Field Trip

Last Saturday, my two children and I accompanied en suami to Cameron Highlands. His students and a few academic staffs were there to collect some plant specimens.

There is so much development around Cameron Highlands that the place has lost its natural beauty.




Our driver. Nope. En suami won't trust him!




We had some scones, waffle and strawberry cake with hot Cameronian tea!



At Strawberry Hill Cafe.




Strawberries!


Strawberries plants.
Cabbage farm



Students collecting the specimens. (N9 matriculation college)

Hard at work with En suami supervising!



The collected specimen. One of them!

Ferrero Rocher

I attended a talk on Women and Health last Tuesday in conjunction with the MaulidurRasul celebration. A lady doctor was specially invited from Kelantan for the occasion. We were enlightened with the recent facts and figures concerning women's health and it is common knowledge that most women in the third world countries (mostly muslim) are not being treated well. The speaker encouraged the young ladies in the audience to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and fight for those who are abused. It is time the muslim women voice their opinion in the world stage to initiate change. Depression, malnutrition and domestic violence among muslim women are most rampant at the moment. Most of these women are also illiterate.

I would like to write down the last Sermon of Prophet Muhammad concerning our duties as a good Muslim and on how we should treat women.

This sermon was delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul Hijjah 10 A.H. in the 'Uranah valley of Mount Arafat' (in Mecca).

After praising, and thanking God the Prophet (s.a.w) said:

"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. God has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. God has judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn 'Abd'al Muttalib (Prophet's uncle) shall henceforth be waived...

Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under God's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

O People, listen to me in earnest, worship God, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.

Remember, one day you will appear before God and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O God, that I have conveyed your message to your people".

Imagine if we are physically fit, beautiful to look at even though we are covered from head to toe, with iman and good faith in our heart, spreading goodwill to everyone around us, muslims and non-muslims alike. I'm sure everybody will benefit from our presence. Just like Ferrero Rocher !

Delicious!

Reminder

Work, work, work. There is so much to be done. I'm not complaining because by being busy I don't have the spare time to chit chat! At the beginning, the chit chat was not supposed to be harmful but after sometimes it became out of control.

These are a few guidelines to be observed when we have to talk:

1. Lower our voices

Al-Hujurat :VERSE 2 -

"O you who Believe! Raise not your voices in the presence of Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak loud to one another, lest your deeds may be rendered fruitless, while you perceive not."

Revelation - Narrated Az-Zubayr (radhi allahu anhu): "When a delegation from tribe of Tameem came to the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam), Abu Baqr (radhi allahu anhu) suggested to the Prophet that al-Qa'qaa ibn Ma'bad (radhi allahu anhu) be sent to meet them and Umar ibn Khattab (radhi allahu anhu) suggested that al-Aqra bin Qays (radhi allahu anhu) be sent instead. Abu Baqr was irritated by Umar's counter proposal so he turned to Umar (radhi allahu anhu) and said: "You only said that to contradict me" Umar in turn replied that he did not do it to be contrary. A quarrel aroused and both of them raised their voices to such a level that the Prophet's voice was drowned . Allah then revealed the verse "O you who Believe! Raise not your voices in the presence of Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam)..."

Raising the voice is a sign of bad character, and Islam has abandoned such ill manners. Allah recalls the saying of Luqman (alaihi as-salaam): "Lower your voice, (my son) for verily, the most detestable (hateful) voice is the braying of a donkey." [Soorah Luqmaan (31): 19]

Furthermore, Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) referred the raising of voices as being among the signs of the Last Day and said: "Voices will be raised loud in the masjids and the tribes will be lead by their most sinful members" [At-Tirmidhee]


2. Sins of the mouth

He (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) also said: "The signs of a hypocrite are four and anyone who possesses one of them possesses a characteristic of Nifaaq (hypocrisy) until he abandons it. When he is entrusted he betrays his trust, when he talks he lies, when he makes a promise he breaks it, and when he quarrels he uses foul (bad language) words" [Saheeh al-Bukharee v.1 p.32-33, no. 33, Muslim v.1, p.40, no.111, and Abu Dawood v.3, p.1313, no.4671]


3. Avoid arguments that lead to ill feelings

"It is not allowed for a Muslim to cut off his relations with his Muslim brother for more than three nights by turning away from each other whenever they meet. And the best of them is the one who greets (Salaams) to the other - first." [Saheeh Bukharee v.8, pp.64-65, no.100]


This is a reminder to myself. I need to speak up when there is the necessity and keep quiet while lending my ears at other times. Pray that Allah will give me the courage and hidayah to be a good muslimah.

Mee kari

Aman is at home now. He should be studying for the coming exams, but most of the time I caught him napping. We attended a wedding feast in the afternoon and went shopping afterwards.

For breakfast I cooked 'Mee kari'. Cik tutor told me that her culinary skill has improved. Her close friends and even the landlady's daughters loved her home-made brownies. She would like to try other dishes, so may be she can try this simple but delicious recipe.

