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.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Nice
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
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
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Happy Eid
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.
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.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Student's Pencil
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!
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!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Convinced!
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.
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.
Monday, August 15, 2011
NASTA (Tat Nanas Gulung)
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.
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.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Limited Time
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.
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.
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