sakinah, mawaddah, rahmah

Happiness

2011-11-12T14:52:00.002+08:00

Salam. Everyone deserves to be happy. It's in our mind. If we choose to be happy, then the happiness is yours. But if you choose to be grumpy then, no one will be able to help you.

I know of someone who has a dream job, a dream husband, a dream child, supportive well-to-do family but as usual there is a wee bit of imperfection in her life. Out of frustration, she sometimes refuses to go to work. There was tension in the family and everybody was worried. She pulled herself together after an outsider pointed out, how lucky she was.

There are practically solutions to every problems that we faced. We have our parents, brothers, sisters and eventually we have Allah the almighty to help us.

The basic foundation of my happiness is the trust that my husband gives me. Then there are my children. Cik tutor calls almost everyday. I don't mind the sobs and the tears because that's the time she opens up to me. She might look strong to her friends but actually she is lonely in Armidale. Only Allah knows how hard I pray for her well-being. Kerol on the other hand, loves to shower me with his mushy, lovey words. Halim with his funny comments in the facebook which never fail to bring laughter to the household.

The greatest happiness of all is when my children reminded me of my duties.

'I'm proud of you and Ayah. May Allah gives you pahala for every kilometers that you travelled!'
She texted me when we were on our way to Alor Setar from KB. May Allah bless En suami, Dijah, Halim,Aman, Kerol and Aa.

Granddaughter

2011-11-01T10:54:00.002+08:00

This is the picture of my first granddaughter, Amani Humaira bt Abdul Halim. I haven't met her in person yet as en suami and I are busy with our work. We call her Humaira. At the moment she's staying with her maternal grandparents in Kota Bharu. I know she's in safe hands and I'm sure they are looking after her well. We plan to visit them during the festive season this weekend.

Since she is our first grandchild, and also the first niece to a vogue aunt and 3 admiring uncles, we couldn't help it but felt excited with her birth. Eventhough we can't hug, cuddle and kiss her, we can keep track of her progress when her father uploaded her photos and tag us in the facebook. We pray that she'll grow up to be a fine, obedient,solehah young woman just like her adorable aunty Dijah!

Nepal

2011-10-07T20:49:00.004+08:00

I was really busy with work and attending to family matters. It was indeed a happy moment when all my children were able to attend Aman's wedding. The last time we were together, was back in 2006, before Aman left for Egypt to study medicine .

Yesterday morning Aman flew to Cairo with his wife.Both families sent them off at the airport.Aman and I took the bus from Ipoh and on arrival at the airport, a young man hesitatingly approached us.

'You speak English,' he asked Aman. Aman was quite reluctant to answer because he was taught to be careful with strangers.

'We do,' I answered and I asked whether he had any problems.

My motherly instinct was right. The nineteen-year old boy came to Malaysia to find work and after a month of labour in a furniture factory in Ipoh, he was found medically unfit and his visa was terminated.His employer used his hard-earned money to buy him the flight ticket home. He looked lost and unhappy so I asked Aman to buy him some food . We chatted and he told us about himself. He was the eldest in a family of three. In Nepal, he worked as a rafter (carrying people across the river using rafts). I was quite impressed with his command in English and his willingness to find work so far away from home. I asked Aman to make sure that all his documents were in order and consulted the information personnel about his flight which was due the next morning. We departed soon after.

Later that day, while en suami, Aman and I were heading towards the surau,the Nepalese boy approached us, beaming. 'Thank you friend,' he kept saying. He also introduced us to his countrymen who worked in Selangor, whom he met at the airport.I was glad that he was not travelling alone. I wished them luck and to have a safe journey home.

The encounter with the Nepalese boy made me ponder how difficult life can be. To make ends meet, he has to use all his savings to find jobs in our beloved country. Unfortunately, it did not turn out well and he has to resume work as a rafter when he gets home. Maybe, when he has enough money, he would further his studies and his life will be much better after that.

Nice

2011-09-10T18:52:00.006+08:00

There were tears of despair. In between sobs, she confided,'I always treat people nicely, but why are they mean to me.'

Then it struck me. Before I left for UK to study ages ago, my mum wrote a short reminder in my autograph book. The message was short but I never took much notice, until this afternoon.

'Buat baik berpada-pada, buat jahat jangan sekali,' she wrote.

Actually,you can be nice to people, but please make sure that the people that you are nice to are nice! There shouldn't be any hidden motives for being nice to other people; in other words be nice sincerely. Allah knows what's in our hearts and for every good deeds that you've done, Allah would give you great rewards.

I don't know the statistics of bad people versus nice people. But I'm really sure that nice people outnumber bad people. We need to be careful when getting acquainted with a new person; not to reveal too much about ourselves and always be nice to your own self before you are good to others!

I always refer to the seerah of the prophet whenever I came across a problem. Read this touching story about Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) and realise how patient and noble he was during his lifetime.

In the corner of the marketplace of Madinah, was a blind Jewish beggar, who would cry out daily to all those who came near him, "O my brothers, don't be near Muhammad! He's a lunatic, he's a liar, a sorcerer! If you are to be close to him, you will be influenced by him!"

No matter whoever approached him, the blind Jewish beggar will definitely not waste his chance to incite them to hate the Prophet Muhammad, Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam (peace be upon him).

All kinds of curses would spew forth from the beggar's mouth even though he had never known the Prophet personally!

The news about the blind Jewish beggar's daily cursing and badmouthing him came to the knowledge of the Prophet (pbuh).

Even then, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did not get angry and he ignored the blind Jewish beggar's insults against himself!

On the contrary, from that day onwards, at each morning, the Prophet (pbuh) visited the blind beggar and brought food for him!

Without saying a single word, the Blessed Messenger (pbuh) would feed the beggar with his own hand!

The blind beggar would chew the food being fed to him and eat contentedly. Once he was full, he'd express his gratitude without knowing that the one who had fed him was the Holy Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (pbuh).

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) continued to feed the blind beggar without fail each day till the day he died! Throughout his service to the blind beggar, he never revealed his identity to the blind Jewish beggar.

After the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had passed away, no one brought food to the blind beggar anymore.

The blind Jewish beggar waited daily and was perplexed as to why the kind man did no longer come to feed him and provide for him as he had done all this while. The blind beggar waited in vain for the kind gentleman who had fed him。

One day, the closest Companion of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), Saiyidina Abu Bakar As Siddiq @ The Truthful One, Radhiallahu Anhu (May Allah be pleased with him) visited the home of his daughter, Saiyidatina Aishah, Radhiallahu Anha (May Allah be pleased with her), the widow of the Blessed Messenger (SAW).

Abu Bakar asked Aishah, "O my child, is there any habit of my beloved (Prophet) that I have yet to carry on?"

Aisyah replied, "Dear Father, you are verily a follower of the Sunnah (Habits) of the Prophet and there is none that you have yet to do except for one deed only!"

"What is that?" asked Abu Bakar.

"Every morning, the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) will go to the end of the marketplace, bringing food to a blind old Jewish beggar who lives there and feed him by his hand," said Aishah.

The next day, Abu Bakar As Siddiq went to the marketplace with food for the blind beggar. Abu Bakar As Siddiq approached the beggar and started to feed him.

At the first handfull of food being fed to him, the blind Jewish beggar became angry and shouted out, "Who are you?"

Abu Bakar answered, "I am the one who usually feeds you every morning".

"No! Don't you lie to me!" objected the blind beggar.

Abu Bakar was shocked, thus he asked, "Why do you say so?"

The blind Jewish beggar answered, "Because when he comes to me, I always felt it easy to hold his hand and found it easy to chew the food he fed me! The man who used to feed me would make the food fine before feeding it to me!"

Abu Bakar As Siddiq could not hold back his tears anymore and he burst out crying and had to disclose who he actually was to the beggar.

"Verily, I am not the one who used to come and feed you. I am one of his Companions for the noble one is alive no more! He was none other than the Blessed Prophet of Allah, Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam!"

"Muhammad?" asked the blind old Jewish beggar, totally shocked with what he had just heard.

"You mean to tell me that the one who came each morning without fail and fed me by his hand was Muhammad?" asked the beggar."Yes! It was Muhammad!" answered Abu Bakar.

Immediately, the blind old Jewish beggar wailed out in despair and cried so pitifully coming to realise that it was none other than the Holy Prophet (pbuh) who had been feeding him all this while.

"All this while!... all this while, I had been cursing him, I had been slandering him! Not once has he ever scolded me! He kept coming every morning to feed me! He is so noble!.." cried the old blind Jewish beggar as he wiped away his flowing tears on his cheeks.

The blind beggar reached out to Saiyidina Abu Bakar As Siddiq, the first Caliph of the Muslims and testified before him the Kalimah Shahadah

Happy Eid

2011-08-30T12:23:00.003+08:00

This year all my sisters and brother plus their families celebrate raya at their in-laws. En doktor and his in-laws will be in Ipoh on the third day of raya so we decided to keep mak and ayah company. Glad that we came up with that decision because there are lots to be done on raya's eve. Alhamdulillah Aman and Azhar were forever willing to help with the preparation : hanging the curtains, washing the dishes, laying the carpets, peeling the onions , preparing the drinks, and of course serving the guests.

So, this will be the last raya for Aman as a single man. I hope he'll be a good son-in-law. As a son, I couldn't wish for a better one. In fact all my children are very nice, pleasant to be with, obedient and they have lots of good sense of humor. They are very dedicated with their work or studies and have great respect to the elderly. I wish that they remain humble and that success will not get on their heads.

Dijah is celebrating raya in Uruguay. Well, not really celebrating but she is doing her work there. At least in Aussie, she is part of the Islamic community, so she can join in the Eid prayers and other activities. Being in Latin America at this time of the year is a once in a lifetime experience. I hope she'll enjoy the trip and gain lots of knowledge and experience. I'm glad that she tried her best to keep in touch, and kept us informed of her whereabouts. The conference in Buenos Aires, the trip to the Iguazu Falls and another working trip to Uruguay kept her busy most of the time. I hope the experience will enrich her life and open her eyes to Allah's wonderful creation.

Personally, I am already looking forward to next year's holy month of Ramadan. I hope Allah will be pleased with me and my family.

Student's Pencil

2011-08-27T09:20:00.002+08:00

It was the last day of school before the festive holidays. I was quite impressed by the tazkirah given by my ex-student (UPSR 2000) during the closing ceremony of Semarak Ramadan Program.

It was about a pencil. He asked the students to be like a pencil!

1. A pencil is idle without a hand to guide it. There must be a steady hand to hold it and guide it to write something useful. Everybody needs parents, teachers and also Allah to guide us through our lives. We will live a blessed life if we have our elders to share their wisdom with us.

2. Imagine, you are the pencil and the white paper is your life! Before you write anything down, we must bear in mind that it will leave a lasting mark on the paper even after you erase it. If you do something good then it will leave a remarkable effect that will bring cheers to others . But if you unintentionally do something wrong, then erase it at once and vow never to repeat the same mistake. Pray that Allah will forgive you and move on with your life.

3. As you use your pencil, the pencil lead will get shorter and you need to sharpen it to maximise the effectiveness of your writing. The same goes with our lives. We need to sharpen our mind and our soul by reading more books, perform daily prayers, reading al-Quran and listen to advices from our parents. It was quite funny when Adzwan told the students that they need to sharpen themselves. 'Hah! asah' exclaimed the Year One students who were seated in the front rows!

4. Lastly, people might be drawn to the colourful wooden outside of the pencil, but what is the most important is whether it writes clear enough. The same goes to us. Our inside should be more important that our appearance. Of course we have to look nice and be presentable but at the same time ,we have to nurture our hearts to be sincere in everything we do.

Thanks to Adzwan for the talk. He'll be a pharmacist with a bright future insyaAllah!

Convinced!

2011-08-21T12:42:00.003+08:00

Everybody has problems but the way people react to the problems make a lot of difference. As a muslim I believe and I pray that Allah will only give me problems that I can cope with. Without any difficulties in life, my faith is not tested. Some people might talk about the problem for hours, others might keep it to themselves. Others prefer to wake in the middle of the night and 'talk' it out will Allah the Lord of the universe.

Alhamdulillah, problems come and go and I am glad I am still standing tall. I hope Allah will give me the strength to face the adversities of life and Allah is pleased with my effort.

One of my favourite dishes during breaking fast is the dessert, traditional or western. I came across a recipe on bread pudding and it seems my family love it very much. The original recipe is very rich which calls for 9 egg yolks and 2 cups of cream but for health reasons I use 4 whole eggs and 1/2 cup of cream instead.

Bread pudding

raisins - soak in water for 2 hours
12 slices of bread - cut 3 pieces into triangles and the rest into cubes.
100g melted butter
4 eggs
1/2 cup cream
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Method :
1. Soak the triangular pieces of bread in butter and line the baking tin. Use the cubed bread to soak the remaining butter and pile it on top. Sprinkle the raisins.

2. Beat eggs, sugar and milk in a bowl. Add cream, vanilla and beat till the sugar dissolves.

3. Pour the egg mixture on the bread. Let it rest for 2 hours.

4. Bake in the oven until the top is crisp and golden. Serve with custard or just on its own.

NASTA (Tat Nanas Gulung)

2011-08-15T22:56:00.002+08:00

Ingredients for the dough:

250g butter
50 gram powdered sugar (icing)
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg yolks
375 g multi purpose flour
25 gram cornflour

Method :
Cream butter and sugar. Add in the egg yolks. Add in vanilla essence, cornflour and flour gradually. The dough should be soft so that it's easier to press.

Ingredients for the pineapple jam:

2 pineapples - grated coarsely
300g sugar
2cm cinnamon stick

Mix all the ingredients except sugar in a saucepan. Using slow fire, cook until the juice is reduced.
When the jam is thickened, add sugar.

Limited Time

2011-08-14T11:48:00.002+08:00

We were in Tesco the other day. I was surprised to see the price hike of the food items sold there. Really absurd. I was wondering how families with growing up children can afford to make ends meet. Even though there were only Azhar and me, I still cook for berbuka and sahur. I managed to refrain myself from going to bazaar Ramadan ; you know how shopping with empty stomachs feels like. You end up buying food of your choice but you won't be able to consume it due to time restraint!

Usually I will cook 3 dishes; savoury item for the main meal, a vegetable dish and of course I will never forget my favourite, kuih! Ayah was admitted to the hospital on the fourth day of Ramadan because of gout. He loves breaking the fast in the surau. All the seafood and the meat dishes are not good for the gout sufferers. He wasn't able to walk and mum had to call my brother from Bangi to see Ayah. The pain was unbearable that he decided to go to the hospital. Now, I make sure that my parents stay at home and I will bring the home-cooked meals to be eaten with them. After maghrib prayers, we went to the surau for Isya' and tarawih prayers. I always look forward to the tazkirah session after the prayers. Around 11 p.m. we go home to Desa Perwira.

I still remember one of the ustaz telling us that one of the virtues of Al-Quran is its mukjizat. During the time it was revealed, the Quran was highly regarded because of its beautiful kalimahs. Later, even the Europeans used the Quran to draft their country's constitutions and at present, there are many scientific facts being proven by the Quran. So, hold fast to al-Quran and aim to finish reading the whole book during this month of Ramadhan.

Flowers and cats

2011-07-24T19:40:00.005+08:00

Nia and its kitten.

Flowers blooming. Alhamdulillah.

Al-Waqiah 14 times

2011-07-24T17:40:00.002+08:00

Allah gives Barakah and Rahmah and let me keep all the things I love in my life. I appreciate whatever I have had and I cherish them forever and ever.

Ameen

Updates

2011-07-23T13:19:00.002+08:00

Salam. Lama betul tak update.

1. Ada email dialamatkan kepada saya tajuk update. Saya balas lebih kurang begini: Thank you very much for everything you have done to my family. I wish you all the best and this would be my last e-mail to you.
Siap dapat thumbs up!

2. Update kedua tentang kawan-kawan anak yang menemui calon suami melalui facebook. Wow, really cool. Mak cik doakan semoga kalian semua berbahagia ke anak cucu dan hidup di dalam barakah dan rahmah Allah. Adalah diharapkan perkahwinan kalian akan menjadikan anda semua insan yang lebih baik, beriman dan lebih bersemangat! Bercintalah selepas diakad nikahkan. Jalani hidup dengan penuh toleransi dan saling memahami. Mudah-mudahkan proses perkahwinan supaya kehidupan seterusnya akan jadi lebih mudah dan dirahmati Allah.

That's all for today. Nak pegi walimatul urus anak sahabat......

