Bringing up our Young

My teacher, Ust Zhul gave a lecture in Pergas yesterday. And the topic was 'Bringing up our Young as Muslims in the present age" Its Challenges and our responsibilities"

Isn't that a much desired and needy topic for Muslims nowadays?

Though i may not have kids now, but insya allah, hope that I could benefit much from the lecture and be able to put them into practice so that i may raise sensible and pious children in the near future. amin ya rabb!

Just a gist of what Ust said during the lecture: (you can visit his blog at the link above)

Ustaz began by telling us that he was aware of all that discussions that revolved around muslims; H1N1,facebook etc. These, he felt was less significant than the impending issues and concerns the ummah should discuss about. And especially so, the importance of the Development and Education of the Muslims.

To be a Muslim, you need nurturing. How are we going to nurture our young?

Do we send them to Montessori? The Montessori system is widely used in most pre schools. Do you want to send them there too?

Ustaz started off by quoting this verse from the Quran: (Surah al-Imran:102)
'And hold fast, all of you together, to the cable of Allah, and do not separate. And remember Allah's favour unto you: how ye were enemies and He made friendship between your hearts so that ye became as brothers by His grace; and (how) ye were upon the brink of an abyss of fire, and He did save you from it. Thus Allah maketh clear His revelations unto you, that haply ye may be guided,'

Every Muslim is important to us. He talks about the youth in our current times. The dangers that they were in. The concern and education that they lacked.

du'a iftitah is often recited in our subuh prayers. (Surah al-Anam:162)

"Say: "Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds: "

Companies have their own 'vision' or 'mission statement'. Let us as Muslims develop this as our mission statement in our daily lives. We only have this chance of a lifetime. Since Allah swt has guided our hearts towards Islam, shouldn't we be cherishing what He has given us?

"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah) never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost. (all spiritual good)."

Hadith of Prophet s.a.w:

'Every child is born in a state of fitrah(pure innocence); it is the parent that will make him to be a Jew, or a Christian or a pagan.'

Hence, it is the amanah of a parent.

Hadith reported by al-Hakim:

'Open(speak or when starting to teach in the beginning) recite upon your children the words, 'Laa ilaa Ha il laalah' (There is no god except Allah)

Remember our Kalimatul Haqq.

Instead of singing,'Rockabye baby on the tree top', why not try to sing this 'lullabye of kalimah' to your baby.

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w is our best Educator. Muslims must bear in mind this and not follow any other people of these modern times.

He also said:

Educate (nurture) your children upon 3 things: (Desired outcomes)

- To love your Prophet s.a.w

- To love the family members of his household

- Learn to recite the al-Quran(hadith narrated by Thabrani)

If you don't know the person, how do you love the person? How many of us know the Prophet, know the sirah of our Prophet s.a.w? Maulids are meant to remind/help us remember our Prophet. Do we know what is being read?

Prophet s.a.w said: 'Teach your children to obey Allah, and make them to be mindful(fear to ever)being disobedient towards Allah, instruct them to carry out the commandments, and to abstain from the forbidden, because this will preserve them and you from the Hell fire.' (hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas).

Allah swt teaches us through Luqman in al-Quran: (Surah Luqman:12~19)

We bestowed (in the past) wisdom on Luqman: "Show (thy) gratitude to Allah." Any who is (so) grateful does so to the profit of his own soul: but if any is ungrateful verily Allah is free of all wants, worthy of all praise. (12) - Train our children to be grateful towards Allah swt. Nurture the feeling of thankfulness in our children.

Behold, Luqman said to his son admonishing him: "O my son! Join not in worship (others) with Allah: for false worship is indeed the highest wrong-doing." (13) - The sin of shirk must always be avoided. Do not join partners with Allah in worship.

And We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother bear him, and in years twain was his weaning: (hear the command) "Show gratitude to Me and to thy parents: to Me is (thy final) Goal. (14) - Show gratitude towards parents. Teach them to learn how to respect.(one sign of the Akirah:mothers/parents becoming slaves to their children)

"But if they strive to make the join in worship with Me things of which thou hast no knowledge obey them not; Yet bear them company in this life with justice (and consideration) and follow the way of those who turn to Me (in love): in the End the return of you all is to Me, and I will tell you the truth (and meaning) of all that ye did." (15) - Even if your parents are not muslims, you must still take care of them in their old age. Just remember, don't join them in worship other than Allah.