Ingredients :

300g mee (blanched in hot water) or boiled spaghetti

A (chicken stock)
1 chicken breast - cut into bite size pieces.
3 cups water

B
6 dried chillies* - soaked in hot water
1 medium onion*
2 clove garlic*
0.5 cm ginger*
1 small packet meat curry powder
50 g ikan bilis*

C
1 cup coconut milk
2 Tablespoon cooking oil
2 lemon grass
salt and sugar

Garnishing :
calamansi lime (limau kasturi)
mint leaves
red chillies
hard-boiled eggs
fish cakes/fish balls - cut into small pieces
1 piece bean-curd - deep fried and cut into pieces.
1 stalk sawi

Method:
1. Simmer chicken pieces in water until cooked.
2. Blend the ingredients marked *
3. Heat the oil in the pot. Saute sliced onions and crushed lemon grass. Saute the blended
ingredients until fragrant. Then add in the curry powder. Stir.
4. When the oil separates, pour in the chicken stock and the chicken pieces. Simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add the fish cake and the fried bean curd pieces.
6. Add coconut milk and the sawi. Put salt and sugar to taste.
7. Served the noodle with halved calamansi lime, sliced red chillies, boiled egg and sliced mint leaves. Pour piping hot sauce over the noodle when it is time to eat.

Busy

Just coming back from mum's house. She was better yesterday than today. May be she had overeaten. Ayah bought some doughnuts for her and it seems she only takes porridge for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I brought along some chicken soup for mum and sambal for ayah.

We are busy training the students for the sports day. It was very tiring but I quite enjoyed it. Wish that I'm younger and more energetic!

Got to finish my school work and tidy up the house. We didn't get any news from Aman the moment he reached Jeddah. I hope he is well and in the best of health. En suami has booked a flight ticket for him from Jeddah. Expected to reach KLIA on Thursday morning, insyaAllah.

Visits

There is a turmoil in Egypt. The evacuation program was slow, as slow as the snail or is it as slow as the tortoise? And to top it all, mum was warded on Chinese New Year.

On Wednesday, ayah called while I was at school and Azhar was having co-curricular activities. He said that Mum was not feeling well since the night before. Ayah called the doctor home and both of them had nothing to eat. We rushed to Tambun, stopping at the pasar malam to buy some food and a bowl of chicken porridge at Giant's Marrybrown.

Mum woke up when we reached the house and ate the porridge. Then she vomitted. She slept after Isya' and she would not eat any food until the next day.

She refused to go to the hospital. I called En doktor and told him on mum's condition.
'If opah hadn't eaten or drunk anything, then you have to bring her to the emergency. She might get dehydrated'.

We spent the night at my parent's home and after zuhur we brought her to the hospital. En doktor was right. She was dehydrated. Further tests showed that she was anaemic and thankfully she only had gastric, not so serious than thought.

Alhamdulillah she was discharged this afternoon after 2 nights at the hospital. I am grateful that my youngest sister, my only brother and my sister who resided in Penang visited mum in the hospital. En doktor also came home with his wife and the 'rombongan' from Kelantan. His parents and sisters-in-law also came to visit mum.

I am really grateful to en suami for his concern. He knew that mum is scared of hospitals, so he brought her to Ipoh Specialist. She had the best care and he gave me the permission to accompany her at nights. Everything happened on 5th February, his 53rd birthday.

Deep inside, I wish that Allah grants us good health and May Allah bless my husband.

My son is in Egypt now.

My son, Aman is in Alexandria. We usually skype in the evening. On 24th January, he told us that he was busy with the video production for the medical society general election. It was supposed to take place on 31st January 2011. I am wondering whether the voting took place as planned.

He briefly mentioned that the Egyptions were going to stage a nationwide protest against the ruling government around midnight. I advised him to stay indoor and study for the coming exams.

Then there were no more messages from him.

On 29th January, he called using a friend's phone, asking us to make a return call . We had a long telephone conversation that night. He was fine and there was a curfew from 4 pm until 8 pm. Food was scarce but he managed to buy some eggs and instant noodles. He mentioned that the police station and the supermarket were burned down. The prisoners escaped and the Malaysian girls lived in fear. Thankfully,the male students took the initiative to escort all the girls to stay at a safer location.

On Monday morning, the crew from Astro Awani came to school. They were very interested to know about the condition of the Malaysian students in Egypt and interviewed us, the four mothers. Our message is clear. Before the condition worsens and the riots escalates, please move our children to a safer country.

From that moment onwards, I called Aman a couple of times. On 31st January, he was able to buy a chicken, considered a luxury now. There were 8 of them in the apartment. I could hear laughters in the background.

'Why are they laughing? Shouldn't you be scared?' I asked Aman.
' Dapat makan ayam, mak.'

Alhamdulillah, I am glad that I can still communicate with Aman. I pray that Allah will ease the hardship of the Egyption people and may Allah grant them a peaceful and blessed life.

Please pray for everyone's safety.