Count Your Blessings

2011-06-22T15:05:00.002+08:00

Life is full of surprises. Life is full of trials and tribulations. Life is not a bed of roses. Roses are beautiful to look at, the fresh sweet aroma of roses never fails to enchant us BUT don't forget the thorns, that can cause us hurt and pain.

Sometimes things happen because Allah loves us dearly. And if we are obedient servants of Allah, with friends and family members who pray for you day and night, then don't despair. The experience will toughen you up and later we'll realise that there is a blessing in disguise to the incident.

Meanwhile, walk with your head held high. Be proud that we are practising Muslims!

Me

2011-06-16T15:19:00.003+08:00

They didn't really care, that's why I survive!

Studying in boarding school was a great privilege to most of us when we were in our teens. Food was fantastic and our daily activity was studying. My sister and I studied in the same boarding school in Kelantan while our family moved back to Ipoh. Every school holidays, we took the long train journey to Ipoh. Mind you, we weren't treated like princesses once we reached home. We still had to wake up very early in the morning, hand washed all the clothes and prepared meals for the family. Our rest was the occasional afternoon naps and watching television before bedtime.

We were required to study hard and ayah would buy any reference books that the school suggested. Mum would cook abundant food to be brought to the hostel. That's the end of the caring relationship. If we were homesick, or had problems with our friends , we have to cope by ourselves,sometimes crying our hearts out in the middle of the nights. No phone calls or even snail mails.

But we survived! Sometimes we wondered, what would become of us if they were a bit more caring. Passing on their wisdom to their teenage daughters in the time of need. How nice if they could make the trip and visit us in the school or the least they could do was gave us a big, bear hug when we reached home. None whatsoever and it left a vacuum in my heart.

There were times when we took turns telling them our stories.... but it fell on deaf ears. That was life!

Without their guiding lights, we moved on and persevered. By experience, we knew that people hate us if we were bossy and arrogant. We lose friends if we don't watch out our mouth and utter hurtful remarks. The more cheerful we are, the more friends we'll have. We needed our friends so we behaved well during our entire stay in the school !

Nostalgic

2011-06-15T20:19:00.004+08:00

It was time for zuhur prayer this afternoon and I got ready to join the students for the congregational prayer in the surau. I entered the washroom and there they were ; cute little girls patiently waiting for their turn to take wudhu'. So young, innocent and naive. They were chattering away and once they were ready, they left the washroom in twos or threes.

Once I got home, I searched for cik tutor's photo taken when she was in Year 1 back in 1989. If I'm not mistaken, the students were getting ready for a day trip organised by the school.

I wish that all the girls will be blessed with glorious future!

Birthday Girl

2011-06-14T19:26:00.004+08:00

Yesterday was my 53rd birthday. Time flies very fast and I try to cherish the day as it comes. No more moping and crying for the past. I will live for today, making sure I start the day by reciting the du'a,reading the holy book and living life to the fullest.

'Hajar! You are so serious. Relax and cheer up a bit. It looks as if you've given up hope on life. Relax... just follow the flow. Things will be fine, I know it will. Have faith'

After thirty years, I haven't change much. I am serious and emotional. I am hopeless in facing problem. Added to that, I dislike discussing my problems with my friends however trustworthy they are. I don't feel like it. Luckily, en suami is a wise man. Only recently,I learn the art of discussing the problem so that at the end of it, it won't create another problem!

This is how I do it. First make sure everyone is happy and contented. If one of you is driving, make sure that there is no traffic jam to cause the outburst of temper. Then, you can start telling your problem in a relax manner. If you are sad and upset, you can shed your tears but do not overdo it. Then wait for the response. Even if the problem is not solved, you will feel better to get it out of your system.

Making assumption is the evil of life. When Kerol decided to make the trip to Armidale, we only booked the return flight tickets. Kerol was stranded at the airport for the day because the train ticket was sold out! To avoid making assumption, do some research and ask around .

Life is always beautiful but short.Be adventurous and live life to the fullest. If ever you face the shortcomings of life, don't despair. Analyse the situation and don't ever take matters in your own hand. Consult the wise man and always look at the bright side of life. You may take a trip and visit friends to lift your spirits up. It is advisable not to expect life to be bed of roses. But if one day, unexpectedly, you were SLEEPING on the bed of roses, then say your praises to Allah and after that please stop complaining!

Armidale

2011-06-12T15:46:00.003+08:00

Kerol is in Armidale, visiting his sister, Cik tutor. He took MAS flight from KLIA to Sydney and off to Armidale by bus.
'How's the weather in Sydney?' I asked.
'Nice,it's cool and refreshing just like being in your room with the air-condition on!'

He is impressed with Armidale. 'I won't mind being the only Malaysian here!The scenery is beautiful.'

Everybody at home misses Cik tutor very much and she misses us too. But we couldn't make the trip just yet because of school and the plane tickets were quite expensive during the holiday season. Instead, we ask kerol to visit her. I really hope she is happy with kerol's company and spend the time well. Kerol brought along packets of malaysian curry powder, instant noodles and small gifts for cik tutor's closest friends. When Kerol's trip is over in a week, and cik tutor's work is almost done, I hope she would take the pleasure of visiting friends in Melbourne or any other cities in the country. I hope that will ease her homesickness and gives her the motivation to finish off her studies.

At home, my mum is recovering well and so does my father, who's had an eye operation about a month ago.
Tomorrow school reopens for the new term. I'll be busy as a bee.

Islam

2011-05-17T18:27:00.008+08:00

By Imam Abdullah El-Amin, MMNS

Quite often I hear from young people in our religion who have many questions about the Qur’an, hadiths, and the application of both to our daily lives. Many are questioning presumed misogynist ideas of some Muslim men. Some are questioning whether the rote rituals are necessary, or if they’re even a part of the religion. Some are even questioning whether it is necessary to be a Muslim at all – or any organized religion for that matter. I’ve heard them say “I’m a good person. I don’t smoke, drink, treat people badly or any such things.” They say that they don’t feel it necessary to pray five times a day, or even perform salat in the traditional way of the Muslims.

They do bring up a point, especially when they point to people who pray five or more times a day, attend the masjid every Jumah prayer, and can quote Qur’an scriptures from memory better than some people can read them from the Book; and, at the same time, be some of the worst people around.

But there are things we need to look at before we try to lessen the importance of organized religion – especially the last and universal perfected religion – Al-Islam.

First of all, human beings have too much responsibility to do it alone. We are the Khalifa. We have the responsibility of overseeing the entire world. But the overseer is not the owner. He just carries out the overseer’s directives.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone did their own thing according to their own mindset? If everyone drove their cars without regard for traffic lights, it would be virtually impossible to get to your destination without being in numerous accidents.

Religious doctrines and directives do pretty much the same thing; just on a higher level. We humans are so complex and have such amazing abilities that nothing, short of reaching ALLAH, is impossible for us. We can fly higher than the birds. Go to the deepest depths of the oceans – and, overcome whatever is living there. So with each one of us possessing so much power, it is easy for us to start believing we are ‘gods,” and you know that’s a problem for there is only One ALLAH.

We need guidance. The opening chapter of the Qur’an, Al Fatiha, is only recognizing the Omnipotence and Omnipresence of ALLAH and asking Him for guidance. The next chapter starts off telling you it’s Al Qur’an that has the guidance and also tells you those that will receive that guidance. If you lived your life without Divine guidance, you would do things like commit adultery just because you “feel” like it. But we all know it is one of the major sins and causes untold heartache in the individual, the couple, their families, the community, and the entire society. Lower animals can indulge, but they do not have human sensibilities and human consciousness, or human responsibility.

Make no mistake about it; religion is necessary for human beings. The Law, guidance, and Wisdom help keep us on the sensible, straight path. Prophet David (as) says in scripture, “Oh how I love the Law as it keeps me pure and whole.”

The rituals of salat are important for us. Salat 5 times a day gives us discipline which is necessary for an orderly life. To submit yourself to ALLAH when you may not feel like it, lets ALLAH occupy the highest levels of your consciousness.

ALLAH is so merciful that just consciously following His directives gets you 10 times the reward for that good deed. Just refusing to do wrong gets you the benefit of consciously doing one good deed.

The trick in getting the benefits of following this organized religion is to first, believe. Then apply the plain, simple instructions to your life. You cannot fail. ALLAH says so.

With ALLAH’S name, the Merciful Benefactor, Merciful Redeemer

As Salaam alaikum
(Al Hajj) Imam Abdullah Bey El-Amin

I'm Yours

2011-05-16T20:02:00.003+08:00

Last Friday evening we were on our way to my parent's house. We stopped at Giant supermarket to buy some snacks and orange juice.

We were strolling passed the Mexican bun stall and an area with lots of exercise equipment in the supermarket when Azhar stopped me and whispered.
'Lagu Am!'
'What? Here?' I didn't believe him at first.

We turned back and voila, it was indeed Amri's familiar voice singing ,I'm yours in Malay.

They use it as a background music for their exercise machine.

It was indeed a nice surprise. Imagine getting acquainted with a would-be famous artist. We were giggling all the way home. Really made our day!

Phd

2011-05-14T14:50:00.005+08:00

Her facebook status told me that she was facing problems with her experiments. That was about a fortnight ago. Later in the day, the phone rang. There were no cheerful salams or hellos, instead I heard cries of despair on the other side.
' I want to go home.' she told me in between sobs.
' Just tell me when , and I'll tell Ayah to book the tickets.' I assured her.
Those were the only conversations that we've had and she hung up 15 minutes later.

It's tough being in her position. Practically alone with no Malaysian community. Luckily, she makes a few friends who are kind enough to accompany her when they are not occupied with work.The landlord's children are nice and friendly and their cats are always at her doorstep. Every Sundays, if time permits, she teaches Quran to the Muslim children. She loves the stress of teaching the boisterous children.

I know she is not the only one. There are thousand others who are pursuing further studies and as mothers , we hope we can provide words of comfort to ease the difficult situation. I did the same thing to Aman when there was an unrest in Egypt a few months ago. Mind the telephone bills and the long hours. I am glad she reached out and called home.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; that's my advice. Treat people with respect and dignity and they will treat you the same. Be strong and confident. If the going gets tough, turn to Allah and if you wish someone to talk to, I will always be there.

Yesterday was a different story. I called and she was bubbling with excitement.
'Mak, can you call me only once a month.'

No, I can't and I wouldn't. I will miss you terribly!

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T11:34:00.004+08:00

To someone, somewhere whom I respect and adore, for the things that he does sincerely from his heart.

As born Muslims, we always take things for granted, the presence of our beloved parents , for instance.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.2 Narrated by Abu Huraira

A man came to Prophet Muhammad 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."

We are taught that a Muslim should respect and appreciate his or her parents every day throughout the year. In the Qur'an, appreciation and treatment of parents is described beautifully in Surah Al-Isra in which Allah (swt) says, "Your Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness lower to them the wing of humility and say: 'My Lord! Bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.'" (Quran 17:23-24)

It was indeed a thoughtful gesture when someone would spend his entire holidays looking after his parents , being there when they need him and sharing light moments together.After all, the love is mutual and you will always be mummy's darling boy. It's not how much worldly goods you are giving them, but in the end it's your presence that counts.

I have seen a lot of people who find reasons to shun away from their parents. I guess we have to be constantly reminded on our duties towards our parents. If the nice guy mentioned above, can do it brilliantly, all by himself, juggling work and taking care of his beloved parents at the same time, then we should be really ashamed of ourselves.

Last Sunday was Mother's Day. I saw a steady stream of customers in the mall and restaurants. Everyone was trying their best to entertain their mothers on that day. Then, suddenly I think of you. Your mum must be the luckiest mother in the world because with you by her side, everyday is MOTHER'S day to her.

Appreciate

2011-05-05T20:13:00.003+08:00

Mum is away in Bangi at my brother's house. My brother came home to Ipoh and accompanied her for the hospital check up. Next week, my third sister and en doktor would come home to visit mum.

As usual Azhar and I would spend the night at my parent's house. Every morning, before I leave for school, I use to cook rice porridge, fish and vegetable soup for mum. Tomorrow I hope I can cook much flavorful food for ayah.

When a member of your family whom you love and respect very much, is inflicted with illness,you feel helpless, demotivated and cheerless. Actually, there are so many good things happening and occasions to look forward to: Aman asking the permission to get married, en doktor might be expecting twins, new TV at home, Kerol coming home for the holidays and the joy of teaching well-behaved children in school.But my main concern now,is my mum's health. I would do anything to make her comfortable and happy. I just hope that Allah gives her the strength and patience to face the uncertainties of life..

Alhamdulillah, I have the support of my brother and sisters, even though they live in other states. En suami is adorable, always providing mum with the best honey he could find.I really appreciate it when en suami drives straight from Pilah to my parent's house and without fail spend the night there. My children would once in a while call their Opah and cheer her up. Only Allah knows, how happy mum is being surrounded by lovely people like YOU.

Masak Lodeh

2011-04-24T11:26:00.004+08:00

Bahan-bahan ( 4 orang )

Bahan yg dikisar halus * :-
*5 tangkai cili kering - Opah guna cili besar merah tumbuk dgn belacan sikit.
*1/2 biji bawang besar
*1 ulas bawang putih
sedikit kunyit serbuk
*1 sudu udang kering
*1 sudu ikan bilis

*1 sk jintan kasar - digoreng tanpa minyak
1 batang serai - dititik

1/4 jari lengkuas - diketuk
100 g udang hidup yg dikupas kulit
Bahan sayur di potong kecil ikut cara masing2 :-
1/4 biji kobis
4 batang kacang panjang
1 batang lobak merah

1 biji terung panjang
1 keping tahu kering (fucok)- rendam

2 keping tauhu - di potong kecil dan goreng
2 keping tempe - dipotong dan digoreng
1 ikat su'un - direndam
lada merah dan hijau - dipotong serong
1 ltr santan pekat dan cair - drpd 1 biji kelapa
air secukupnya
garam secukup rasa
2 sudu besar minyak utk menumis

Cara-cara

1. Panaskan minyak dlm periuk dan tumis bahan2 kisar dan serai hingga wangi.Masukkan udang dan tumis lagi dan masukkan santan,lengkuas dan masak hingga mendidih.
2. Masukkan sayur2an bermula dgn yg keras dulu dan tambah air secukupnya hingga sayur tenggelam. Bubuh garam secukup rasa dan masak lagi hingga mendidih dan sayur lembut.Masukkan soun, tempe dan tauhu.
Hidang sayur lodeh dgn lontong,ketupat atau nasi himpit dan juga sambal tumis dan serunding. Atau makan dengan nasi.

Syukur

2011-04-11T17:59:00.003+08:00

There are so many things I want in life. Am I selfish? Greedy perhaps? Fortunately, I kept the wishes to myself.

In the early hours of the morning, the moment I woke up from sleep, silently I made the request.
When it rained heavily, I stopped doing my chores and contemplate on my many wishes.
On Fridays, after sending Azhar off to the mosque, I spend my free time asking for favours.

I should be grateful with everything I have. Thankful and grateful.I'm thankful that I can make a difference to a little boy's life.
I'm thankful that I am around to look after my parents.
I'm grateful to Allah for giving me the most loving and understanding husband..
I'm grateful for the amazing children, lovely friends, and everything!

Alhamdulillah..

New Routine

2011-04-10T09:31:00.003+08:00

Salam. Staying at mum's house is a bliss. Actually, I am in a state of denial. There are loads of things to do. By staying at mum's place , I have reasons to dilly-dallying.

Next Friday, my colleagues and I are off to Pulau Pangkor for a short course.To be followed by Mum's hospital appointment. There are also loads of work to do in school ; PTA meeting is just round the corner, lessons to be completed, books to be marked and students' test results to be analysed.

Personally, I have started on a healthier diet ; lots of vegetables and fruit and try to cut on rice.Azhar accompanies me to the park for brisk walks and I hope I'll be able to do it every day.

Spiritually, I read al-Waqiah as well as 5 pages of al-Quran everyday , fast every Mondays, recite al-maathurat every morning and due to time constraint I haven't been able to offer dhuha prayers as much as I hope to.

Still struggling to be a better person, insyaallah.

Children

2011-04-09T20:27:00.003+08:00

Khairul called just now. He's sitting for his exams soon and he's bought the ticket to fly home this coming June.
"Don't you worry about me. I'm fit and healthy. I studied hard for the exams and all my friends are good to me" he assured me time and again.

My children are always in my thoughts.They are an amazing lot so I shouldn't worry much about them. They are thoughtful, generous, kind, friendly ; the type of people that will draw them many friends.

