Miss her

Aidilfitri 2012. My sister was preparing the chicken for ayam kerabu in the background. We gave her the honour to taste the dish before it was served.

With  Mak We's daughters-in-law. (Kg Lasah, Sungei Siput, Perak)

 

 

 Al-fatihah to Zainun bt Salleh


She is my father's only sister, so she is my aunt. But we were very close. I could still remember, my siblings and I spent our entire primary school holidays  in the village when we were young. We swam in the river nearby, waited for the durians in the wooden hut during fruit season and ate delicious meals prepared by her. She cooked usual kampung delicacies such as gulai tempoyak, lemak rebung  and of course ayam kerabu. She lived with her youngest son, a religious teacher who also manages the rubber and  oil palm  plantation.
She loved to pay my father a visit. Every fruit season, she would come to Ipoh with sacks of rambutans, durians and freshly made tempoyak. We would miss her dearly. May Allah blessed her.

Cameron Highlands

MARDI station, Cameron Highlands.

Tomorrow I'll be leaving for Cameron Highlands for a two day course. Lepas ni nak packing barang yang perlu dibawa. Musykil juga samada perlu  bawa baju tebal atau tidak sebab program akan berakhir lewat malam. Kalau waktu siang suhu di Cameron tak berapa sejuk .
InsyaAllah  adik nombor tiga yang bertugas di Kolej Matrik Pahang akan balik bercuti ke rumah ayah malam ni.  Adik dan family dari Durban, South Africa akan sampai pada hari Sabtu   untuk menerima anugerah perkhidmatan  lebih 20 tahun dengan  PETRONAS.   Cik Tutor  kol sebab excited nak tahu hadiah apa Pak Cik Azman dapat.
 Tersasul sebut nama cik Tutor ni, rasa  kesian pulak kat dia.  Saya selalu tegaskan ,segala amalan dimulakan dengan niat. Niat ke Sydney untuk panjangkan silaturrahim dengan seorang kenalan dari Indonesia yang mempunyai minat yang sama.  Mafhum hadith jelas menyatakan seseorang  akan dapat segala apa yang dia  niatkan. Ganjaran dunia dan akhirat  akan diberi kepada mereka-mereka yang ikhlas hanya kerana Allah . I hope Cik Tutor will enjoy herself immensely plus her imaan is solidly intact in her heart.
Kena beredar sekarang sebab  malam ni kena tidur awal supaya tak mengantuk bila fetch adik kat Medan Gopeng.

Daddy's girl.

At a wedding in Kampung Lasah, Sungai Siput.

A very precious moment !

 

 

 

Setiap hari saya pulang ke rumah ayah di Tambun. Hanya kami bertiga,  saya , ayah dan emak.I couldn't help much as I always arrive quite late in the evening. Ayah rajin memasak, simple dishes but yummy. Lepas solat isya' berjemaah di surau, ayah pastikan saya makan masakan dia. Mesti kena puji  masak gulai tempoyak atau sambal belacan ayah. Tiada sayur tumis, hanya pucuk mengkudu atau sirih kadok rebus, ulam raja atau ulam temu. Makan dengan sambal belacan atau sambal tempoyak. Pada hari Rabu, saya singgah di pasar malam. Beli laksam untuk ayah dan nasi kerabu untuk mak. Kalau rajin, goreng pisang untuk supper. Yang bestnya setiap Isnin dan Khamis, kami bangun sahur sama-sama. Alhamdulillah, ayah dan mak selalu puasa sunat. Sebelum subuh, sudah menjadi rutin saya untuk tolong angkat sebaldi nasi campur bijian gandum ke dalam kereta ayah.  After  subuh prayer,  ayah will feed the birds!

Seronok dapat attention dari kedua mak ayah. Tenang dan mendamaikan. Moga Allah beri mereka kesihatan yang baik supaya mereka dapat terus  beramal.

Work

   Class 2 Isa (2011)

                                                
It is indeed a nice feeling every time I go to school at Taman Rapat Indah, Ipoh. The place where all my children  and thousands others have  had their primary education. They were taught A, B, Cs and alif, ba taa's by a number  of dedicated teachers . They performed their zuhur prayer under the teachers' guidance before returning home and read the Quran fluently. Everyone is required to memorise the surahs from the holy book.

I don't have the opportunity to teach the level 1 pupils, but the sight of them brings  me a lot of joy.  Alhamdulillah, I've taught in SRAH  for more than twenty years now. All my children have left school and I dedicate my time to provide the best to  the others so that they will  be  better equipped to face the challenges of life.