"O my son!" (said Luqman) "If there be (but) the weight of a mustard-seed and it were (hidden) in a rock, or (anywhere) in the heavens or on earth, Allah will bring it forth: for Allah understands the finer mysteries, (and) is well-acquainted (with them). (16) - Taqwa. If you possess this element, your children will follow.

"O my son! Establish regular prayer, enjoin what is just, and forbid what is wrong: and bear with patient constancy whatever betide thee; for this is firmness (of purpose) in (the conduct of) affairs. (17) - Solat! This has been largely neglected. Destroy it, and you will destroy your faith. Prayers are the first thing to be accounted for. Train them to justice; patience (sabr). Inculcation programmes like observance of fasting in Ramadan, Hajj)

"And swell not thy cheek (for pride) at men nor walk in insolence through the earth; for Allah loveth not any arrogant boaster. (18) - Self esteem should not be overtrained till the ego gets 'boosted'. Humility must be inculcated. Respect other people. Be concerned of your shortcomings, and not others.

"And be moderate in thy pace, and lower thy voice; for the harshest of sounds without doubt is the braying of the ass." (19) - Teach them to be gentle and moderate.(means of character; not the volume of the voice). This is the teaching of Adab.

Due to time limitations, this will continue at a later time. You can visit his blog for more notes.

Please forgive me.

Allah is our Preserver and Sustainer

11 May 2009 was a subsituted PH for Vesak Day. And I was already planning my activities in full gear.

"I could sleep a little later after my Faj'r prayers, i thought to myself". How wonderful is that?
It's like the weekend never ends.

But on that Sunday night, my body was sending some signals to my brain. I was feeling lethargic, my body was beginning to ache. Oh dear.... I was hoping that i wouldn't wake up the next day feeling sick.

And true enough, I was already having a fever in the wee hours of Monday morning... I couldn't sleep well and my whole body was aching so badly...When my husband woke up, i told him i wasn't feeling well, he got me a wet towel for my forehead. I couldn't take any medicine because i have allergies towards paracetamol.

I was really struggling to get out from bed for my subuh prayers. To the extent that I even had to use a chair to perform my prayers. After prayers, i went back to bed again. I was really feeling so weak. I continued to sleep and sleep and sleep because i just couldn't do anything at all. My body couldn't take it.

I called my mum because i thought i could get well by late afternoon and i could drop by and visit her but she told me to rest at home. My fever got higher till it reached 39 degrees celsius and there's nothing much i could do about it. I just continued to sleep it off. I struggled to wake up at 3plus to pray my zuhr and tried to keep awake for my asar prayers.

I went to see the doctor with the help of my husband after magrib. And i could recalled that i didn't finish my dinner and went back to bed. All i could do is to sleep and sleep.

Things just didn't get better on Tuesday and i had to take another day of MC on Wednesday. Fever went down but my body was still aching when i returned to work on Thursday.

During those sick days, i had never prayed once to Allah swt to remove it but only to lighten it, for i know sickness removes sins. and I prayed fervently for His Forgiveness. amin ya robbal alamin.

"What, did you think that We created you in mere idle play, and that you would not be returned to Us?But, high exalted is Allah, the King, the True! There is no god but He, the Lord of the Noble Throne.
(Surah al Muminun 118-116)

Humility

Habib Umar on Humility (Awaarif al-Ma-aarif)

"The heart is the place where humility for Allah resides, the heart is the source of humility for Allah, the heart is the place of humility for Allah, the heart is the container of humility for Allah. The heart is th treasury of humility for Allah, and if the light of humility settles in this heart, then secrets will spread from it to other hearts and the signs of the heart will become manifest in it sspeech and its interaction(his speech and interaction) with those who are close to him and (also) with those who are distant from him, and in every affair of his; in his secrets and in all that is apparent of him, and because of this he will be sincerely devoted and attached with all honesty in seeking elevation and an increase in his proximity and felicity and he will ramin like this until the unseen realm will become to him as it it is seen.

So whoever does not have humility will not find actions that will be a means to reach Allah and His acceptance."

Our Perfect Exemplar

Every Muslim should be familiar with how our Prophet s.a.w behaves towards people, whether they were Muslims or non Muslims.

And we know, many a times, actions do speak louder than words.


Remember the stories we hear about our beloved Prophet s.a.w? There's one story that i had it stuck on my head amongst many others that were told.

There was an old lady who didn't like our Prophet s.a.w. So everytime our Prophet s.a.w walked below a bridge, she would throw rubbish down and it would land on our Rasulullah s.a.w. Every day, she would do that. Until one day, Prophet s.a.w walked past the bridge but to his surprise, no rubbish came down. So he went around and asked where does the old lady stay and he was told that she was sick. So he went to her house and visit her. The old lady was shocked! She never expect Rasulullah s.a.w to visit her despite all those disgusting acts that she did to him.