But a mother's main concern is their children. Eventhough, they are thousands of miles away from me, I couldn't stop thinking about them.

Do they eat proper food?
How do they cope with the studies and everyday life?
How do they manage financially?
Do they behave well ?

Khairul sums it up nicely. "Mak sempoi. You trust us, and your only wish is to be able to follow our progress closely."

So, thank you very much to Cik Tutor who calls and SMS's almost everyday to update on her well-being, Aman who skypes almost every night and kerol whose blog really cheers me up. En doktor is a bit busy nowadays caring for his expectant wife. He calls occasionally, so no hard feelings! Just take good care of Cik Hanim and make sure she eats nutrituous food and has enough rest.

Physically, we are far apart.But, remember, you are all close in my heart. If you need someone to talk to, I will always be there. Muahs!

Morning Talk

2011-04-09T12:12:00.003+08:00

Salam. While driving to the market this morning, I heard a motivational talk in the radio. An audience asked about a problem concerning her sister. Her sister(graduated from Dublin),now a houseman in a local hospital felt that she was being bullied by the medical officers. She was unhappy and decided to quit.

I would like to share what the speaker, an opthalmologist with 25 years experience, told the audience.
1. Whenever you feel down, you must always remember you are the BEST to have reached this far in life.You cannot afford to waste years of your life just because someone treated you badly in your 1 year of service.

2. Those medical officers who like to bully people around, are the ungrateful lot. As a medical specialist who have taught hundreds of doctors, she mentioned that she is not happy if these doctors turn out to be arrogant and selfish.

3. Appreciate people that you meet. Think good of other people and always treat people kindly. To do so you must have a good relationship with Allah.

That's all. Actually there are lots more. Thank you.

Hoping

2011-04-03T06:14:00.003+08:00

These couple of weeks Azhar and I spent the nights at my parent's house in Tambun. Yesterday, my third sister, Zie from Sungai Petani came home to look after mum. So, here I am, updating my blog after a long silence.

Mum was wrongly diagnosed by the doctors. The GP at the clinic told her, she only had gastritis. When we admitted her for 2 days at KPJ hospital and after a few tests were done, she was given gastric medicine and discharged. She was better for a few days and then the pain got worse, and we brought her to the emergency unit at Ipoh general hospital (HRPB). She was dehydrated and after a night at the temporary ward, she was discharged.

When she was not better, en doktor suggested that we go to HRPB again. To our relief, the doctor found the source of the problem. She had an operation two weeks ago and is recovering at home now.

I am glad that all my sisters except for Ros who lived in Durban SA, took turns in looking after my mum during the weekends. On weekdays, Azhar and ayah help me to make mum comfortable and prepare her favourite food.

So many things happened in this short span of time. Aman flew to Egypt to resume his study, mum had an operation and an uncertain event that kept us guessing. It makes me turn to Allah forever more, hoping for His blessings and guidance. I hope everything will be fine, soon, InsyaAllah.

Daughters

2011-03-06T14:19:00.004+08:00

Last week I visited my close friend, Puan Nurhaya, who stayed just a stone's throw away from my house. Her daughter Syahidah had just given birth to baby girl about a month ago.

' Remember this baby cot' she asked me. The new baby was sleeping soundly in it.

'Is it Syahidah's cot?' I recognised it since I bought the same cot for cik tutor about thirty years ago.

Time flies very fast. Puan Nurhaya is a grandmother to two grandchildren now. The first grandchild was born in Perth . Syahidah is a pharmacist working in Sungai Buluh hospital. I have photos of syahida and cik tutor when they were little. Cik tutor was one year old and syahidah is 6 months younger. Our families shared a flat when we were students and cik tutor loved to pay them a visit.

kenangan lalu hik!

2011-03-03T20:32:00.000+08:00

Pada suatu pagi di satu sekolah menengah, ada seorang pelajar bertanya pada seorang guru yang sedang mengajar. Ketika itu, guru tersebut sedang menyentuh mengenai kasih dan sayang secara am.

Dialog di antara pelajar dan guru tersebut berbunyi begini :

Pelajar : Cikgu, macam mana kita nak pilih seseorang yang terbaik sebagai orang paling kita sayang? Macam mana juga kasih sayang itu nak berkekalan?

Cikgu : Oh, awak nak tahu ke? Emmm... baiklah, sekarang kamu buat apa yang saya suruh. Ikut je ye... mungkin kamu akan dapat apa jawapannya.

Pelajar : Baiklah... apa yang saya harus buat?

Cikgu : Kamu pergi ke padang sekolah yang berada di luar kelas sekarang juga. Kamu berjalan di atas rumput di situ dan sambil memandang rumput di depan kamu, pilih mana yang paling cantik tanpa menoleh ke belakang lagi walaupun sekali. Dan kamu petiklah rumput yang paling cantik yang berada di depan kamu tersebut dan selepas itu bawa balik ke kelas.

Pelajar : Ok. Saya pergi sekarang dan buat apa yang cikgu suruh. Apabila pelajar tersebut balik semula ke kelas, tiada pun rumput yang berada di tangannya. Maka cikgu pun bertanya kepada pelajar tersebut.

Cikgu : Mana rumput yang cikgu suruh petik?

Pelajar : Oh, tadi saya berjalan di atas rumput dan sambil memandang rumput yang berada di situ, saya carilah rumput yang paling cantik. Memang ada banyak yang cantik tapi cikgu kata petik yang paling cantik maka saya pun terus berjalan ke depan sambil mencari yang paling cantik tanpa menoleh ke belakang lagi. Tapi sampai di penghujung padang , saya tak jumpa pun yang paling cantik. Mungkin ada di antara yang di belakang saya sebelum itu tapi dah cikgu cakap tak boleh menoleh ke belakang semula, jadi tiadalah rumput yang saya boleh petik.

Cikgu : Ya, itulah jawapannya. Maknanya, apabila kita telah berjumpa dengan seseorang yang kita sayang, janganlah kita hendak mencari lagi yang lebih baik daripada itu. Kita patut hargai orang yang berada di depan kita sebaik-baiknya. Janganlah kita menoleh ke belakang lagi kerana yang berlaku tetap dah berlaku. Dan semoga yang berlalu tidak lagi berulang. Jika kita berselisih faham dengan orang yang kita sayang itu, kita boleh perbetulkan keadaan dan cuba teruskan perhubungan tersebut walaupun banyak perkara yang menggugat perhubungan tersebut. Dan ingatlah orang yang kita sayang itulah kita jumpa paling cantik dan paling baik pada mulanya walaupun nak ikutkan banyak lagi yang cantik dan baik seperti rumput tadi. Kecualilah jika perhubungan tersebut tak boleh diselamatkan lagi, maka barulah kita mulakan sekali lagi. Maka sayangilah orang yang berada di depan kita dengan tulus dan ikhlas.

Maka, bersyukurlah dengan kasih-sayang yang kau terima pada hari ini, kerana jika kau meninggalkannya, mungkin kasih sayang itu tidak akan kembali seperti sediakala.

Sedarlah wahai insan, kasih sayang Allah itulah yang paling hakiki, jika kau memalingkan dirimu dari kasihnya, maka kamulah serugi-rugi manusia.

- Artikel iluvislam.com

Field Trip

2011-02-27T19:06:00.012+08:00

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

2011-02-17T19:46:00.007+08:00

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

2011-02-14T16:14:00.009+08:00

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

2011-02-12T20:27:00.006+08:00

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

2011-02-08T21:34:00.002+08:00

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

2011-02-05T20:10:00.003+08:00

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.

2011-02-01T17:13:00.002+08:00

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.

Petua

2011-01-27T22:58:00.002+08:00

I came across this video yesterday. Quite interesting.

Friends

2011-01-25T22:38:00.002+08:00

Manusia yang paling lemah ialah orang yang tak sanggup cari teman dan yang paling lemah daripada itu ialah orang yang mensia-siakan teman yang telah diperolehinya.

-Imam Al-Ghazali

I am not very friendly. I seldom remember names. I prefer working to talking. I have only a few close friends because I don't have much time for socialising.

Alhamdulillah, a few friends that I made in the past are my closest friends now. I kept their secrets, celebrate their son's and daughters' weddings, give them words of comfort in time of their sorrow and respect them for who they are.

Alhamdulillah, I too became fast friends with some of those in the usrah group. Although I cannot choose my 'friends' at first, we build up the bond of friendship as time goes by. There are a few of those whom I adore even though we belong to different usrah groups now.

Those that are close to me are the nicest people I have met. We talk about our families not about other people, we support each other and think highly of other people. Most important of all, they seek the pleasure of Allah in what ever task they are doing.

Mother

2011-01-23T23:03:00.003+08:00

My mum was not feeling very well. She was coughing and she spent her time sleeping. She didn't talk much.
'Let's go to the clinic,' I suggested to her.
'Which clinic?'
'Dr Khairuddin's because we know him well.'
I knew she was not sick. Something was bothering her, but she wouldn't tell.

On Saturday morning, I went to the wet market and bought live freshwater fish. I also bought mum's favourite kuih, bingkang ubi. She was lying on the bed , fully dressed when I reached her house. I served her the kuih and she sat up and ate it, much to my delight.
While she was eating, I cleaned the fish and grilled it in the multi-purpose cooker.

Then off we went to the clinic.

While I was driving, she told me what had happened. I listened.

She is going to celebrate her 70th birthday this February and she is still taking care of us. She worries about us all the time.

When we were young, there were only six of us to be fed and to be clothed. She made sure we excelled in our studies, so that hopefully, we can live happily ever after.

Her duties did not end there. She still has to monitor her 6 children and their respective spouses plus the grandchildren. She will be happy if everyone is happy, but she will be doubly sad if it happens otherwise.

To those young families, who still have mothers to come home to, please remember this:

i) Always be grateful to Allah for you are blessed with a life partner. Cherish him/her and live life according to the syariah. Observe your daily prayers, guide your chastity, be kind to your partner and look after your family well.

ii) Try your best to make ends meet. Plan your financial well and don't indulge in luxury item. But please be generous to your parents and Allah will reward you handsomely.

iii) Regard each others' parents as your own. Love them just the way you love your own. Make a time table for regular visits. Make them HAPPY.

When your mum is happy and well, your life is worth living!

Nice people deserve everything nice

2011-01-18T20:30:00.004+08:00

We were having our first usrah for the new school session. One of the rukun usrah is taaruf (introduction) where everyone would introduce themselves. We have known each other for almost two years and we are close like sisters. So today, as an introduction, I pose them a different question.

How did they meet their spouses and their involvement in dakwah.

Almost all the usrah members , (7 of us) were from religious schools. To protect their privacies, I called two of them Mrs N and Mrs Z. Only my junior , Mrs M and I were from a different background.

Mrs N
She worked in a kindergarten. One day, after getting home from work, her mother told her that she had accepted a marriage proposal on her behalf . She was speechless because unknown to her mother, she had a crush on someone else. She prayed istikharah and without any doubt, accepted the proposal. They were married a year later and and were blessed with beautiful children.

Mrs Z
She was a final year student in a college when she got engaged with her collegemate, P. Unknown to her, P, was her husband's best buddy in Secondary school. They were planning to get married when P fell sick and passed away. Z carried on with her life, got a job in Ipoh and stayed with her parents. Six months later, she received an SMS from her would-be-husband. The friendship blossomed and six months later her husband called her mother a visit. They were married a year later.

Listening to their life stories is a great reminder , how fragile life is. We planned and Allah also planned, but Allah is the greatest Planner. As a mere human being, we should always be humble and live lives according to Allah's will. We should always be grateful to Him, be it in time of sorrow or happiness.

Both Z and N were obedient daughters. As dutiful daughters, they prioritised the parents' wishes more than their own desires. N could just decline the marriage proposal from an unknown suitor, but she chose to turn to Allah for the answer. Alhamdulillah, Allah had guided her in the right path. Allah, in return, has blessed her with a blissful married life .

I was humbled.

I would like to remind myself to find ways to make my mother happy. To lend her my ears, to buy her favourite food , let her speak out her dissatisfaction and just be there when she needs me.

Au Revoir

2011-01-16T12:50:00.004+08:00

14th January 2011. My fifth sister's 44th birthday. Then, on 15th January at 2.30 a.m, off she went to Durban, South Africa with her husband and family.

In a special way, she is my favourite sister. When she was single, I sometimes couldn't understand her. She was not the ' gedik' type, not even the 'manja' type. She will never talk behind our back, and she was not scared to speak her mind out. She was and is still very serious with everything especially her work and the well-being of her/my parents. She is also very generous.

Luckily she got even better after she got married. She became more tolerant, gentle, understanding and more concerned, the opposite of Tuan Haji Azman who was more serious . He is the youngest in the family and he even has a nephew who was born in the same year as him. My sister and her husband is a match made in heaven. They were the ones who often visited my parents and lavished them with everything that they fancied. Once she employed the Indonesian maid to look after my parents for two years. She also bought health gadgets, the latest household appliances and furniture for my parent's house. Whenever I suggested that I chipped in as well, she protested, telling me that I had helped enough by staying near and helping them out.

Now, my sister and her family are in Durban. Her husband was posted there so she took one year unpaid leave. Their son, Aiman , a student in MRSM Serting stayed behind and will join them after the SPM examination.

None of us were in tears. I just hope, she'll be a much better person when she gets home in future.

I'll upload the photos later, insyaAllah.

Lovelorn

2011-01-13T22:45:00.005+08:00

You cried your hearts out. You spent sleepless nights, thinking.... What have I done wrong? What should I do to make it right? You walked like a zombie, unaware of the people around you. Your phone was left unanswered and you shut yourself off from the universe. Your tears flowed freely, especially when your song, 'kenangan terindah' was in the air. Food tasted bitter and you kept asking yourself, 'When will this end? Will I be happy again? Why me?

You wouldn't recognise yourself when you saw your reflection in the mirror. There was a feeling of general malaise and you looked so unhappy. You felt as if the world might just come to an end!

Don't despair. Time will heal the painful memories.Believe me, you deserve to be happy for only Allah knows how hard you try to make it worked . Take charge of your life and get this in your mind ; the jerk was not meant for you.

Love Allah first before you love others. Take good care of yourself before you care for others. You don't have to spend your entire life looking for love or expect love to be knocking on your door. Just be yourself. Remember to keep yourself busy with remembering Allah and in fulfilling your duties, and Allah in His mercy will never let you down. Let's pray that you are not going to be afflicted with another heartache. We pray that you spend the rest of your life with remarkable feats that will make us, proud of you.

Enrolment

2011-01-06T21:31:00.004+08:00

3rd January 2011.

Almost 200 new students enrolled on the first day of schooling. The Year 1 students particularly caught my attention. They are the cheerful bunch, full of energy and always eager to obey the teachers' instructions . Until today, all the students looked happy and contented. Until this morning, there were still a few parents who sat in the school canteen waiting for their children.

I saw one boy wearing sandals. I was thinking of ignoring it, but he cheerfully told me,
"Lupa pakai kasut. Nanti ayah datang bawa kasut."

During recess, I saw one of the teacher's son sitting alone in the corner. His mother is on maternity leave , and he looked so unsure of himself. Alhamdulillah, there is always a teacher to assist him.

4 January 2011

There was a commotion in the school. A Year 1 student was found missing.He was supposed to wait for his mother in the canteen. Everyone looked for him and his mother was almost in tears. Half an hour later, we found him strolling happily around the school grounds with his friend!

We also got acquainted with a generous couple who offered to equip the school surau with a new curtain. Since the students perform Dzuhur prayers at the end of the day, they also offered to buy everyone a pair of rubber slippers each! We were very humbled by their kind gesture.

There is still a lot to be done ; new faces to be remembered, new skills to be taught and new souls to be coaxed. I have to get myself organised and strive to work smarter!

New Year, New determination , a better person.

2011-01-04T16:16:00.006+08:00

InsyaAllah.

It is not dificult to be a better person. Be a better mother/mother-in-law, a better teacher, a better daughter, a better sister, a better wife, a better colleague, a better leader but of course with the intention of seeking Allah's pleasure and with the mercy of Allah .

For example : In any organisation, there'll always be a few with all sorts of problem; not punctual, avoiding work, absent from work and we can just ignore him/her resulting in dissatisfaction among the others. A good leader should let the problem worker analyses his/her problem and improve himself /herself in the process.

It is easier said than done. To be a better mother, you have to be a good listener. To be a better friend, you have to reduce talking and listen more. In hadiths, Rasulullah s.a.w always stresses the importance of listening to talking. In fact, if we have nothing good to talk about, we are advised to shut up! May be, this is the first thing that I have to remind myself . Talk when necessary or keep quiet.