Actually, I am also learning to be a better person. Yesterday, at a meeting, the management made it clear to us that we are free to offer Dhuha prayers in the morning and  reading maathurat is compulsory. He also stressed that we can recite al-Quran as much as we like during our free time in school.   His target : Everyone should read 1 juz a day!

This is my favourite photo of my mum and my lovely daughter Khadijah during our umrah trip last July. By Allah's will we spent two weeks of blissful moment in Mecca and Madinah. It was really unexpected as we never planned it. Dijah asked me if I would like to accompany her and I asked my mum if she would like to join us. The rest is Allah's mercy!

It was mid-semester break in March 2011 and my mum was lying down at home after a major operation.  A few weeks back we sent her for treatment at KPJ hospital  where she was warded for 3 days for severe stomach pain. After she got home, she was still in pain. My son suggested that we went to the Emergency Dept at Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital and  a few days later she had an operation. She recovered well and  I am really glad that she was strong  enough to perform umrah with us. While in the holy cities, she woke up as early as half past two in  the morning!

Congratulations to thousands of Malaysians who are chosen by Allah to be His guests to perform Hajj  this year. It is indeed an honour and let's pray hard  so that one day we will be in Mecca and Madinah once again.

Wishes

Two days of brain storming in Klang .
 What do we want? How to get it ? Did you get it?

Life in this world is not eternal. Earlier in life we spent our life studying, then get good fulfilling job, got married, have children and the cycle goes on. How nice if all of us especially muslims can add another dimension to what we normally do.

As we seek knowledge, we should also share the knowledge that we have to others. Then it becomes 'good deeds' as more people benefit the knowledge that we've passed on. Teaching 1,2,3 to toddlers ,  seems trivial but imagine the reward  if the toddler grows up to be a great economist.

Before we set off to work,  make sure our intention is solely for the sake of Allah and make do'a  so that Allah ease our dealings for the day.

If you plan to get married, make sure that it is solely to seek the pleasure of Allah and both you and your partner will be obedient servants of Allah. Your goal is to be together even in Jannah.

Strive to make sure your children will be better than you; teach them to be good obedient children, have impeccable manners, be active muslim da'i, love going to the mosque and generous to others.The more they spend in the path of Allah, the more rewards will be bestowed.

There's still time insyaAllah. Strive to be the BEST to get the BEST!

Missing them

Assalamualaikum.

2 weeks of togetherness. Not during the flight  from KL to Abu Dhabi though. There was a commotion when the families tried to exchange seats in the plane. Even though we were placed a few seats apart from one another, I could still keep an eye on Dijah and my mum. Luckily, the seat arrangement from Abu Dhabi to Jeddah was better and everyone was happy.

We were quiet all along the bus trip from Jeddah to Madinah. There wasn't much traffic on the highway and only a bush or two in sight all along the journey. When the Mutawif showed us the minarets of Nabawi mosque, I couldn't help it, but shed tears of gratefulness for at last I was there. We rushed to check in Mubarak Madinah hotel and got ready for  prayer. Our hotel was only 100m away from Uthman Affan gate, so we often got back to the hotel for meals and short naps.

Kerol joined us the next day. He shouted 'Mak!' in front of the hotel amidst the crowd who had just returned from Zuhur prayer. He made fast friends with the other families. We offered him to sleep with us  since his hotel was further away. With his arrival, mum was able to haggle with the shopkeepers. He spoke fluent arabic, much to our delight!

Madinah and Mecca are the holy lands  for the muslims. Allah counts our  deeds. Fortunately, Dijah and I are open enough to discuss things and on our second day in Madinah, Dijah told me; ' Mak, if I did anything wrong please don't be mad with me.'  I hugged her and told her that I really appreciate the sacrifices that Dijah and her brothers  did for me. Kerol's 24 hour trip to Madinah from Jordan, Dijah being with us every single minute and her little brother taking care of my father. Not to mention the du'as from Halim and Aman that make our trip so much easier. My prayer is that, Allah will grant us good health, time and apportunity to visit these holy lands as a family, Ameen.

Your Mother

Just coming back from KLIA. Took a day off to  send Cik tutor to the airport. Both of us were still tired from our 2 week umrah trip. She's proved herself to be an obedient and reliable daughter and grand-daughter in Mecca and Medina. There were numerous   times when  unfavourable incident  happened , we discussed it calmly and  thankfully almighty Allah grant us so much happiness in the end.  May Allah reward her immensely.