This is Rasulullah s.a.w. The man that was sent down as a mercy to mankind, to perfect our character and as a perfect exemplar to mankind.

And I would like to quote one of the statement that Shaykh Khalil Moore said in his recent talk @ SimplyIslam:
Love is a reciprocal thing. He(Rasulullah s.a.w) loves us. And why can't we reciprocate his love by loving him back?

Random reports of a convert

I’m going to relate an incident that happened about a month ago. I got a sms from a friend who wanted me to volunteer for Darul Arqam’s Public Lecture. In that sms, it specifically asked for Chinese converts but I didn’t know the reason behind such request. Anyhow, I signed up for it but I missed the briefing session.

Dr Gerald Dirks was our guest speaker and the venue was at the NTUC Auditorium. And I heard from another friend that the security in the building is very tight, and no prayers will be allowed in the auditorium because security cameras were everywhere. And the talk had been scheduled to deliver from 5 to 7pm. And volunteers had to assemble for a final briefing by 4pm. So what about my asar prayers then? I called up my friend and she told me that Darul will arrange for a small prayer area for volunteers. Alhamdulillah, I cry out.

Took my wudhu and left my house. Volunteers who attended the briefing session were given their stations to carry out their jobs. Since I didn’t attend the briefing, I was told to position myself at the entrance to give out door gifts, together with a few others. And I think, there were enough manpower to take turns to pray. I know that my amanah is to carry out my volunteer job conscientiously but I do not want to delay my prayer too late. So I approached my friend for the musollah. She told me to wait as they wanted to wait for the security guard to move away from the premises.

Waited and waited. Finally I followed her to an area where there was no cameras along with another sister. A couple of sajadahs were placed on the floor with the ‘mosque picture’ facing outwards. And guess what, when I prayed finished, they told me it was the wrong direction. So 3 of us had to pray again. Astaghfirullah’al azim.

After my prayers, I went back to my station to perform my duties. I noticed that there were new faces at the door, distributing the door gifts. I asked the sister who was standing infront of me if she had done her prayers. She said she will do it later as she already had her wudhu. But it was 5plus already. Politely, I told her again: “ There’s enough manpower here, so u can go now.” She replied:” Why you keep asking me to go and pray? You want to do this(referring to the door gifts) is it? I replied: “Not that, just that my teacher told me about taking care of my asar prayers and to pray within the earliest time possible.” She answered back: “Girl, I know you convert and you must pray on the dot. I am already 60 yrs old, I know all these things.”

Perhaps, it’s fated that I got such answers. But I felt sad. Do converts give such an impression to others? Is this supposed to be good or bad?

After that episode, I asked myself; is it wrong to pray at the earliest time possible? Am I being too rigid, too zealous about my prayers? Am I harbouring the right intentions about my prayers? Do I treat them like a ritual to be fulfilled immediately, or do I treat them like the most precious ‘meeting’ I have with my Lord?

Only Allah knows what is hidden in our breasts.

What do you like about Islam?

Before I became a Muslim, I’ve always marveled at the clouds in the sky, the rain that pours down from the sky, and the rainbow that comes after that.

Science can explain to us things beyond what we normally can fathom. But can science explain how the human body can actually repairs and regenerate cells on its own (like running on auto-pilot), how the sperm and the egg can fertilize and become an embryo and finally becomes a foetus and lives in the woman’s uterus.

He created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions): He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night: He has subjected the sun and the moon (to His law), each one follows a course for a time appointed. Is not He the Exalted in Power― He Who forgives again and again? (5) He created you (all) from a single person: then created, of like nature, his mate; and He sent down for you eight head of cattle in pairs: He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another in three veils of darkness. Such is Allah your Lord and Cherisher: to Him belongs (all) dominion. There is no god but He: then how are ye turned away (from your true Center)?
(Surah az-Zumar 39: 4-5)

Alhamdulillah! If Allah swt hasn’t send his Guide, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w and His Holy Quran, I wouldn’t be able to get answers anywhere, not even in the scriptures of Buddhism, and I wouldn’t be able to embrace Islam and to accept the truth about the existence of the One True God.

For someone who loves the nature, these are the verses that got me attracted to Islam.

And what I loved about Islam?