What if somebody persistently called you names and hurt your feelings ? In my experience, only people whose lives are not blessed with Allah's guidance will do this directly to you. I would check myself first : Do I perform my daily prayers? My manners to friends, parents, siblings? My quran reading? My food consumpion, is it halal?

If you hardly perform your prayers, only khatam al-quran once in your entire life, and you don't bother to be well versed in spiritual matters then you are the likely candidate to cause sorrow and hardship to people who happen to cross your path.

Rasul Allah (s.a.w) said: "The example of a good companion and a bad one is the bearer of musk and the worker on the fires. A bearer of musk would give you some, you might buy some from him, or you might enjoy the fragrance of his musk. The worker on the fires, on the other hand, might spoil your clothes with sparks from his bellows, or you can get a bad smell from him." [Sahih Bukhari]

Who are the top 5 people you hang out with? List them. Now look at their qualities and you'll notice that you are the product or the sum of them. Do they have the outstanding qualities that you seek? If not, then it's time to find some bearers of musk that you can truly smell great from.

Wallahualam.

What a waste!

2010-12-29T18:45:00.004+08:00

Waste of your precious time, your self well being, your much needed sleep and at the end of it, you get the wrath of Allah. So seek Allah's forgiveness and get on with your life.

I read cik tutor's blog and it seems we were in the same boat. She called last night and I poured my hearts out. Surprisingly, she calmed me down telling me that there might be a hikmah why things happened that way. This morning, I kept myself busy with work and more work . Alhamdulillah, things went quite well and I managed to settle my work with my friends' support!

Well, there are 6 billion people living on Earth at this moment. Why bother with one who has an attitude problem. You can acknowledge her/his presence by giving salam and get on with your mission in life. Look around and you would find others who are kind-hearted .

I guess, there's still some hope that everything will be better.

Hope is the light which guides us, when all doors are closed
Hope whispers 'knock again' when you wonder through the night
Hope whispers 'I'm your perpetual light'

KeepYourHopeAlive.

Therapy?

2010-12-28T20:01:00.011+08:00

I'm back. Actually I got home from Jitra last Thursday and had to attend a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. On arrival at my parent's house, I was still able to help my mum making the beds and mopping the floor. Yes, my sister and her family were coming home. En suami fondly called her Puan Hajjah. He also gave Tuan Haji Azman a big welcoming hug!

On Saturday, we went shopping. School will reopen in a week's time and I treat myself to a new pair of shoes and a handbag!

After all the excitement, I came down with fever on Sunday. I knew I was exhausted and really needed a rest. Alhamdulillah, I was up and about and felt fine the next day after 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep!

Cik tutor once told me that we could let go of our frustrations by blogging. I was quite unhappy these past few days, especially if I had to deal with a certain type of people.

I get along fine with people with sincere intentions; kind-hearted, never talk behind your back, helpful and most importantly 'sedar diri'. I hope my children and their future spouses will be blessed with beautiful akhlak which is pleased by Allah and all mankind. It is easier said than done. To have children with respectful akhlak is not an overnight work. Rasullullah narrates that :

“Setiap bayi itu dilahirkan atas dasar fitrah. Maka kedua orang tuanyalah yg membuatnya menjadi Yahudi, Nashrani atau Majuzi.”

I hope that en suami and I have done our best in raising our children. We know they are not perfect; always sensitive and sometimes loud but deep inside they have the nicest hearts.

Alhamdulillah, I feel much better already.

Time flies....

2010-12-16T20:41:00.003+08:00

It has been quite a while. I've been busy these few days attending to family matters. En doktor came home with his wife last Friday. He took 2 days off to send his wife to Lumut for the induction course. The course started on Monday and ended yesterday afternoon. En doktor drove back to KB on Monday.

Then Azhar and I took the train trip to Kuala Pilah on Tuesday. We only spent a night in Kuala Pilah. During the short stay, I managed to do the usual household chores ; did the laundry, tidied the kitchen and dusted the house. Next Saturday, I am going for a five-day course in Jitra, so Azhar will be staying with my parents in Tambun.

On 23rd December, all the teachers including the new ones are required to report for the new session. I hope that everybody will be in high spirit and strive to work diligently.

Well, gotta go now. There's some housework to be done, exam results to be analysed and clothes to be packed!

Du'a si ibu

2010-12-10T22:14:00.003+08:00

Seorang wanita pertengahan umur yang sudah berumah tangga dan memiliki anak-anak yang sudah meningkat dewasa bertanya kepada si ibunya.

'Mak, ada kawan nak pergi Mekah, buat umrah. Mak nak kirim du'a tak?'
Si ibu menarik nafas panjang. ' Tolong du'akan agar anak-anak mak bertimbang rasa kat mak'. Satu pesanan yang membuatkan saya tersentap dan terfikir; seorang ibu boleh menjaga sepuluh orang anak, tapi sepuluh orang anak belum tentu dapat menjaga hati dan perasaan seorang ibu.

Timbang rasa?

Timbang rasa bukan perkara yang senang. Ia adalah perbuatan yang amat sensitif kepada perasaan orang, mengambil kira kepentingan orang sambil memikirkan kita tidak menjadi punca masalah orang . Orang yang bertimbang rasa sentiasa mempertimbangkan kepentingan, perasaan dan pemikiran orang lain, sebelum membuat keputusan sendiri. Dia sentiasa bertanya apa kata orang, apa pandangan orang, apa jadi pada orang. Sifat ini adalah nilai yang paling asasi dalam kebudayaan dan masyarakat Melayu. Ia bukan berkait rapat dengan rasional tetapi dengan perasaan orang.

Jika dengan orang yang bukan sedarah sedaging pun kita digalakkan untuk bertimbang rasa, inikan pula dengan si ibu yang melahirkan dan membesarkan kita. Di zaman yang serba canggih dan 'stressful' ini, kita jangan sekali-kali 'forward' masalah yang hadir dalam hidup kita untuk diselesaikan oleh si ibu . Kita boleh berbincang dengan ibu (she'll appreciate it) dan ajak adik beradik yang lain untuk sama-sama beri pendapat untuk cuba selesaikan. Jika masalah itu melibatkan perasaan, pengalaman kehidupan dan royanan , sila telefon ibu-ibu anda untuk sesi konsultasi , sekurang-kurangnya hati ibu terhibur, dan Allah akan menghiburkan hati-hati kita. Tapi jika masalah anda adalah wang berpuluh ribu ringgit untuk memiliki kereta pujaan, then solve the problem yourself.

Holidays

2010-12-06T15:00:00.003+08:00

En suami was very busy during the weekend that Azhar and I decided to travel to Kuala Pilah. I love going to KP, a place where I can rewind. No cats to be fed, school is hundreds of miles away, only one supermarket for window shopping , no internet, no ASTRO and housework is very minimal. As usual, we chose Electric Train Service (ETS) as our mode of transport. It is very reliable, comfortable and my neighbour's daughter who works there gave us discounts on the food and drinks that we bought! We reached Seremban after the 3-hour long journey.

From Seremban, en suami drove us to KP and we reached his house after maghrib. We went shopping, cooked dinner and retired for the night.

En suami had a busy weekend.On Saturday he had to welcome the lecturers from the University who gave a talk on biotechnology. Then, there was the preparation to welcome the Menteri Besar on Monday. The students were busy rehearsing for the big day.

Most of my time was spent in front of the TV , contemplating and completing my school work. After I've completed my work, Azhar and I tidied the house.We mopped the floors, kept the old newspapers away, dusted the house and Alhamdulillah, by the time en suami was home, he was totally impressed.

Now, I am back in Ipoh. There's so much to do. Today is the last day of Hijriah. Azhar and I are going to the mosque for the Awal Muharram celebration. We are encouraged to read the end of year du'a and also the new year du'a. Ma'al Hijrah everybody and May Allah bless us.

Boiled Fruit cake

2010-11-30T20:54:00.002+08:00

Yesterday cik tutor called. She attended a workshop over the weekend and she couldn't resist eating scones with jam and cream that they served for tea.

Personally, the memory of having scones, cheesecakes and fruit cake for a typical English tea came flooding back. When I was a student, an English lady by the name of Pat invited me and my housemates to her home in the farm once a month. She loved to cook and she made sure that she used only halal ingredients. Sometimes we had proper tea party with her friends in attendance and at other times it was a picnic in the woods. After tea, her husband, George, would bring us for a walk on the beautiful ,rolling countryside.It was indeed very serene, away from the hustle and bustle of the city life.

I was looking for the scone recipes this afternoon, when I came across this familiar recipe ; boiled fruit cake.Pat used to bake this cake for us and she even gave me the recipe . But then, I lost it.

I tried the recipe and alhamdulillah it turned out alright and tasted delicious. Unfortunately, there were cracks on top of the cake. Maybe the oven was a bit hot.

Boiled fruit cake
10 oz ( 250g) self-raising flour
6 oz ( 150g) light brown sugar
6 0z (150 g) butter - Pat used anchor butter
80z (200g) mixed fruit (raisins, sultanas, cherries)
10 fluid oz milk ( 1 mug) - she used plain water
2 tsp mixed spice - optional
2 eggs

gas mark 2/3 or 150/170 degree celcius
bake for 1 hour

Method :
1. Mix sugar, butter, mixed fruit and milk in saucepan. Stir and heat the mixture. Simmer for 2 minutes.
2. Leave the mixture to cool.
3. Add flour and beaten eggs.
4. Pour into greased and lined cake tine. Bake for 1 hour.

Love is .....

2010-11-28T15:56:00.003+08:00

Love is holding hands in the street
Marriage is holding arguments in the street

Love is dinner for 2 in your favorite restaurant
Marriage is a take home packet.

Love is cuddling on a sofa
Marriage is one of them sleeping on a sofa.

Love is talking about having children
Marriage is talking about getting away from Children.

Love is going to bed early.
Marriage is going to sleep early.

Love is a romantic drive
Marriage is to arrive on tops curvy tarmac.

Love is loosing your appetite.
Marriage is loosing your figure.

Love is sweet nothing in the ear.
Marriage is sweet nothing in the bank.

TV has no place in love.
Marriage is a fight for the remote control.

Love is 1–drink and 2–straws.
Marriage is ‘Don’t you think you’ve had enough!’

Conclusion: Love is blind, Marriage is an eye opener.

by: mypenmypaper

Personally, if you get married for the wrong reasons and no effort is done to rekindle the love in your marriage, then the above is absolutely true.

I was 21 when a married friend arranged my marriage. I never knew my husband then. I put my trust in Allah; solat hajat,solat istikharah and carried on with my life.

Alhamdulillah, we appreciate each other until today even after 30 years of married life.There are ups and downs and we put our trust in Allah . And then there are our beloved children; the apples of our eyes , our intan payungs whom we adore very much. Of course, I miss en suami like crazy when we are apart!

Feminine Health

2010-11-25T21:47:00.002+08:00

1. Emotional Health
- Stay in touch with your emotions and find ways to constructively express them. Talking to friends, family members, blogging or keeping a journal might help.

2. Diet
- Avoid taking excessive amount of coffee, red meat, hot and spicy foods.
-Avoid excessive consumption of dairy products.
-Avoid eating excessive amount of greasy, fried and sweet food.
- Do not consume large quantity of salt.
(For ladies who are having their monthly period)
-Do not eat cold food or drinks, raw and frozen food.
-Eat dark, green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale.
-Eat fish, eggs, raisins, poultry and liver

3. Lifestyle
- Avoid excessive work.
- Maintain a regular and balanced schedule for eating, sleeping, working, exercising and resting.
-Dress appropriately for the weather.
-During period, avoid swimming, do not lift heavy items and don't engage in strenuous physical activity.
-Do not walk around barefooted on cold floors.

For painful periods, massage the lower abdominal area with warm oil or ointment. You can also mix 30 grams each of ground cloves (cengkih), cinnamon (kayu manis), and ginger(halia) in a cloth. Warm over low heat in a pan. Place the warm cloth with the mixture on your abdomen to ease the discomfort.

Excerpts from Ancient Healing for Modern Women.

New faces

2010-11-22T20:00:00.003+08:00

Holiday class begins today and I get to know the new batch of pupils. From the tests that I gave them, there's quite a lot to be improved. Anyway, they are good, obedient and talkative pupils. So, it won't be difficult to teach and coach them to write good sentences, insyaAllah.

I got home in the afternoon and after 3 hours of class, there was nothing more relaxing than reading other people's blog. Cik Tutor seldom updates her blog due to her time constraints. If she writes, I always find it amusing and entertaining. Kerol always writes short but sweet entries such as these :

Mak selalu pesan dekat kakak,

tidur awal, bangun awal,

Saranan doktor untuk kekal sihat,

tidur kualiti yang paling utama.

Actually, my advice is for everyone especially to those who read my blogs. After more than 20 years in the teaching profession, I tend to treat other people's children like my own. I hope all of you out there will be successful in all your undertakings and be future leaders with iman in their hearts.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw a familiar name in Am's blog. Well, if it is truly me, then I would like to reassure you, I also find your blog entertaining. Writing in your own blog is one way of expressing your emotions and thus releasing tensions and making you healthier. This is the fact that I've just read in a book on Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Excessive anger harms the liver, joy harms the heart, anxiety the spleen, grief the lungs and fear the kidneys, wrote the TCM doctor. That's why in western countries they provide counselling sessions to sort out your problems.

Keep on writing and may Allah bless you all for making me happy, kekeke.

Holidays

2010-11-21T16:29:00.002+08:00

The school holidays has begun. En suami celebrated aidil adha in Ipoh. He took 5 days leave, the longest in 3 months!
We stayed at my parent's house and I'm glad to say that I've got my parents to myself! One of my siblings is performing hajj and the others celebrated raya with their in-laws.
On the second day, we had qurban in school and I helped with the preparation of the food.

On Monday, there will be classes for 2011 UPSR candidates. The class is held for three weeks and it is hoped that the pupils are mentally prepared to face the challenges awaiting them when the school reopens.

Apart from the holiday classes and meetings in the mornings, I'll be quite free in the afternoons. I am now reading a book titled 'Ancient Healing for Modern Women' by Dr Xiaolan Zhao a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner. I have finished reading the book and it gives practical suggestions to maintain health and prevent diseases for all phases of woman's life.
Last but not least, I hope I could khatam reading the holy Quran for the third time this year. I hope I could make it!

My Dear Sons

2010-11-18T16:44:00.003+08:00

To my dear sons, En doktor, Aman, Kerol and Azhar.

I've brought you up as good muslims so I hope you'll behave well just like any other good muslims would. Observe your daily prayers, read al-Quran and once in a while offer nightly prayers.

i) Be good to everyone. If there is a damsel in distress, give her a hand. If anybody calls you for any assistance and you happen to be free, then help them. By no means should you feel as if the ladies are going to get you. The moral of the story is : Jangan perasan!

ii) Be a gentleman. Open the doors to the old, the ladies especially pregnant ladies. Offer your seat in public transport to those in need. Don't be selfish like the ones I've seen.

iii) If you happen to have some 'kakaks' who like to call you and give you tips in your studies, then accept the help with open arms. Once again I would like to remind you : Don't ever feel as if the 'kakaks' are going to woo you into marriage. No,no. Just be kind to them and appreciate their generosity. If you are still 'perasan', then I'll ask the 'kakaks' to delete you from their friends list!
And if the 'kakaks' are having some problems and sharing it with you, then lend them your ears. I am sure they don't want solutions. They just want the problems to be out of their system!
Allah give us two ears and only one mouth, so you should listen more.

Lastly, I am sure everyone including the 'kakaks' above know that everything happens by the will of Allah. Jodoh, maut di tangan Allah. Just be sincere with whatever 'amal you are doing and you'll be safe, insyaAllah.

Actually, I don't have any doubts about you, my sons. A few months back, someone mentioned this to me.
"Why can't all muslim boys that I know be like Aman!'
A compliment to me . Alhamdulillah.

UPSR 2010

2010-11-11T16:23:00.002+08:00

Alhamdullillah the results are out. We went to PPD Kinta very early in the morning. All the headmasters and the headmistresses were looking their best in their batik attires. As for me, I reserved my best batik baju kurung for the speech day on this Saturday, insyaAllah.