She is in her late twenties, her grandma is 71 and I celebrated my 54th birthday yesterday. She could just ignore us and joined the high-spirited young ladies in our group who were always up to something. For example, wearing the black abayas and niqab so that they look like the Arabs and be among the first  to be permitted to enter Raudah. Malaysian and Indonesian ladies were always granted last, but we never complained because we knew it was for our own good.

We will never forget our first experience to pray in Raudah. We waited as early as 6 am, and when it was our turn  to enter Raudah, we still cannot pray in peace. We'd never give up though, and we planned our next strategy.  After fardhu prayer each day we will hug and forgive one another and both of us will hold my mum's  arms and lead her into Raudah. When she was safe on the green carpet, then only we would proceed to pray. It was indeed a blessing from Allah, when both of us can pray uninterrupted for as long as we like.

I cried my hearts out on the perfumed carpet of Raudah when I realised that this is the reward from Allah.
We always read this hadith, but in Raudah I truly know what it meant. 

Narrated Abu Huraira: A man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Who is more entitled to be treated with the best companionship by me?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man said. "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man further said, "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked for the fourth time, "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your father. "

For those out there who still  have the luxury of having their mothers around, please love them whole-heartedly without conditions. I know most mums are hard to be pleased but it is our duty to be good to them. If the reward in this world has already brought us joy, then I can't imagine what greater rewards that Allah would bestow on us in the hereafter if we are kind to our parents.

Allah loves us

Alhamdulillah, just finished packing. The house is a little bit in order; rubbish out, laundry done, dishes put away in the cabinet. I hope the trip will be a smooth one and  my concern  is attaining Allah's pleasure in whatever deeds I am doing. My mum and Dijah will accompany me. Or is it the other way round. It was cik tutor's plan all along. She 's been trying hard to make the trip since last year. Then she met this lovely lady who organised holiday and umrah packages.She joined in and  I volunteered myself to accompany her . Out of respect we mentioned it to my mum. Of course mum was so glad that we asked. Fortunately, it coincides with Kerol's semester break, so he'll joined us a day after our arrival in Madinah, insyaAllah.

I know we have to devote ourselves entirely to Allah. A month earlier Cik tutor's purse was stolen. I was in Putra Hotel waiting for my sister after a one day meeting there. In between tears she called and told me about the incident.
I asked her to make a police report, block the credit cards , and be patient with the mishap.

Two weeks later my handbag was stolen. Luckily there wasn't much cash but I took one whole day to renew my ic, driver's licence, atm cards and doctor's appointment card  with the help of en suami who happened to be home at that time. I asked cik tutor to be patient and now I have to eat my own words!

En suami told me; when the sahabahs migrated to Madinah from Mekah, they left every worldly things behind; their businesses, dwellings, farms  and even loved ones. So what the people took from us is incomparable to the sacrifices made by the sahabahs. In fact, when people heard about cik tutor's fate, they purposely came to see her and made du'a for her.  Alhamdulillah, lesson learnt! May Allah grant us His blessings.

Lastly, I hope all my friends and the people who stop by to read my blog will forgive me for any mistakes I have done or any harsh words I've written in my blog. Let's pray for Allah's pleasure.

Just coming back from a short course at INTIM.  My days are hectic nowadays. I wonder whether age is catching up with me. There are so many things to be done although I am alone most of the time.  Azhar enrolled in SBPI Gopeng last March so I often sleep at my parents' house, and leave their house shortly after Subuh  for work. Around 2 o'clock I'll be at home, feeding the cats and doing the laundry.

I know, I can be more productive. I love cooking but I'm hopeless in keeping my house in order. I'm glad Cik tutor and Azhar are at home now. If only I can hide the laptops somewhere......

Ringtone

I let my phone rings longer, so please be patient....

Day 2 - 2012

Salam.

Hik,hik.. It has been quite a long time. I didn't manage my time well, that I missed updating my blog. Dijah insisted that I keep on writing ; may be on excerpts of the books I've read, on talks that I've attended or anything at all. We talked on the phone almost everyday so I'm sure she never misses us.

