathering is an eye opener. Here are some templates ; ) I took away fromt the event:

1. Loud music and deejays and what have you can suffocate the event. His had none of those, was simple, and sweet. The only things you heard were the voices of families, ukhwa and laughter.
2. Good variety of food makes guests and occasion happy. Here I stress variety: rice, noodles, fruits, ice kacang, goreng pissang, sate…

The event was also good timing as I had to do up a poem on marriage for a magazine, and needed some urgent inspiration. Alhamdulillah here’s the piece:

One Day

It is the day when hearts are truly intertwined,

When characters are tested with responsibilities predefined,

Both man and woman continue to thread life in harmony,

Yet this time they breathe with His blessings as a family.

Yet thunder may come, rain might pour,

So too in marriage, but be steadfast and endure,

Use the Sunnah and the best example there is,

To live your lives together in calm and bliss.

In time appearances change, yet don’t be hasty,

Look to their hearts, therein lies true beauty,

And say to your partner - I treasure your company,

In this world I will strive to give you safety.

And your weaknesses are mine, and together we pray,

I hope to meet you once again, in heaven,

One day.

Of course, being his Arab student, I wanted to make him happy. And so my well wishes were also in Arabic too…

Barakallaahu laka, wa baaraka ‘alaika, wa jama’a bainakumaa fii khairin.

May Allah shower you with His blessings, and may both of you live in harmony and in happiness.

Amin, InsyaAllah.

Finding Balance

I like looking at the sun and sky during sunsets, the stunning colours and blinding grace of the sky. It reminds me how we rarely look up. How ironically high we think of ourselves sometimes, of how strangely even our necks have been designed to look in all directions relatively easier… than up. There must be a purpose behind it. To humble us? To prove to us that we need effort to look up and be humbled?

Looking up in the sky reminds me often of how we need to wake ourselves up sometimes. Of how humbling the sky is, ever beautiful, silently up there, hovering above everyone, never needing to announce to us humans to stop thinking about ourselves all the time. The sky is God’s creation. It’s a creation teaching us a lesson in humility.

Sometimes people give you credit, and wish they were in your field too. So I often tell my friends “Business is not for everyone.”

Being a businessman, an entrepreneur or any other human-assigned role is not an obligatory duty, a fardhu ain. It’s a fardhu kifayah, the presence of one would cover the obligation of the sum of ummah. Besides, we were never businessmen when we were born. Coming out from our mother’s womb, we had no website, no friends, no academic distinction, no pride nor prejudice. We were all the same. And yes, we even cried together. Really.

And we will return stripped of our posts as well, stripped of our coats, our prizes possessions, our safety zones, to Him.

Don’t listen to entrepreneurs who go around asking people “Why are you still working for others?” They’ve clearly lost their plot and balance. They’ll learn, one day.

Whatever you’re doing now, I hope you find your balance. It amazes me how Islam, emphasizing the middle path, speaks of this justly: the pursuit of balance, never indulging in anything extremely. Do you feel at equilibrium with your lifestyle now? Does your heart tell you that deep down, you have to pack up and go?

There are essentially two ways to achieve work-life balance. Either you

1. Work for years first with full effort and pain, then settle down very comfortably later, or
2. Work and relax simultaneously.

Which way is better? It depends on you. Is the rich businessman staying in the towers better than the wise sweeper who smiles daily? There is no comparison to begin with. We each live our own lives to the best of our ability. Sincerely, we best know ourselves. So lets be more concerned with ourselves. And ask ourselves…

Have we found our balance.

Look to the sky.

Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of Night and Day, there are indeed Signs for men of understanding.

[3:190]

Come, Come, Whoever You Are

The following poem comes in various variations, and is often ascribed to Rumi. However the poem has appeared in sources before Rumi’s time (See here). This is the most popular form of the poem, and speaks of repentance. Read and enjoy.

Come, come, whoever you are;
Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving;
It doesn’t matter;
Ours is not a caravan of despair;
Come, even if you have broken your vow;
A thousand times;
Come, yet again, come, come.

[Anonymous]

The Sign of Light [24:35]

The Ayat an-Nur (”The Sign of Light” or “The Verse of Light”) is the 35th line of the 24th sura of the Qur’an, Surah an-Nur. This verse is renowned for its remarkable beauty and imagery. Read and reflect:

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth;
The parable of His Light is as (if there were) a niche;
And within it a lamp, the lamp is in glass;
The glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree;
An olive, neither of the east nor of the west;
Whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself), though no fire touched it;
Light upon Light! Allah guides to His Light whom He wills;
And Allah sets forth parables for mankind;
And Allah is All-Knower of everything.

[24:35]