Alhamdulillah, Allah's mercy is with us again. This is the summary of the UPSR results for 2010:-

Total number of pupils - 116
Bahasa Melayu (Penulisan) - 100% passes (100 pupils scored A's)
Bahasa Melayu (Pemahaman) - 100% passes ( Only A's and B's)
Science - 100% passes
Maths - 99.1% ( 80 pupils scored A's)
English - 97.4% passes

Pupils scored 5 A's - 21 pupils
Scored 4A's and 1 B - 35 pupils
Scored 3 A's - 22 pupils

My main concern is mathematics and alhamdulillah the pupils did really well. Bravo to all the teachers concerned.

As for next year, we'll be looking at English . I hope everyone will work as a team to achieve the target .

Thank you Allah for the blessings!

Thinking

2010-11-10T22:48:00.002+08:00

I'm thinking hard. Well, don't you get too excited. I might go there to comfort you, to cook for you and to keep you company for a while. There are low-fare flights to Sydney so may be we can work something out. So, hang on and be patient. Pray hard so that we'll see each other very soon, insyaAllah.

It was an exceptionally busy day. We bought some food for dinner and plan to sleep early. Only Allah knows what's in store for us tomorrow. Come what may, I hope everything turn out well and our year-long effort is appreciated by our students.

Good luck to me!

Masak Lomak Cili api

2010-11-07T20:23:00.000+08:00

In Kuala Pilah, en suami got used to eating Negeri Sembilan food. Masak lemak and sambal gesek are some of his favourite. At home the set lunch consists of ; Masak Lomak cili api (fish or chicken), fried fish /fried chicken, sambal gesek and lettuce.

Cik tutor requested the recipe for masak lomak. Here it is:
2 slices fish OR
4 chicken pieces (grill half-cooked)
10 cili api - blend
2 cm fresh turmeric - blend
salt
1 lemon grass (serai)- lightly pounded
2 cups coconut milk (from half coconut)

1. Combined all the ingredients in the pot.
2. Simmer on medium fire. Stir constantly.
3. After 10 minutes, put the fish or grilled chicken pieces.
4. Continue simmering until the fish/chicken is cooked.

The dish is very easy to cook. Ideas for variation:
Chicken dish - you can add potatoes or tomatoes. Kerisik can also be added (1 desert spoon). Squeeze lime juice just before serving.

Selamat mencuba!

Macam-macam

2010-11-03T21:25:00.003+08:00

Lousy day today. There were so much frustration in the workplace. Negative aura everywhere.
I never knew I hurt somebody until we had the meeting this afternoon. I was only joking but the person took it seriously. In future, I have to be careful when I utter anything.

Well, I am glad my faith is strong enough to face the uncertainties in life. Allah knew I didn't mean what I said. I thought we were close enough to joke around, but I was wrong.

Life at home is also a disaster. We ran out of gas tonight, and it was quite late to call the supplier. I came home late this evening and the house is in a mess.

Alhamdulillah, there is a wee bit of happiness. Nia gave birth to 4 little kittens. The proud mama placed the kittens in the box under my bed. Everytime, after I perform my prayers and reciting al-Quran and the du'as, I'd take a look at the lovely kittens sleeping soundly and Nia would sit on my lap. So nice.

Then, out of the blue, I received a call from an unknown caller . He/She is flirting with me.
I text the message, 'Sori, wrong number.'
Then, the person answered, 'Bole berkenalan'
I deleted the message.
Another text,'Kalau awak tak jawab, maknanya awak sombong.'
I didn't attend to the next call since cik tutor was on the phone.
Another text,' Nama awk nasrul hakim kan'.
I've had enough! I called the number and the moment she heard my voice, she hung up!

Reminder

2010-11-02T20:54:00.009+08:00

We were having class parties this morning. Two young ustaz also came on invitation. One of them was absent last Monday. Someone told me that he met with an accident while travelling to Terengganu but he appeared on Tuesday absolutely fine. No signs of injury at all. Not even a scratch was in sight.
" Teruk ke eksiden muallim? ' I asked him.
'Vios rosak teruk.' There was the image of misshapen Toyota Vios from his phone. He told me that the car skidded , rolled over and landed in the drain. By the mercy of Allah,the driver (his cousin) and the two passengers escaped unhurt.

'Du'a apa muallim baca?' I was really interested to know.

He recited the usual du'a for travelling. In addition he also recited the following du'a :

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِىلاَ يَضُرُّمَعَ اسْمِهِ شَىْءٌ فِى اْلأَرْضِ وَلاَفِى السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْعَلِيْمُ

“Dengan nama Allah, yang dengan namaNya akan terhalanglah segala sesuatu di bumi dan di langit, untuk menimpakan bencana, dan Dia maha Mendengar dan maha Mengetahui”

This is the du'a that Rasulullah s.a.w asked us to recite in the mornings and evenings.

..................................................................................................................................................................

Wipe away your tears, think well of Allah. and chase away your worries and doubts by remembering Allah and the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon you.

Nak percaya ke?

2010-10-31T14:17:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, while I was watching TV at mom's house, my 15 year old niece asked me.
'Kak Dijah balik bulan doblas, ya Mak Yong?'
"Isy, tak tau pulak.'
"Kan ke feveret artis Korea dia nak datang Malaysia.'

'Ooooo, jangan percaya! Kak dijah main-main je tu. Mamat tu muda sangat la, Tikah! Tak padan. Lagi pun mesti artis tu ramai peminat. Nanti merana badan kena share dengan semua fans dia.'

This is the effect of 'meroyan' in facebook. I wonder how many of her facebook friends believe that she is really in love with Jay Park. Hehehe.

Creative

2010-10-28T15:47:00.002+08:00

Every morning, during the assembly before the lessons begin, Muallim Razman teaches the students the prayers that we read while performing solat. How does he manage to get the pupils' attention? We pray at least 5 times daily so we might think the pupils would be bored to death with the program.
As the senior assistant in school, I am busy with administrative work so I seldom join the morning assembly. Time and again I hear the pupils enjoying themselves SINGING the du'a with the translation! Once I heard the pupils recited Al-Fatihah with its meaning and at other times it was the du'a during ruku' and sujud. Everyone sang at the top of their voices. It was indeed a beautiful sound.
Yesterday he came with a new proposal. He has planned a new program for the new session. I hope everybody will support him and pray that it will succeed.

Jom Berubah!

2010-10-26T18:45:00.004+08:00

Salam.

Lately this has been the hottest topic in our beloved country.

Malaysia is facing a severe Human Capital Flight with large-scale emigration of intellectuals seeking greener pastures in more advanced society like in Singapore who is estimated to have 45 % of the best brains from Malaysia and 25 % to other Asian countries with the balance of 30 % to Europe and the USA out of the total estimated one million Malaysian working overseas.

I am not racial because I am also a 'pendatang'. My late great-great-grandfather and his family came to Perak from Sumatra to make a living here. My grandmother was still a baby then. They worked hard, clearing land in remote areas. Alhamdulillah, with sheer hard work and blessings from Allah, they lived a comfortable life.

My late father-in-law came to Malaysia from India to seek a better future. He worked hard and his Japanese employer would call on him when they needed his services.

I am not surprised if the non-bumi students worked extra hard and are outstanding in every examinations that they take . The formula is simple : The harder you work, the more successful you will be.

I am more concerned with the Malays, the previleged group, who are not aware how previleged they are. At school, I try to instill the students' worthiness and talk about their responsibilities so that they became dedicated future leaders.

I try to instill the importance of time-management, good behaviour, tolerant with one another, working hard, respect to the elders and be the best in whatever they do. We can do it, but we are just too lazy to bother. We become slaves to 'kedai kopi talk' and our never-ending need to 'hiburan'! Wherever you go, the sight of people gossiping is always there.

Back to the news excerpts. If I were the government, I would just let them migrate in peace. In replacement, I want you, you, you and you to work really hard and be the best in your field of study, pray hard as if there is no tomorrow and be grateful with whatever Allah has given to you.
Yes, Malaysia needs the best brains with IMAN.

Adik Sayang

2010-10-25T19:59:00.003+08:00

Last weekend, my mother ,azhar and me took a journey to Kuala Pilah. Our main aim was to visit my sister, Roslili, who is going to perform Hajj in November. Her house is in Taman Bukit Rambai. En suami drove us to Melaka from Pilah on Saturday morning. We stayed overnight at my sister's house.

My brother-in-law (En Azman) is the youngest is his family. Two weeks after their Hajj, they are going to move to Durban, South Africa. The feast was supposed to be a small get-together, but each of his sisters brought along a lot of food and everybody seem to enjoy the food that it ended quite late in the evening. I took the opportunity to get to know them better. We got along fine, and in the end they shared delicious Negeri Sembilan recipes that I could try at home.

At last I met Bibik Sri. We hugged when we saw each other. It has been two years since we last met. She also sent her regards to Cik Tutor. I am glad that she looks happy and fine.

'Suami bibik sudah buat rumah baru, hasil kerjaan bibik,' she said when we were left alone.

'Alhamdulillah, kerja baik-baik bik.' I know I don't have to tell her that because she was the best indonesian maid I've ever met. When she stayed with my mother, she worked from dawn till late at night. She even handwashed all our baju kurungs! Sometimes I wondered where she got all the energy from!
Now she stayed in Air Keroh, Melaka to look after my sister's mother in law who is paralysed. Everybody loves her in Melaka, alhamdulillah.

Wanita Istimewa

2010-10-21T20:01:00.002+08:00

Last Sunday, I attended a talk by Ustazah Zainab with the above title. I usually heard complaints from cik tutor,on how her housemate, an Australian, sympathised the muslim women around the world. Almost all non-muslims think that women in Islam are second class and the media takes the opportunity to downgrade Islam further.

Next time, if they raise the issue again, then here are some facts and figure for you to defend Islam.

1. Allah creates man and he also creates women. It is unthinkable if Allah as the most compassionate would create women as a lesser being.

2. Allah in his power has made Sayyidatina Khadijah as the first believer, Siti Hajar wife of prophet Ibrahim as the first occupant of Mecca and Sumayya as the first syaheed in Islam.

3. In surah Qashas, Allah told the story of two women who helped save the life of Moses( Nabi Musa a.s.), Asiah and Moses's mother. Please read the tafseer of Ibn Kathir for this surah.

4. As for the single ladies, the example that they can look up to is, Maryam daughter of Imran. How she lived the life of chastity, away from worldly gain. She was unmarried and served to worship Allah for the rest of her life. (Ustazah cerita, ketika Maryam dalam kandungan, ibunya bernazar bahawa anak yang bakal dilahirkan, akan diserahkan untuk beribadah sepenuhnya kepada Allah. Bila lahir bayi perempuan(Maryam) , ibunya terpaksa menunaikan nazarnya. Maryam adalah perempuan yang sangat mulia dan sentiasa beribadah. Bila dia mengandungkan nabi Isa tanpa ayah, maka timbullah fitnah dan tohmahan dari masyarakat sekeliling .)

Advice for Men

"They ask your legal instruction concerning women, say: Allah instructs you about them..." [Qur'an 4:127]

The Prophet said:

"The best among you is the one who is the best towards his wife"

5. From the quranic verse and hadith above, Allah would elevate the position of men if they treat their wife kindly. That means, the muslim men are encouraged to be gentlemen to their wives!

I think most muslim men are good. Maybe they are just too shy to open the doors, to help their wives and to show their love openly in public.

Happy Birthday...

2010-10-20T20:23:00.002+08:00

Happy nineteenth birthday kerol. I started teaching in Sek Rendah Al-Hidayah when Kerol was 45 days old. In the beginning, I brought him to school because it was difficult to find a good day-care at that time. A few months later, a good friend of mine agreed to take care of him while I was away at work.

At school I wasn't popular because the students said I was 'garang'. Well, I have to. If I talk softly to them and just let them do whatever that pleases them, then they hardly do any work! I gave them loud and clear instructions, my e-mail address and even my phone number so that they could contact me if they have any problems. Alhamdulillah, every year it works. Last year more than 75% scored A's with 97% passes in Mathematics. I just hope this year the students did better insyaAllah.

You win some and you lose some. Most of the time I got carried away at home and use the same method to discipline my children. So, they became not the soft-spoken type. That's why cik Tutor joined USM debating team because we were always talking at the top of our voices . After all these years, I decided it was time to change.

Cik Tutor is alone in Armidale so she calls everyday, usually around 7 pm.A few weeks back, I decided to answer the phone in my sweetest, sexiest voice. Actually, it was not fun because I was trying to be other people. But I persevere because only Allah knows, how good the intention is .

One day, the phone rang and I answered it with my 'tak cukup makan suara'.
'Hey, gedik kat saper tu?' said the voice on the other side. It was my husband's.

'Sori, sori. I thought it was Khadijah,' and we laughed our hearts out.

I wasn't put off. I still answered the phone with the sweetest voice I could mutter.

Uwais al-Qarni

2010-10-18T15:37:00.003+08:00

Seorang sahabat saya telah dianugerahkan Allah seorang cucu yang diberi nama Uwais bin Miqdad. Uwais sempena kisah yang dicatat oleh serban hijau ......

Sebenarnya Nabi dah tahu yang Aisyah itu akan masuk syurga ertinya dosanya telah diampunkan oleh Allah tetapi kenapa Nabi masih menyuruh Aisyah untuk memohon kepada Allah agar diampunkan dosa?. Sedangkan Aisyah memang layak untuk tidak dimasukkan ke dalam neraka, hanya layak ke syurga. Soal dosa dan pahala dia dah tak kisah sangat tapi nabi masih menyuruhnya berdoa supaya Allah ampunkan dosa.

Saya nak kaitkan dengan satu kisah iaitu bila Allah bagi tahu kepada nabi Muhammad s.a.w. iaitu ada insan yang akan lahir dikalangan Tabiin (Tabiin maknanya satu kumpulan insan yang tidak sempat berjumpa dengan nabi tetapi hanya sempat berjumpa dengan sahabat nabi sahaja. Kalau orang yang sempat berjumpa dengan nabi, itu dipanggil Sahabat. Kalau orang yang lahir kedunia ini setelah nabi wafat tetapi sempat berjumpa dengan Sahabat ia dipanggil Tabiin).

Nabi berpesan kepada Umar dan Ali, 'Akan lahir dikalangan Tabiin seorang insan yang doa dia sangat makbul nama dia Uwais al-Qarni dan dia akan lahir dizaman kamu'.

Kita telah mengenali siapa dia Sayyidina Umar dan Sayyidina Ali iaitu orang-orang yang telah disenaraikan sebagai al-Mubasyirun bil Jannah, iaitu mereka dah dijamin masuk syurga.

Nabi seterusnya berkata kepada Umar dan Ali, 'Dizaman kamu nanti akan lahir seorang insan yang doa dia sangat makbul. Kamu berdua pergilah cari dia. Dia akan datang dari arah Yaman, dia dibesarkan di Yaman. Dia akan muncul dizaman kamu, carilah dia. Kalau berjumpa dengan dia minta tolong dia berdoa untuk kamu berdua.'

Sama juga macam kisah Siti Aisyah tadi, Umar dan Ali bertanya kepada nabi soalan yang sama iaitu ,'Apakah yang patut saya minta daripada Uwais al-Qarni, Ya Rasulullah? Nabi menjawab ,'Kamu minta kepadanya supaya dia berdoa kepada Allah agar Allah ampunkan dosa-dosa kalian'.

Banyak peristiwa sahabat yang berjumpa dengan nabi, minta sesuatu yang baik kepada mereka, nabi menjawab 'Pohonlah al-Maghfirah daripada Allah swt.' Jadi topik al-Maghfirah (keampunan) ini menjadi topik yang begitu dicari yang begitu relevan, hatta kepada orang yang telah disenaraikan sebagai ahli syurga. Kalau logiknya ahli syurga macam dah tak perlu kepada ampun dosa kerana mereka dah dijamin masuk syurga, tetapi tidak, nabi masih tekankan supaya minta Allah ampunkan dosa.

Siti Aisyah telah bertemu dengan malam Qadar, dia telah berdoa sepanjang malam sampai ke subuh dengan doa yang nabi ajarkan iaitu 'Allah humma innaka 'afuu 'un karimun tuhib bul 'af wa fa' fu 'anni' (maknanya Ya Allah, Kamulah Tuhan yang sangat suka mengampun, ampunkanlah dosa-dosa saya).

Memang benarlah firasat seorang nabi, Uwais al-Qarni telah muncul di zaman Sayyidina Umar dan Sayyidina Ali. Memang mereka tunggu dan cari kabilah-kabilah yang datang dari Yaman ke Madinah, akhirnya bertemu mereka dengan Uwais al-Qarni.