Islam covers every aspect of a man's life on earth. And the al-Furqan (Quran) that comes with it, it is the guidance that mankind need in order to survive on this earth. Every product comes with the manual right? With every creation that our Master Creator created, there were Prophets and Messengers that were sent to convey the true Message of God's existence and Oneness through the books (Torah, Zabur, Injil and Furqan).

And with this i conclude:

It is only in Islam, does our hearts find peace and solace.

A Muslim's du'a

Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, said, "Fine things, he who embodies them will be happy in this world and in the next -
the first is to regularly say, 'La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadun rasulu Allah' - There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah;

the second is to say when inflicted with a calamity, Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahil 'aliyyil 'azim - Verily we belong to Allah and to Him we shall all return, and there is no power or might except by the will of Allah the most High, the Mighty;

the thrid is to say in gratitude when given a blessing, 'Alhamdulillahi rabbil 'alamin' - Praise be to Allah, Lorad of the Universe;

the fourth is to say when beginning anything, 'Bismillahir rahmanir rahim' - In the name of Allah the most Merciful the most Kind;

and the fifth is to say upon committing a sin, 'Astaghfiru llahal 'azima wa atubu ilayh' - I seek the forgiveness of Allah the Greatest and I repent to Him.

(Preparing for the day of Judgement by Imam ibn Hajar al-asqalani)

Ya Rasullulah s.a.w

Ya Rasullulah s.a.w! Ya Rasullulah s.a.w!

Allah swt created you to be sent as a mercy to mankind. But yet mankind did not rekindle your mercy and compassion, and had even subjected you to abuse, humiliation, sorcery, and tried to draw caricatures of you, ya The Most Loved of the Beloved!

Your ummah is being tested to prove our love to you. Hate emails were circulated in the whole wide world to sabotage Danish's products and even led to protests across the Muslim world, some of which escalated into violence with police firing on the crowds (resulting in more than 100 deaths, altogether), including setting fire to the Danish Embassies in Syria, Lebanon and Iran, storming European buildings, and desecrating the Danish, Dutch, Norwegian and German flags in Gaza City. While a number of Muslim leaders called for protesters to remain peaceful, other Muslim leaders across the globe, including Mahmoud al-Zahar of Hamas, issued death threats. We were told to circulate to as many Muslims as possible, to defend our Prophet's name, otherwise we shall have to bear the punishment in the Hereafter. But is it true, ya Rasullulah? If you were still around, would you do that?

Ya Rasullulah s.a.w! Are we loving you the right way? Are we truly following the 'legacy of righteous behaviour' that you have left behind for us as a true example? If we say we love you, does our actions match what our lips say?

Ya Rasullulah s.a.w! You have the honour to be placed alongside Allah's name in every Muslim home. We have you on our walls, but do we truly have you in our hearts?? Did we hang you on our tongues or only on the hooks of our walls?

Ya Allah! I am your weak servant and follower of the most Beautiful religion that you have given and bestowed upon me. I seek your mercy and forgiveness for the wrongs that i've done, for the sins that i've committed and the disobedience that was carried out. Please guide me on the straight path, ya Allah!

Our Krabi trip

I was in Krabi with my spouse from 21 March to 24 March 2009. Finally, we went on our short honeymoon trip(just the two of us this time)

The 'Land of all Smiles' truly lived up to its name. We met really friendly and nice people when we were in Phuket and Krabi.

The moment we stepped out of the Phuket airport, the taxi driver who drove us to our hotel was a Muslim. Alhamdulillah. And we had the privilege of having him again, to drive us to Krabi. Alhamdulillah.

Insya allah, the pictures will do the talking. I will upload them soon.

Reflections on Marriage(part 1)

A hadith states: ‘Marriage completes half of your iman (faith).’

“When the servant of Allah marries, he has fulfilled half the responsibilities laid on him by the faith (Islam), let him (therefore) observe Taqwa (the consciousness and fear of Allah) on matters concerning the remaining half.”

And you can always find this in books like Tranquil Hearts & Muslim Marriage Guidance; and most teachers or friends would say to you when they want to encourage you to get married if you are still ‘available’.

But how is that? How does marriage accomplish that?

After reading up on materials related to marriage, it didn’t state that if you do this… or do that….or any of the following, would complete half of your iman.

Faith, is something intangible right?