Alhamdulillah, Allah's blessings are always with us. Don't get me wrong, there are shortcomings here and there but I wouldn't complain. My son is posted to Selangor so he is reunited with his family (Cik Hanim and Humairah!) . Dijah is happier and Azhar is focused in his studies. En suami is still in Pilah so I have lots of spare time during weekdays to concentrate on my work. This year I intend to work smart rather than work hard, so it involves lots of planning and group discussions . I really hope, 2012 will be much better.

My new year resolution..... I am going to be positive and talk of happy things.

Day 2 - Meaning behind your blog name. (Boleh ke skip day 1?)
Sakinah, mawaddah wa rahmah - partly copied from UstaZ Haji Mohd Nawi.

Firman Allah yang bermaksud: “Dan di antara tanda-tanda kebesaran Allah itu bahawa Dia jadikan bagi kamu pasangan hidup agar kamu mendapatkan ketenangan/kebahagiaan bersamanya. Kemudian Allah ciptakan di antara kamu berdua mawaddah dan rahmah.” (Surah al-Rum, ayat 21)

Alam ini terasa indah kerana Allah menciptakannya berpasang-pasangan. Ada siang, ada pula malam. Ada tempat yang subur, ada pula yang tandus. Ada gunung-ganang yang tinggi tapi ada juga lembah dan lurah yang dalam. Ada lelaki dan ada pula perempuan. Allah menciptakan pasangan untuk manusia agar mereka dapat hidup seiring sejalan, berbahagi suka dan duka serta tetap bersama dalam melayari kehidupan yang penuh dengan onak, duri, dugaan, tentangan dan cabaran demi mencapai satu matlamat mendapatkan keluarga sakinah mardatillah. Menurut Prof Dr Hamka, rahmah lebih tinggi kedudukannya daripada mawaddah sebab ia kasih mesra di antara suami isteri yang bukan lagi berasaskan keinginan syahwat, sebaliknya rasa kasih sayang murni yang tumbuh dari jiwa yang paling dalam sehingga suami isteri merasakan kebahagiaan yang tidak bertepi dan ketenangan yang tidak berbatas. Yang mereka inginkan adalah mengisi hari-hari akhir dengan beribadah dan mendekatkan diri kepada Allah sedekat-dekatnya secara bersama-sama. Mereka juga berusaha memberikan contoh yang baik, teladan dan nasihat kepada anak cucu supaya mereka tidak salah dalam memilih jalan hidup di dunia yang penuh dugaan ini. Inilah hakikat rahmah itu. Allah akan menurunkan rahmah di dalam satu keluarga apabila keluarga berkenaan dibina atas niat mencari keredaan Allah. Oleh sebab itu, di dalam proses membina satu rumah tangga, Rasulullah memberikan bimbingan kepada umat Islam agar memilih pasangan kerana empat prinsip, iaitu kecantikan, keturunan, kekayaan dan agamanya. Akan tetapi Rasulullah memberatkan agar agama menjadi keutamaan. Ada kalanya orang memilih pasangan kerana kecantikan dan kekayaan sehingga mereka lupa bahawa kecantikan dan harta bersifat sementara. Begitu juga dengan keturunan dan nasab tidak selamanya menjamin kebahagiaan. Oleh sebab itulah, Rasulullah s. a. w. menyuruh memilih pasangan kerana agama sebab kekurangan dalam rupa, harta dan nasab atau keturunan akan disempurnakan oleh agama. Wanita yang beragama akan timbul di wajahnya kecantikan yang lahir dari jiwanya dan menyinari segenap tubuhnya, bukan kecantikan palsu yang diselaputi solekan. Wanita yang beragama juga akan melahirkan sifat qana’ah, iaitu berasa cukup dengan yang mereka miliki dan tidak terlalu memaksa diri untuk mencapai sesuatu. Sifat inilah yang dikatakan oleh ahli tasawuf dengan kekayaan yang sebenarnya. Agama pula membezakan seorang manusia dengan manusia yang lain, bukan kerana keturunan dan kedudukan seperti firman Allah yang bermaksud: “Sesungguhnya orang yang paling mulia di sisi Allah adalah orang yang paling takwa”. Oleh itu, keluarga yang dibina atas dasar agama ini akan memiliki matlamat yang jelas. Bagi mereka, hidup di dunia ini hanyalah satu jalan menuju kehidupan akhirat yang abadi sehingga apa pun yang mereka lakukan dalam keluarga itu tidak keluar daripada tujuan asal untuk mencipta keluarga sakinah yang diredai Allah dan berjuang untuk menegakkan agama Allah dalam semua aspek kehidupan mereka.