Dengan pandangan mata luar, tidak mungkin dia orang yang nabi maksudkan. Kerana orang itu pada pandangan insan-insan biasa atau orang-orang yang datang bersama dengannya bersama kabilah menganggapkan dia seorang yang akal tidak sempurna , sesuatu yang macam tidak betul pada pandangan orang. Tetapi dia ada sesuatu..

Asal usul Uwais al-Qarni

Dia asalnya berpenyakit sopak, badannya putih, putih penyakit yang tidak digemari. Walaupun dia sopak tetapi dia seorang yang soleh, terlalu mengambil berat tentang ibunya yang uzur dan lumpuh. Dia telah begitu tekun untuk mendapatkan keredhaan ibunya. Bapa dia meninggal dunia ketika dia masih kecil lagi. Dia sopak sejak dilahirkan dan ibunya menjaga dia sampai dia dewasa.

Satu hari ibunya memberitahu kepada Uwais bahawa dia ingin sangat untuk pergi mengerjakan haji. Dia menyuruh Uwais supaya mengikhtiarkan dan mengusahakan agar dia dapat dibawa ke Mekah untuk menunaikan haji.

Sebagai seorang yang miskin, Uwais tidak berdaya untuk mencari perbelanjaan untuk ibunya kerana pada zaman itu kebanyakan orang untuk pergi haji dari Yaman ke Mekah mereka menyediakan beberapa ekor unta yang dipasang diatasnya 'Haudat'. Haudat ini seperti rumah kecil yang diletakkan di atas unta untuk melindungi panas matahari dan hujan, selesa dan perbelanjaannya mahal. Uwais tidak mampu untuk menyediakan yang demikian, unta pun dia tidak ada, nak sewa pun tidak mampu.

Ibu Uwais semakin uzur maka ibunya mendesak dan berkata kepada anaknya ,'Anakku mungkin ibu dah tak lama lagi akan bersama dengan kamu, ikhtiarkanlah agar ibu dapat mengerjakan haji'.

Uwais mendapat suatu ilham, dia terfikir apa nak dibuat. Dia membeli seekor anak lembu yang baru lahir dan dah habis menyusu. Dia membuat sebuah rumah kecil (pondok) di atas sebuah 'Tilal', iaitu sebuah tanah tinggi (Dia buat rumah untuk lembu itu di atas bukit).

Apa yang dia lakukan, pada petang hari dia dukung anak lembu untuk naik ke atas 'Tilal'. Pagi esoknya dia dukung lembu itu turun dari 'Tilal' untuk diberi makan. Itulah yang dilakukannya setiap hari. Ada ketikanya dia mendukung lembu itu mengelilingi bukit tempat dia beri lembu itu makan.

Perbuatan yang dilakukannya ini menyebabkan orang kata dia ini gila. Memang pelik, buatkan rumah untuk lembu diatas bukit, kemudian setiap hari usung lembu, petang bawa naik, pagi bawa turun bukit.

Tetapi sebenarnya niatnya baik. Kalau lembu kita buat begitu pagi sekali petang sekali daripada lembu yang beratnya 20kg, selepas enam bulan lembu itu sudah menjadi 100kg. Otot-otot (muscle) tangan dan badan Uwais menjadi kuat hinggakan dengan mudah mengangkat lembu seberat 100kg turun dan naik bukit.

Selepas lapan bulan dia buat demikian telah sampai musim haji, rupa-rupanya perbuatannya itu adalah satu persediaan untuk dia membawa ibunya mengerjakan haji. Dia telah memangku ibunya dari Yaman sampai ke Mekkah dengan kedua tangannya. Dibelakangnya dia meletakkan barang-barang keperluan seperti air, roti dan sebagainya. Lembu yang beratnya 100kg boleh didukung dan dipangku, inikan pula ibunya yang berat sekitar 50kg. Dia membawa (mendukung dan memangku) ibunya dengan kedua tangannya dari Yaman ke Mekah, mengerjakan Tawaf, Saie dan di Padang Arafah dengan senang sahaja. Dan dia juga memangku ibunya dengan kedua tangannya pulang semula ke Yaman dari Mekah.

Setelah pulang semula ke rumah dia di Yaman, Ibu dia berkata kepada dia ,' Uwais, apa yang kamu berdoa sepanjang kamu berada di Mekah?'. Uwais menjawab ,'Saya berdoa minta supaya Allah mengampunkan semua dosa-dosa ibu'. Ibunya bertanya lagi ,'Bagaiman pula dengan dosa kamu'. Uwais menjawab ,'Dengan terampun dosa ibu, ibu akan masuk syurga, cukuplah ibu redha dengan saya maka saya juga masuk syurga'.

Ibunya berkata lagi ,'Ibu nak supaya engkau berdoa agar Allah hilangkan sakit putih (sopak) kamu ini'. Uwais kata ,'Saya keberatan untuk berdoa kerana ini Allah yang jadikan. Kalau tidak redha dengan kejadian Allah, macam saya tidak bersyukur dengan Allah ta'ala'. Ibunya menambah ,'Kalau nak masuk syurga, kena taat kepada perintah ibu, Ibu perintahkan engkau berdoa'.

Akhirnya Uwais tidak ada pilihan melainkan mengangkat tangan dan berdoa. Uwais berdoa seperti yang ibu dia minta supaya Allah sembuhkan putih yang luar biasa (sopak) yang dihidapinya itu. Tetapi kerana dia takut masih ada dosa pada dirinya dia berdoa ,'Tolonglah Ya Allah kerana ibu aku suruh aku berdoa hilangkan yang putih pada badanku ini melainkan tinggalkan sedikit'.

Allah swt. sembuhkan serta merta, hilang putih sopak diseluruh badannya kecuali tinggal satu tompok sebesar duit syiling ditengkuknya. (Kalau bagi nabi, baginda ada Khatam Nubuwah iaitu tanda kenabian, tanda pada nabi bersinar) Tanda tompok putih pada Uwais sebab dia minta agar jangan dibuang kesemuanya, kerana ini (sopak) adalah anugerah, maka nabi sebut kepada Umar dan Ali akan tanda ini. Tandanya kamu nampak dibelakang dia ada satu bulatan putih, bulatan sopak. Kalau berjumpa dengan tanda itu dialah Uwais al-Qarni.

Selepas tidak lama Uwais berdoa yang demikian, ibunya telah meninggal dunia. Dia telah menunaikan kesemua permintaan ibunya. Selepas itu dia telah menjadi orang yang paling tinggi martabatnya disisi Allah. Doa dia cukup makbul hatta penyakit sopak pun boleh sembuh. Mengikut al-Quran, Nabi Isa Alaihisalam yang pernah berdoa untuk kesembuhan penyakit sopak dizamannya.

Berbalik kita kepada point asal, Sayidina Umar dan Sayidina Ali dapat berjumpa dengan Uwais ini minta satu sahaja iaitu minta supaya doakan supaya Allah swt. mengampun semua dosa-dosa mereka.

Ketika Uwais al-Qarni berjumpa Umar dan Ali, dia berkata ,'Aku datang ini dari Yaman ke Madinah kerana aku nak tunaikan wasiat nabi kepada kamu iaitu supaya kamu berdua berjumpa dengan aku. Aku datang ini nak tunaikan wasiat itulah'. Maka Uwais pun telah mendoakan untuk mereka berdua.

Sympathy

2010-10-15T17:20:00.003+08:00

There was a commotion in Year 1 Isa this morning. A student refused to answer Bahasa Inggeris paper. Reason? He said he doesn't understand a single word. When the teacher coaxed him to write, he went into a tantrum. In order to restore peace in the classroom, he was sent to the staff room.

I saw him arguing with a senior teacher. I sat next to him and he asked me,
' Muallimah kenal ayah saya tak.'
'Kenal. Dulu ayah Hanan ajar anak Muallimah kat St Michael.'
Then he complained.
'Saya tak tahu Bahasa Inggeris. Apa yang dia tulis kat atas ni. Saya tak faham.'

I looked through his papers. All the objective questions were answered. Actually he refused to write the words and the phrases. There were only 3 pages to be completed.

'Bagus! Banyak dah siap.'

I guided him with the exercises and with a little help he managed to finish it in time.

The next paper was pendidikan seni. He didn't bring along his colour pencils so Puan Khalimah lent him a box. I asked him to behave well and send him back to class.

Sometimes when he misbehaved, we wondered whether he was missing his late mother.

1 Malaysia?

2010-10-14T20:31:00.004+08:00

Same title as Cik Tutor's but the contents are from my own perspectives.

Cik Tutor remembered correctly. En Suami was posted to St Michael Institution when Cik Tutor was 4 years old. We stayed with our parents in Tambun until En Doktor began schooling. Then we moved to Rapat Setia.

En suami taught biology to Form 6 students in St Michael. Most of them became doctors. I still remember the Chinese students, about dozens of them, came for Hari Raya to my parent's house and we served them food. Their favourite was ayam masak merah. We didn't serve rendang because Buddhists cannot take beef. What I saw was, an atmosphere of cheerfulness and respect between them. When en suami was transferred to Kolej Matrikulasi Perak in Gopeng, his ex-students who graduated from medical school took an effort to meet him just to express their gratitude. One student actually named en Saad as his favourite teacher and the college sent en suami a certificate! En suami was on cloud nine.

En doktor studied in St Michael for 2 years. When the SPM drew nearer, his indian classmates came over to my house to study biology with en suami. They still get in touch with one another.

The teachers that I remembered most when I was in lower secondary school were Mrs Radha, Mr Yeoh and Mrs Yeoh. They were very dedicated, hardworking and had great expectations on their students.

Yes, those were the days. I wish that Malaysia will be forever peaceful and all the races can live in harmony.

Catatan hati .....

2010-10-13T20:40:00.003+08:00

Yesterday I tried my best to retire early. At 10 pm I was already in bed, reading a book written by an Indonesian writer titled 'Catatan Hati Seorang Istri'. It was laden with heartbreaking true stories and it made me think how fragile life is. In the end, I made a conclusion that everyone should have only one true love, Allah and his Messenger, Rasulullah peace be upon him.

The writer wrote:

Harapan saya Catatan Hati seorang Istri, bisa membawa pembaca pada kesiapan lebih baik, ketika kita mendapat ujian serupa. Bukankah ujian itu Allah pergilirkan pada tiap-tiap hamba?

Cinta yang lepas dari genggaman?

Mengingat hidup selalu memiliki warna berbeda, saya mengajak kepada semua perempuan untuk mulai menulis. Catat tidak hanya kenangan indah, tetapi juga semua pikiran, beban perasaan, kesedihan, ketakutan, apa saja sebelum terlambat untuk menuliskannya.

Sungguh batin saya seperti dikoyak melihat semua tragedi melibatkan perempuan. Kerananya saya ingin kita sama-sama berjanji. Berjanji untuk menjadi teman bicara. Berjanji untuk menjadikan tulisan itu cermin dan renungan, sebab mungkin itu akan membawa kita pada jalan keluar, yang sebelumnya terasa amat buntu.

Kini waktunya berdoa dan meminta kepadaNya lebih sering. Sebab semakin hari, saya menyadari kebutuhan dan ketergantungan kepada Allah sedemikian besarnya. Semoga Allah memberi kekuatan bagi semua hambaNya, khususnya para perempuan.

Amin

Asma Nadia

New schedule.

2010-10-12T20:16:00.004+08:00

It seems that Azhar and I are back with our old routine. With one new adjustment. Last week we replaced the strymix line with wireless and guess what happen. Azhar is very hardworking nowadays, 'studying' in the comfort of his room with the laptop by his side! To all my other sons and daughter who are concerned with Azhar's welfare, don't worry too much. I will check on him every now and then. I will make sure that he does all the exercises in the workbooks that en suami bought for him.

This week I have started on a new routine. I hope I can improve myself as time goes by. Pray that Allah will guide me to be a much better and healthier person.

4.45 am - Wake up
5.50 am - Subuh prayer
7.15 am - Off to school
5.00 pm - Cook dinner and other household chores.
7.00 pm - Dinner
7.15 pm - maghrib prayer
8.45 pm - Isya' prayer
9.30 pm - Sleep

Monday evenings - Off to parent's house in Tambun for breaking fast with them.

On Tuesdays, I have the luxury of having an afternoon nap since I come home at 2 o'clock. On other days, it is at 5 o'clock.

Wednesdays - Pasar malam and usrah with friends.

Thursdays - Spring clean

Fridays - Laundry

Weekends - Family outings and shopping groceries.

I hope I can do it and persevere, insyaAllah.

Make du'a

2010-10-10T16:01:00.002+08:00

Salam.
Recently, while on our way back to Ipoh from Kuala Pilah, we listened to the radio interview. Everybody went gaga over this young Islamic singer from Sweden. Yes, it was an interview session with Maher Zain. Surprisingly, en suami was quite a fan too, so I can listen to the one hour long interview with no interruption! Alhamdullillah.

One thing that I like about him is, after each question and answer session, he would ask the listeners to make du'a. He would end his sentence with, please make du'a. That was exactly what he said. Usually, we pray when we face calamities, hardship or sickness. It is true that in hardships, we have no refuge except Allah alone. But as our Creator , Allah will not let us down and neglect the people who call on Him, however trivial the matter is because He is Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim.

The best and easiest prescription for happiness and to calm the nerves is thanking Allah, the All-Merciful. When we thank Allah, we appreciate the blessings that He has bestowed upon us.
Look at how Allah has blessed us with hearing, sight, reason, religious commitment, provision and a good life. We have so much to thank Allah.

'Check your past and your present, for life is a sequence of experiences from which one should emerge victorious'

KLIA

2010-10-07T23:02:00.002+08:00

Di KLIA sekarang.

This morning I met cikgu Z, who happened to be en suami's colleague ten years ago. His wife passed away 3 weeks ago leaving behind 5 small children. He looked tired.

I told him to call us if he needs any help.

' Just pamper my children with lots of love. That's what they need at the moment'
'I knew the sign since first of Ramadan. She told me to let Hidayah take care of the children if she passed away.'

It was indeed a great trust and honour when cikgu Z mentioned his wife's last wishes. I feel a great responsibility and I hope the Hidayah teachers and I can fulfill their wish.

Two months ago we met cikgu Z and his late wife to discuss about the problem his seven year old son faced in class. There was a great improvement in his son's behaviour after the meeting. I was glad we took the initiative to contact them when the problem arose. Alhamdulillah, the problem was settled.

May Allah bless his family.

Short update

2010-10-04T21:46:00.004+08:00

Aman is going back to Alex this Friday. Hope he'll study hard and be a good, dedicated doctor when he finishes his studies. Good doctors are difficult to come by. So he must focus on his studies and get as much knowledge as he can from the lecturers that teach him.

Once again we'll take the trip to KLIA by bus from Ipoh. En suami will join us in KLIA to send Aman off on Friday morning and drive to Kuala Pilah afterwards. InsyaAllah, on Friday evening , we'll go home to Ipoh.

School is busy with UPKK exams and final year exams. The enrolment for next year is already full and there is a few in the waiting list.

That's all for today.

Rendang Tok

2010-10-01T21:51:00.005+08:00

One of the common food served during Hari Raya is lemang and rendang. For Perakians, we usually cook rendang pedas or rendang tok. A few days ago, I tried cooking rendang tok. Got the recipe from Puan Ros. My mum said that the elders usually slice the ingredients thinly but I followed Ros's method. I use the blender to grind the ingredients.

Here is the recipe for Rendang Tok.

I kg beef - cut into 4 cm pieces
1 kg shallots *
5 garlics*
5 cm ginger*
4 cm galangal (lengkuas)*
gula nira
5 lemon grass*
40 dried chillies*
2 kg coconut milk (I used only 1 kg)
kerisik
cinnamon, cardamon, star anise
2 asam keping
salt

Method :

1. Blend the ingredients marked *
2. Put all the ingredients (except the beef) inside the wok. Cook for 30 minutes .
3. Put the beef and turn down the heat. Simmer until the rendang thickens. Keep stirring.

Not yet done. When it is ready, it will turn dark brown.

Selamat mencuba semua!

Quick updates

2010-09-28T23:38:00.009+08:00

Cik Tutor missed the cats so much. Kerol took their photos just for her.

Kuning

Putih

Celak a.k.a CK
Nia
The look that said it all.
Souvenier from melbourne. Aman anticipating his dad's reaction.
Thank you kerol for the pictures. Study hard and make us proud.

Niat Ikhlas

2010-09-23T21:10:00.004+08:00

Good cook, happy marriage? Wallahualam.

When I got married about 30 years ago, I only cook to avoid starvation. I cook simple dishes such as fried chicken, soup and stir-fry veges. En suami taught me how to cook spaghetti with sardines. Alhamdulillah we survived.