I’m almost entering my 2nd year of marriage. And strangely, somehow I never felt any boost-up of my iman level. Instead, I felt down or low-spirited at certain times of my life. I felt like I was worse than the time I was single. When I stayed with my parents, the trials and tribulations came from the ‘clash of interests’. Now, I find myself in a state of trials and tribulation with my spouse. When I’m not in my state of ‘taqwa’, I find myself going against what a wife should observe. But when I’m conscious of Allah swt, I can do what a wife is supposed to observe. Of course, the problem doesn’t lie with him. I know it’s me, and I’m really trying to fix it. Just that, in the midst of fixing it, I entangled myself with the question I mentioned earlier.

I hope Allah swt will send someone to enlighten me on this topic of maintaining a marriage with love and tranquility.

Nur of Muhammad s.a.w

A friend sent me this video. I am not sure if it was intentionally made to 'light' up. Wa'allahu alam.

This happened when the azan in Masjid Nabawi, Medina was going on. Turn on your speakers and look at it carefully.

12th Rabiuawal

Today marks the birth of our Master, Prophet of all Prophets, Muhammad s.a.w

The entire month of Rabiu'awal will be occupied with Maulids celebration everywhere... and the smell of briyani in every mosque... Hmmm

As much as I would love to visit more mosques to attend to their maulid sessions, I'm actually not quite familiar with other Maulid 'versions' except the Daiba'i (Al-Hafiz Shaikh Abdul Rahman bin Ali ad Daba'i). And so far, only the Nasqbandi tariqat group, which i'm more closely inclined towards that I have attended so far.

Usually, only the men will be involved in the reading of the Maulid. So women will usually follow and sing softly when there are 'choruses' (dzikir, salutations etc).

Since I can't read very well, I have always loved to read the translation of the arabic text available in the Daiba'i version. Here is an excerpt from the book:

In the name of God, most Gracious, Most Merciful

1)Verily We granted Thee a manifest victory(by the treaty of Meccan Quraysh), the door was opened for the spread of Islam throughout the world

2)That Allah may forgive you for your sins of the past and those to follow; fulfill His Favour to you and guide you on the straight path.

3)And that Allah may help you with a powerful(effective) help.

4)Now has come to you a Messenger from amongst you, it grieves him that you should perish (rush headlong to ruin); ardently anxious he watches over you: (and whenever any of you show signs of Faith) his (prophet's) kindness and mercy surround him and rejoice over him.

5)But if they turn away, Say: Allah sufficeth me: There is no god but He: in Him I trust - He is the Lord of the Throne, of Glory Supreme!

6)Verily Allah and His Angels (honour and) send blessings on the Prophet: "O ye who believe! Send your blessings and salutations on him with all respect.

O Allah, bestow blessings, grant peace and favour upon him and his family

In the name of God, most Gracious, most Merciful

1)All praise belong to Allah, who is Strong and Dominant

2)He demands His rights over His servants

3)He is the Resurrector and Inheritor(after all is gone), the Giver(of blessings) and Remover of our bereavement

4)He is the Knower of all beings be they in the current, transient or passed events

5)All the stars, those on the incline, those ascending and those withering say praises to Him

6)The articulate, the silent, the solid and the liquid are professing in the Unity of Allah

7)By His Justness, He moved the static and with His will, stopped the moving.

8){There is no god but Allah} the Wise, who showed His Wisdom through the wonders of His creations and miracles

9)In the orderly arrangement and assembly of His creations.

10)(He) created the brain, the pieces of bone, the upper arms, the veins, the flesh, the skin, the hair and the blood in petry and harmoniously overhapping

11)From the water that flows out and excretes separately from the spinal column (of the man) and chest (of the woman into the womb)

12){There is no god but Allah} the Generous One, who spreads over His creations a carpet of generosity and worldly talent and provisions

13)Descending every night to the lower heaven and calling out:"Is there anyone asking for forgiveness? Is there anyone seeking repentance?" (We seek repentance to Allah)

14)"Is there anyone seeking a favour; so that his request may be granted?"

15)Would it not be good if you see those who seve standing and crying in front(of your Lord)?

16)And (they) are standing in the state between remorse and repentance

17)And (they) fear for themselves and thus they reprimand themselves

18)And (they) run from their sins towards God

19)For (they) are the ones who continuously seek forgiveness till the light of dawn.

20)And they returned successfully having achieved their aims with the blessings of Allah, the Beloved, till not one man amongst them returned in despair.

21){There is no God but Allah} Glory to Allah, Exalted is He, who created the Light (Nur) of his Prophet Muhammad SAW from His Light (Nur) before He created Adam from clay.

22)Then God laid out His supreme creation in front of all the rest and said, "This is the leader amongst all the prophets, the most respectful of all chosen people and the most respectful amonst those loved."