Why? I studied in boarding school all through form 1 to Lower 6. When I went home during the school holidays, I only spent my time sleeping and watching TV.

When my family grew bigger, I polished my skills in cooking. I bought many cookbooks but they were not a great help. I befriended the late mak cik Sofi and she would gave me recipes whenever I complimented the dishes that she cooked. Ayam merah, daging hitam, ayam coklat are among my family favourites. My good friend, Puan Muhaini taught me how to cook Chicken rice and 'mee kari'. Another good friend of mine, who is from Terengganu , taught me how to cook nasi kerabu and baulu kukus. She uses natural colouring from the flowers to colour the rice. Other friends taught me nasi dagang, ikan tiga rasa, ayam tandoori and the list goes on and on.

My late in-laws were really the ones who sincerely taught me how to be a good cook. They would ask me to peel the onions, garlic and prepare all the ingredients needed. Then they would ask me to stir while they throw the ingredients inside the pot! See, I only became a good cook after I had 2 children!

Well not all cookbooks are lousy. I used Chef Wan's step by step recipe when I baked my first pizza. The chocolate cake that I served azhar's friends during hari raya is from a booklet published by TESCO and everybody just loved it.

Learning is a lifelong process. Do not hesitate to ask for the recipes whenever you come across a lovely dish. To all the good cooks that happen to read my blog, share your secrets with us. You'll never know that you are doing good deeds to others , strengthening family ties through the recipes that you shared.

Well, if you happen to marry someone who is not keen to cook, then be patient. Praise her when there is a slight improvement. Give her encouragement. Praise her on her effort. InsyaAllah, she'll be a good cook someday.

Bye-bye Year 6

2010-09-22T17:51:00.003+08:00

Alhamdulillah the exam is almost over. I am glad that the students did quite well. At least in the subject that I taught them. I taught Mathematics to two Year 6 classes. 6 Hud and 6 Adam. Before Hari Raya, I invited my students to come over to my house to study Maths. At first only 3 students responded. After Hari Raya, a group of students from Year 6 Hud came and I helped them to correct their maths mistakes. Since, it was still Hari Raya, I served them nasi lemak and the usual kuih raya. When I went through the students' paper 1 just now, I was quite surprised that 6 Hud fared better in the exams. At the beginning of the year, they were the underdog!
So the moral of the story, we can get good results if we are close to our students, being informal to them once in a while, but the respect is still there.

Aman is away at the moment, visiting his sister in Armidale. Kerol is going back to Jordan on 28th Sept. If all goes well, we might be busy cooking, baking and packing goodies for Kerol. He came home with a really huge suitcase, with souveniers for everybody. He even brought home air zamzam, dates and sweet delicacies from Jordan! It is appropriate that we fill his suitcase with something in return.

This year, the hari raya was a memorable one. There was a steady flow of visitors and I was really happy that they informed me beforehand. Then I could prepare some home-cooked food for them.

It was quite funny that one day Azhar told me this.
"Mak, kawan azhar nak chocolate cake. Dia sanggup bayar."

"Suruh dia buat sendiri, resepi kat blog mak,( Actually I don't mean it , so I said) Just joking, nanti kita buat sama-sama."

May be tonight I'll bake the cake. Gotta go now.

Alhamdulillah

2010-09-16T18:10:00.003+08:00

The guests have gone home. With the help of kerol and Aman, I was able to entertain my ex-students who called on me. Alhamdulillah everybody was having a good time. Azhar also brought along his classmates.

I am glad that all my students are successful in their studies. One of them secured a good job in a gas and oil company and she is only 22 years old! The others are still studying. When I taught them English in primary school long time ago, I made it a habit, to ask each individual students, their personal particulars; their names, parents' occupations, hobbies and their ambitions. It seems their dreams have come true. They are going to be dentist, engineers, lecturer,doctors , teacher and chef . The would-be chef told us that most head chefs in five star hotels are foreigners and they usually use wine to add flavour to their dishes !

One of the favourite food that they ate is chocolate cake. You can make it in a jiffy. Here is the recipe :

Ingredients (A):
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup fresh milk
1 cup oil / melted butter
1 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup condensed milk

Ingredients (B):
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp soda bicarbonate
1 tsp baking powder

Ingredients (c)
3 eggs

Chocolate frosting:
250g cooking chocolate
1 tabspoon butter
150ml double cream

Method :
i) Heat ingredients A in a saucepan until sugar dissolve. Cool the mixture.

ii) Beat eggs until white and fluffy. Add to (i)

iii) Sift flour, soda and baking powder. Add to the above mixture.

iv) Pour into lined and greased baking tin. Steam for 1 hour. Lined with aluminium foil .

v) Use double boiler method to melt the chocolate for the frosting.

16th September

2010-09-15T21:49:00.003+08:00

Aman's 22nd birthday. Hari Malaysia and holidays again.

There will be extra class for year 6 from 8 until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. Then, in the afternoon my ex-students and Aman's friends will visit me. I haven't decided what to cook for them yet.

Kerol bought a book titled 'You Can Be the Happiest Woman in the World' by Dr 'A'id al-Qarni and translated by Huda Khattab. I would like to share these with you....

The Keys to Victory

The key to glory : Obedience to Allah and His Messenger (s.a.w)
The key to provision : Striving hard whilst praying for forgiveness and fearing
Allah, the Exalted
The key to Paradise : Tawhid
The key to faith : Pondering the signs and creation of Allah
The key to righteousness : Sincerity
The key to spiritual life : Studying the Quran, beseeching Allah in the hours before dawn and giving up sin
The key to knowledge : Asking the right questions and listening attentively
The key to victory : Patience
The key to success : Piety (fearing Allah)
The key to getting more : Gratitude
The key to longing for the Hereafter : Disinterest in worldly gains.
The key to a response : Doa (supplication)

Raya 2010

2010-09-14T18:00:00.013+08:00

To all my sisters, brother, children, nephews and nieces....

Even though you were born in Ipoh, Kluang, Portsmouth, Melaka,Bandar Baru Bangi, Bukit Mertajam,Kuala Lumpur, your root is here, in a serene little kampung, away from the hustle bustle of the city. That's why, every year, whether you like it or not, the trip to Kampung Lasah which is about 15 km from Sungei Siput, is a must. Alhamdulillah everybody looked forward to visit Mak We (my father's sister) who live with his youngest son and his family. We would bring along several chickens, a packet of rice and thosai for breakfast. Mum cooked the thosai and I prepared chicken curry.

When we were young, we spent our long school holidays in the village.We became 'orang kampung' for a while ; waiting patiently for the durians in the dusun, bathing in the little stream beside the house, playing pondok-pondok and sometimes helping the elders to grind coffee beans.

The village is neglected now. Most of my cousins' children are successful in their studies and staying in the big cities. Hari Raya is the only time when we meet and get to know each other.

En Doktor managed to get 3 days off and drove home after Hari Raya prayer.

Clearly, Ayah was the happiest person on that day.

Lunch was served. As usual we had Mak We's speciality , ' Ayam kerabu'.

Aman and Amir.

Imam Muda Daniel. He was elected to be the imam for 3 days during last Ramadan.

My nephew Mohamad and his father, Azman . En Azman is going to Durban , South Africa in October.

Grilling chicken by the riverside.

Waiting for the chicken to cook!

Selamat Bercuti.

2010-09-03T13:14:00.004+08:00

Sekolah sudah mula bercuti. Saya dan anak-anak masih berada di Desa Perwira. Anak-anak gembira bersolat terawih di Masjid Jalan Diary. Aman pula rajin mengikuti program Qiam yang dianjurkan oleh masjid di 10 malam terakhir Ramadhan. Lagi pun beberapa orang murid Tahun 6 ada menyatakan hasrat untuk datang ke rumah minggu hadapan. Bukan untuk beraya tapi untuk buat latihan Matematik. Maklumlah peperiksaan UPSR sudah semakin hampir.

Seronok berinteraksi dengan budak-budak kecil yang bersih dari dosa dan noda. Satu hari, ketika melintasi blok Tahun 1 menuju ke kelas Tahun 6, sekumpulan murid Tahun 1 berlari-lari anak menuju ke arah saya. Kerisauan jelas kelihatan di wajah mereka.
'Muallimah!' seorang daripada mereka berbicara.
'Kalau menangis batal tak puasa kita?'

'Tidak,' jawab saya sambil cuba menahan gelak.

Murid-murid ini juga boleh tahan pintarnya. Ketika menggantikan guru yang sedang cuti sakit, seorang murid Tahun 1 mengadu kawannya suka sorokkan alat tulisnya. Jadi saya pun mulalah memberi ceramah sempena bulan Ramadhan. Saya tegaskan kepada mereka bahawa di bulan Ramadhan semua orang jadi baik sebab syaitan telah diikat. Belum sempat saya sambung ceramah saya, mereka beramai-ramai kata,
'Tapi nafsu ada lagikan Muallimah!'
Memang kenyataan itu tidak dapat di sangkal. Di bulan yang barakah ini, kejadian pecah rumah, ragut, dan perbuatan jenayah lain semakin menjadi-jadi. Setiap individu bertanggungjawab untuk memastikan diri mereka bersih daripada anasir yang dibenci oleh Allah.

Perlu berehat sebentar sebelum memulakan tugas di dapur. InsyaAllah bertemu kembali.

One World

2010-09-02T00:05:00.003+08:00

Adakah segala yang berlaku kebelakangan ini, di bulan Ramadhan yang barakah ,merupakan satu ujian dari Allah yang Maha Esa?
Ujian untuk menguji sejauh mana keimanan dan kesabaran kita. Kita dihimpit dengan berbagai masalah di dalam negara dan juga dengan negara jiran. Umum tahu, melakukan kebaikan (amar maaruf) sangat mudah tetapi untuk mencegah kemungkaran (nahi munkar) memerlukan iman yang sejati.

'Do unto others what you want people to do unto you'

Nuzul Quran

2010-08-27T08:31:00.002+08:00

Hari ini cuti. Just coming home from the wet market, and the cats had a lovely fresh fish breakfast. We plan to do a bit of gotong-royong around the house today, in preparation for Hari Raya.

Nuzul Quran is always special to us. Cik Tutor was born on Nuzul Quran. Being old-fashioned, we did not plan any names for her and a friend suggested 'Khadijah'. We were delighted and my family always call her in full even at home. Not dijah, dijay, dij, jah or DJ. I'm glad that she had dropped 'Park' at the end of her name and retain her maiden name.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against the non-muslims. I only wish that my next 'menantu' is blessed with taufik and hidayah from the al-Mighty. Fluent in reading the Quran, so that he'll take the responsibility to teach his children reading the holy book after every maghrib prayers, try his best to solat jemaah at the mosque or surau and get along fine with his family and his in-laws. Yes, I don't ask for much. If there are a few shortcomings here and there, things such as 'panas baran', 'cranky', 'suka laser', 'kuat tidur', I would just ignore it. After all, we are human and human are not perfect. Normally good husbands will let their hair down at home, so the wives have to tolerate the misbehaviour sometimes!

Another thing, I did a lot of cooking lately and Aman insisted me to post the recipes in the blog! InsyaAllah, I hope I have the time.

Well, it's time for gotong-royong. See you soon, insyaAllah.

As I was Passing .....

2010-08-26T20:17:00.002+08:00

If by the end of this year, nothing happens, then please find me someone...

Dia tak kisah, saya pun tak kisah. Berat ni....

InsyaAllah, there's still hope. This is the month of Ramadhan. Allah listens to our prayers...

Tahniah

2010-08-23T23:55:00.002+08:00

Salam Ramadan..

Saya sangat bangga dengan kejayaan anak-anak murid saya. Especially the late bloomers.
Slowly, silently, they made it.

Last Wednesday, I met one of my student's mother.
'Apa kabo syamsul? Dah keje ke?' To my surprise he is now a tutor in one of the public universities.
He was one of my favourite students. Mild mannered and very respectful to the elders. Imagine the long winded journey that he had to endure. After getting a certificate in engineering, he continued his study in KUiTTHO for his degree.
We were in Poliklinik Taqwa when I saw a glimpse of him , registering for a medical check-up. He smiled broadly when he saw me and stopped for a chat. Another teacher, muallim razman , joined in the conversation. Syamsul thanked both of us, for teaching him. Then he asked the ustaz.
'Muallim, sekarang ni ada tak budak yang nakal lagi dari saya kat hidayah?'
' Ada' kata muallim Razman.
'Mualim jangan putus asa. Muallim didik mereka sebagaimana muallim didik saya.'

When asked, when would he visit us in Hidayah, he said he was quite shy to go and meet his former teachers because he had nothing to show us yet. He promised to study hard , get his degree and aimed to be a lecturer.

For me, this is a true success. Perseverence, hard work, full commitment in whatever you do and not forgetting your parents' doa paid off in the long run. Congratulations and I pray that your future will be bright, as bright as the morning sun. Ameen.

Kepulangan

2010-08-15T17:38:00.002+08:00

Salam. Aman telah selamat pulang untuk bercuti selama 2 bulan. It took quite a careful planning to welcome him home. En suami drove from Kuala Pilah. En doktor took a flight from KB the day before to be with his wife. Azhar and I took an 11 o'clock bus from Ipoh. From KLIA we went straight to Kuala Pilah. En suami had not unpacked the boxes from Labuan so we took the opportunity to tidy the house, bought a portable stove and prepared the meals for berbuka.

The next day, en doktor and cik hanim decided to go home to Ipoh with us. It was indeed a pleasant surprise for their grandparents! Imagine the amount of cooking I had to do! Spaghetti carbonara, apple crumble with custard sauce, daging masak merah, sambal udang, curries and more curries. Luckily, Aman was always willing to help in the kitchen. So, Aman and I did all the cooking and Azhar helped to wash the dishes.

Now, the three of us are off to Tambun for berbuka. InsyaAllah, see you soon.

First Time

2010-08-11T23:12:00.002+08:00

Salam. There is always a 'first time' for everything. Today, is the first time I do it with confidence in this holy month of Ramadan. If mom didn't suggest it, then I think I would not bother to try it at all.

Sebenarnya bendanya biasa-biasa saje. Tapi memandangkan ia dilakukan di bulan puasa, jadi ia menjadi agak rumit dan mungkin agak mencabar buat diri saya. Setiap tahun, (for as long as I can remember), ayah akan pilih 1 ramadan untuk buat more (jamuan berbuka puasa di surau) . Ayah akan brief caterer, belikan bahan-bahan untuk dimasak dan kami (anak-anak ayah dan menantu-menantu) hanya tunggu makanan sampai untuk diagih-agihkan kepada jiran tetangga, surau dan saudara-mara.

Tapi tahun ini, mak mencadangkan supaya kami masak sendiri! Menu sama seperti tahun-tahun sebelumnya. Yang lucunya, ayah pasang standby tukang masak, just in case kami tarik diri di saat akhir! Tukang masak siap cadangkan buat menu lain yang mudah.

Tapi kami persevere. Sebaik balik dari pasar, bermulalah sesi potong memotong. Dalam kesibukan itu, mak sempat lagi pergi tadarrus al-Quran di surau. Ayah pula yang sibuk menolong di dapur. Cu pun ada pulang ke Ipoh dan memberi bantuan yang berharga. Lepas zuhur, barulah kami mula sesi masak-memasak. Not bad for a first-timer. Saya pulang awal ke Rapat Setia, jadi tak dapatlah mendengar komen dari food critic (my dad).

Personally, jika dipanjangkan umur, aktiviti ini boleh diteruskan lagi tahun hadapan.
InsyaAllah.

Bertemu kembali

2010-08-04T21:47:00.003+08:00

Ramadan bakal menjelang. Mohon Allah kurniakan kesihatan yang baik agar kita dapat tingkatkan amalan di bulan yang barakah ini.

As born muslims, we always take our religion for granted. Semalam saya layan YouTube dengan Azhar. Kami sama-sama tengok video beberapa orang new converts (or reverts) yang bercakap dengan penuh yakin tentang Islam. Betapa mereka mencemburui kita yang dilahirkan Muslim, 'living a structured life as ordained by our Creator' with the guidance of our parents or guardians, sedangkan mereka tercari-tercari jalan yang lurus itu. But the moment they grasp the TRUTH, there was no turning back. Bayangkan baru beberapa tahun masuk Islam, mereka boleh membaca al-Quran dengan baik. Malah boleh mengeluarkan hujah bersandarkan firman Allah dalam bahasa Al-Quran! Saya setakat boleh baca al-Quran dan membaca terjemahan ayat untuk memahaminya.

Learning is a life-long process. There is still a lot to learn. Semoga Allah mencampakkan taufik dan hidayahnya kepada kita sepanjang bulan yang barakah ini dan menjadikan kita muslim yang lebih baik.

Untuk anak-anak semua, rebutlah peluang di bulan Ramadan untuk :-

i) Memohon pertolongan dari Allah dengan berdoa sesungguh hati dan YAKIN bahawa Allah akan mengabulkan permintaan kita.

ii) Tingkatkan amalan solat sunat, tarawih, hajat, taubat, dhuha dan lain-lain.

iii) Banyakkan membaca al-Quran, kalau boleh cuba khatam sekali sepanjang bulan Ramadan.

iv) Make your parents happy. If you have parents-in-law, then make them happier! Allah will bless your life.

v) Always be kind and charitable. Be generous with your siblings.

vi) Jangan buang masa. Keep yourself busy with good deeds.

Best of luck. I love you so much. Muahs.

Inspirasi...

2010-07-31T11:59:00.003+08:00

Seorang sahabat bertanya. Ikhlas. Kenapa letak nama dan gambar orang lain? Laman tu untuk orang yang kita kenal.

'Saje tak nak promote diri.'

Naper gambar DIA? Rasanya semua bertanya tanpa ada jawapan yang pasti.
Mungkin ada juga yang bertanya, kenapa saya biarkan dirinya hanyut dengan labu-labunya....

Sepatutnya gunakanlah peluang dan ruang yang ada untuk merealisasikan angan-angan dan impian. Sudah pasti bukan angan Mat Jenin.

Benar, sudah 16 purnama. Quite a long time, and time is moving fast.

Secara jujurnya, saya nyatakan, di situlah satu-satu tempatnya si DIA bermaharajalela. Tiada poster besar DIA menghiasi bilik. Tiada gambar DIA di dalam beg duit. Tiada lagu DIA berkumandang. Sebabnya jelas. Mungkin ada la sedikit sebanyak perasaan kesian dan kagum. Jika benar DIA dapat mengubati gundah di hati, maka tidak perlulah talian hayat yang dibuat setiap hari....

Saya faham dan sering memberi dokongan dan sokongan. Kenapa tak nak promote? We are nobody di alam yang fana ini. Untuk meminta dan memohon kepada yang Maha Esa pun rasa tak layak. Malu dengan amalan kita yang tidak seberapa. Tapi saya mengharap dan berharap agar sinar bahagia akhirnya menjelma. Hanya Allah sahaja yang mengetahui segala yang tersirat dan tersurat.

She is good and she is doing good although a bit busy nowadays. I know, because I am her source of inspiration! Not Jay Park. LOL

wajah kesayangan...

2010-07-27T21:34:00.006+08:00

Ini wajah-wajah kesayangan anak-anak saya.....

Sentiasa diingatkan.....

2010-07-26T15:23:00.007+08:00

Alhamdulillah. Selamat pergi dan selamat kembali. Program perkhemahan Guru dan staff Kompleks Pendidikan Al-Hidayah telah berlangsung dengan jayanya. Antara objektif program adalah untuk menguatkan silaturrahim di antara staff, pemantapan aqidah, meningkatkan amalan (ibadah) dan 'release tension'. Di akhir program 1 hari semalam itu, semua objektif telah tercapai!

1. Seramai 80 orang yang terdiri dari pengurus, staff sokongan dan guru-guru (SMAH, SRAH dan SRAHSI) diagihkan kepada 2 kumpulan lelaki dan 5 kumpulan wanita. Setiap kumpulan akan bermalam dalam chalet yang sama, menyiapkan tugasan, jungle trekking dan menyediakan lunch. Walaupun setiap kumpulan mempunyai ahli-ahli dari pelbagai institusi, akhirnya mereka menjadi rapat dan semua tugasan dilaksanakan dengan jayanya.

2. Ceramah-ceramah pula berkait dengan kepercayaan kepada Allah dan memupuk rasa sayang dan rindu kepada Rasulullah. Sikap segelintir orang Islam yang tidak mengamalkan Islam secara menyeluruh membuatkan Islam terpinggir dan tercicir. Ciri-ciri seperti menepati waktu, komitmen kerja seolah Allah melihat apa yang sedang kita lakukan, menghargai budaya ilmu sepatutnya menjadi amalan setiap muslim. Malang sekali ketika ini, non-muslim yang mengamalkan ciri-ciri tersebut pula yang menjadi gah di persada dunia.

3. Setiap kumpulan dikehendaki menghabiskan 1 juz bacaan al-Quran dalam kumpulan, mengumpul biodata 10 peserta secara terperinci, menulis kisah seorang sahabat Rasulullah dan menjawab 5 soalan di checkpoint ketika jungle trekking. Semua beres. Di akhir perjalanan (sampai di waterfall), semua kumpulan menyediakan lunch dan makan beramai-ramai.

4. Lokasi perkhemahan (di Kuala Kangsar) yang dilengkapi dengan 10 fully furnished chalets dan 5 dorms memang selesa dan jauh dari hiruk pikuk kota.

Helpless

2010-07-21T23:10:00.004+08:00

Ipoh..Puchong...Kuala Pilah..Armidale...KB..Irbid..Alex
Hati bagai disiat-siat bila terasa kita hanyalah makhluk Allah yang tidak berdaya. Terutamanya bila orang-orang yang kita sayang sangat-sangat memerlukan kita. Just a big hug may be. Ramai sangat yang saya sayang... ayah dan mak walaupun di Ipoh, waktu bersama hanyalah di hujung minggu. En suami di Kuala Pilah ditemani sahabat-sahabat yang dipercayai. Yang sedang kesunyian, En doktor , Cik Hanim dan Cik tutor . Sekali sekala, kerol ada menelefon bertanyakan khabar dan menyatakan rindu kepada saya sekeluarga. Ah syahdunya bila ungkapan rindu itu dilafazkan. Berbunga-bunga hati ini. Aman rajin online...a bit macho.. so kurang sikit rasa sayu di hati.

Frankly speaking, saya hanya mengharapkan bantuan dan redha Ilahi. Hanya Allah sahaja yang dapat memberi perlindungan kepada insan-insan yang saya sayang di mana jua mereka berada. Pesanan kepada semua : Be strong, have faith in Allah and everything will be alright. Face the tribulations in life with patience and you'll be rewarded accordingly.

Don't you ever worry about me.I drowned my helplessness with work and more work, hoping that Allah would be pleased with everything that I do.

Thinking...

2010-07-13T21:37:00.003+08:00

Of course, I'd be happy to visit armidale. How I wish I were a self-centered mother who only think about her own children and shun others'! Unfortunately, I am not like that. InsyaAllah, financially we are alright. Time is very precious at the moment and I have to make sure that my students are well-prepared for their coming exams. I strongly believe that if we take care of other people's children then Allah will take care of mine, whereever they are. I really hope that everything is fine. Forget Jay laaa. He is so famous now that he hardly had time to call, hahahaha. He is not the only KUMBANG around!

Be happy and take care of yourself really well. Cook and eat nutritious food. Make sure fruits and vegetables are included in the diet. Exercise. Get together with your girlfriends and plan some activities. I am sure you'll be ready to face all the hard work if you are healthy and happy.

Ramadhan is just round the corner. Make sure you read the Quran every day and try to khatam in the holy month.

It would be nice if we could visit you in Armidale. Nantila mak bincang dengan ayah. Till then, take care.

Blessed

2010-07-09T21:42:00.003+08:00

Secara rasminya en suami telah berpindah ke semenanjung. Everybody was in denial. 'You just go there for a long meeting. So, there'll be no good byes!' At the airport, he hesitated to hug a guy who had helped him a lot during his 3 year stay in Labuan for fear of tearful departure.
So, tomorrow, we're going to have a look at en suami's new house in Kuala Pilah. En doktor and our daughter-in-law would join us.
Alhamdulillah, we live life to the fullest. There are short-comings, dramas , trials and tribulations but we survive with the help of the almighty. Once my friend surprised me by saying, ' Oh we have almost the same problem, but you managed to hide it with your laughter'.
Prinsip saya mudah. Ujian Allah adalah asam garam kehidupan. Cry your hearts out when you are alone, performing your prayers or reciting the quran, the Kalamullah, as if you are confiding your sorrows with the Most Beneficient and the Most Merciful. After that, you are ready to face the world. Work diligently as if there is no tomorrow and always be kind and respect others. Think before you talk. Perform sujud syukur whenever glad tidings come your way.
Be happy because happiness is contagious. Make people laugh and laugh with them.

Enough

2010-06-30T22:10:00.005+08:00

Salam. I've had enough. Recent test showed that the pupils were not learning anything. More failures and fewer A's. So, no more playing around. I mean business. I had given them a long lecture and some warnings too.

After the wedding reception, I've become lazier. I hardly cook and just caught up with the mundane household chores. Luckily, there are only the two of us. So, now I know the feeling of hopelessness when you didn't get any work done. I had a long nap yesterday and today I am enthusiastic enough to do the chores, Alhamdulillah.

I've heard from friends that 'walimatulurus' is a lot of hard work. After the big day was over, my whole body ached and I was sleepy most of the time. It took me 3 weeks to fully recover.

'When you set out a plan in life and it doesn't go quite right, it's because Allah has a better plan for you. Always remember that.' - Yusuf Islam

Gotta go to bed early tonight. See you soon, insyaAllah.

Checklist

2010-06-28T21:20:00.002+08:00

Salam. Getting busier and busier since the UPSR exam is getting nearer. Mujurlah ada back-up dari kawan-kawan yang sedia membantu.

Important dates:
1 Julai - Bacaan Yassin di sekolah
2 Julai - Jemputan makan malam di rumah MB
5, 6, 7 dan 8 Julai - Peperiksaan Agama anjuran MUSLEH.
9 Julai - Bengkel teknik menjawab soalan UPSR
13 Julai - Percubaan UPSR JPN Perak.
20 Julai hingga September - Kelas tambahan UPSR
23 - 24 Julai - Perkhemahan Guru di Kuala Kangsar

Demam world cup melanda murid-murid di sekolah. Tiap-tiap hari beberapa orang murid tidur dengan nyenyaknya di ruang rehat dalam bilik guru. Sebelum itu mereka komplen sakit kepala atau tidak sedap badan.

Sebelum memulakan pelajaran, saya dengan selamba akan bertanya, pasukan negara mana yang menang. Riuhlah kelas dengan segala update, siap menuduh pengadil kena rasuah sebab membatalkan gol! Jadi, sekarang saya menyedari ,nasihat yang saya berikan supaya tidur awal dan mengikuti perkembangan WC dengan hanya menonton 'highlights' tidak diendahkan oleh murid-murid saya yang bakal periksa tidak lama lagi. Sigh!

It's ok. UPSR is not really a big exam. WC habis 11 Julai, so ada lagi 2 bulan untuk catch up, insyaAllah. Let them enjoy the fiesta!

Teka-teki

2010-06-26T18:53:00.003+08:00

Semalam tidur awal. Lebih kurang pukul 12 malam, sayup-sayup terdengar Azhar menjawab panggilan telefon. "Mak dah tidur" katanya acuh tak acuh. Saya bingkas bangun apabila azhar bagitau cik tutor was in tears!

So the possibilities for her condition were :-
1. Cherry (her housemate) scolded her for coming home late.
2. Her car broke down on the way home from University.
3. Stuck with her experimental analysis
4. Jay, who is in Korea at the moment, was sent home AGAIN!
5. Miss us too much till she cried her hearts out! (Ini ayat perasan)

So bermulalah sesi royanan dan indirect counseling selama 2 jam. Semua tekaan di atas adalah sia-sia belaka dan selepas bersembang panjang, saya tidur dengan lena sekali.
Yes, her teary-eyed condition has nothing to do with her. It is about other people who are very close to her heart.

Briefly I try to sum up the situations :-

i. When two very different people got married, they should have one ultimate aim; To seek the pleasure of Allah. Jaga batas agama, solat 5 waktu dijaga baik-baik, elakkan fitnah, sentiasa berlapang dada dan cuba baiki diri(self-improvement). Tapi kalau lepas kawen, perangai lebih teruk dari pelesit, then you are in for trouble. Jika sekiranya couple tu memang baik tapi diduga dengan ujian, kedua-dua pihak perlu banyak bersabar sebab hidup di dunia ini hanya sementara dan Allah yang Maha mengetahui akan melimpahkan rahmatnya ,berkat sabar mereka. Kita sebagai on-looker ini hanya mampu berdoa supaya Allah memberi yang terbaik kepada sahabat kita itu. Mesti ada HIKMAH di sebalik apa yang terjadi.

ii. Berjumpa, berpisah adalah resam hidup. Tapi dalam dunia yang serba canggih ini, kita tidak berpisah dalam erti kata yang sebenarnya. Saya masih dapat melihat wajah cik tutor tiap-tiap hari bila berskype, walaupun ketika cik tutor sedang menonton VCD! Lepas ini perlu tingkatkan culinary skills anda untuk memastikan tiada keperluan untuk mencari tempat makan yang menepati selera. I think that is the only adventure that you've had with your friend. Jalan-jalan cari makan!

iii. Jangan rasa down, jika sekiranya kita sedang melawan arus. Kekalkan jati diri untuk mengamalkan Islam walaupun kita keseorangan. Jangan terkejut jika kita berjumpa muslim yang hanya ada pada nama. Jika kita berpegang teguh pada agama, kita akan jadi kuat untuk menghadapi cabaran yang mendatang. Banyak-banyak baca al-Quran.

Sebuah hadis diriwayatkan daripada Thauban r.a., bahawa Rasulullah SAW bersabda, yang bermaksud:

"Setelah aku wafat, setelah lama aku tinggalkan, umat Islam akan lemah. Di atas kelemahan itu, orang kafir akan menindas mereka bagai orang yang menghadapi piring dan mengajak orang lain makan bersama."

Maka para sahabat r.a. pun bertanya, "Apakah ketika itu umat Islam telah lemah dan musuh sangat kuat?"

Sabda Baginda SAW: "Bahkan masa itu mereka lebih ramai tetapi tidak berguna, tidak bererti dan tidak menakutkan musuh. Mereka adalah ibarat buih di laut."

Sahabat bertanya lagi, "Mengapa seramai itu tetapi seperti buih di laut?"

Jawab Rasulullah SAW, "Kerana ada dua penyakit, iaitu mereka ditimpa penyakit al-Wahn."

Sahabat bertanya lagi, "Apakah itu al-Wahn?"

Rasulullah SAW bersabda: "Cintakan dunia dan takut akan kematian."

InsyaAllah things will be fine. Just be yourself and always
remember Allah in what ever you do.

Baik

2010-06-25T19:04:00.003+08:00

Salam. Baru balik dari Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN). Kad pengenalan Azhar 'missing in action', so kena buat lain. Kalau tidak Azhar tak boleh fly ke Labuan. Thumbs up kepada civil service in Malaysia. Sebelum ini, hanya JPJ yang memberikan servis yang cepat dan mesra pelanggan.

Ketika membuat repot di balai polis pun, kami mendapat layanan yang baik dari petugas. Abang polis tu menasihatkan Azhar supaya berhati-hati dan untuk mengelakkan IC hilang, beliau menyarankan Azhar bawa salinan IC sahaja.

Servis di JPN pun cepat dan secara tidak langsung Azhar dinasihati supaya menjaga IC dengan baik. Panjang juga sesi kaunseling yang diberikan. Sepatutnya kehilangan IC kali pertama akan didenda sebanyak RM100. Tapi memandangkan Azhar masih belajar, dendanya hanyalah RM10 dan abang muda tu siap warning, kalau IC hilang lagi, nanti kena denda RM200 +RM10! Eloklah ada orang tolong nasihatkan.

Masih belum set tarikh untuk ke Labuan. En suami kata ada syarikat yang tolong kemaskan barang untuk pindah. Dapat 3 atau 4 hari di Labuan pun sudah memadai untuk mengucapkan terima kasih dan selamat tinggal kepada sahabat-sahabat yang banyak membantu en suami ketika saya tiada di sisinya. Pensyarah-pensyarah di KML yang kebanyakannya berasal dari semenanung memang baik dan saling bantu-membantu.

Esok akan diadakan program hari kad kemajuan di sekolah. Program bermula pada pukul 8.00 pagi dan tamat pada pukul 1.00 tgh hari. Diharap sesi perbincangan dengan ibu bapa ini akan membantu pihak sekolah untuk meningkatkan lagi pencapaian murid-murid insyaAllah.

Till then, see you later!