O Allah, bestow blessings, grant peace and favour upon him and his family.

Random

I had been thinking of the Sacred Ka'bah since last year. I hope that Allah swt will invite me to his House for Hajj this year, 1430H.

I spent lesser on clothings and food, hoping to save more for my trip to the Sacred House. I kept convincing my husband to make his trip as well since we don't have any kids at the moment. But he was pretty reluctant. (if he doesn't want to go, i can't go). So i'm a bit sad about it. And to rub salt into the wound, i got to know from the Muis Hajj registration page that Hajj is only available in 1433H, which is 2012!!!

I am not sure when my time is up, and i think it is necessary to do the right things while i'm still alive. I want to perform Hajj!

Same goes for the deeds that i carry out during my lifetime. Are they considered good enough to guarantee my safety across the 'bridge(sirahtul mustaqim)' in the akirah? Am I doing it for the sake of Allah swt, or for the sake of 'showing off'?

What is the purpose of our life here, if we do not make use of our life to accumulate our good deeds for the assurance of Paradise in the Hereafter?

"It is He who has created death and life that He may test which of you is best in deed. "
(Surah al-Mulk 67:2)

Start, then, to prepare for the Akirah today! Why waste your time and energy on what will perish when you can use the same to earn the delights and pleasures of the life to come? Everything you have must be put forward as an investment for that life, but you must keep in mind that the investment is not the objective. All that Allah swt has bestowed on you - body, mind, faculties and property - are valuables for investment, but the real objective is to earn the pleasure of Allah and the rewards of Jannah (Paradise).

Remember that your personal destiny and, therefore, the end of all your life's pursuits, lie in the Akirah, but the road to that destiny lies in Dunya, in this world. Indeed the achievements made during the time of the Prophet were the results of full participation in this world - neither withdrawing nor retiring from it - for the sake of the Life to come. The Prophet s.a.w and his Companions planned for this world as though they were going to stay here forever but equally they sought the rewards of the Hereafter as though death was close at hand. It is this delicate balance that you must strive to achieve in your approach to life.

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w said: This Din or way of life is easy. But if anyone overdoes it, it gets the better of him. So keep to the right course, approximate to perfection, rejoice and ask for help in the mornings, the evenings and some of the later part of the night. (Bukhari)

"When death comes to one of them, he says, 'My Lord, let me return, let me return to life, so that I may act righteously in whatever i have left behind.' Nay, it is but a meaningless word he utters; for, behind them now is the barrier of death until the day they shall be raised up. Then, when the Trumpet will be blown, no ties of kinship will remain between them that day, neither would anyone be able to take care of another. Then, they whose weight of good deeds is heavy in the balance will attain salvation. But, they whose weight is light in the balance, will have squandered their own lives. In Hell will they abide forever.
(Surah al-Muminun 23: 99-103)

Dala'il al Khayrat - How it began

Dala'il Al-Khayrat: The Story of a Text - By Adam Larson

“God and his angels bless the Prophet.O believers bless him and pray him peace as well”— Qur’an 33:56

The eminent scholar and mystic of fifteenth century Egypt, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, tells the story of an early mystic:
One night I fulfilled a number of blessings on the Prophet and I fell asleep. I was dwelling in a room, and lo, the Prophet came to me through the door, and the whole room was lit up. Then he moved towards me and said: “Give me the mouth that has blessed me so often that I may kiss it.” And my modesty would not let him kiss my mouth; so I turned away my face, and he kissed my cheek. Then I woke trembling from sleep and my wife who was by my side awoke, and lo, the house was fragrant with his scent, and the scent of musk from his kiss remained on my cheek about eight days. My wife noticed the scent every day.

This story beautifully illustrates the centrality of the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) to Islamic piety.

For hundreds of years Muslims have meditated on and lucidly expressed their deep love for the Chosen Prophet (God bless him and give him peace); they have collected and compiled every available account concerning him, produced immense commentaries detailing his every feature, from the length of his hair and the color of his complexion, to the way he walked, slept, and laughed, and have composed lyrical poetry giving voice to their immense longing for him. The Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) said, “The person nearest to me is the one who asks for blessings upon me the most.”

Throughout history Muslims have sought continual presence with the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace), manifesting their love for him by adhering to God’s command: “bless him and pray for peace upon him” (The Qur’an, Sura al-Ahzab . In the spirit of this command, Muslim scholars have produced prayer manuals of the utmost beauty and eloquence. These manuals most frequently consist of collections of prayers, supplications, and praise from the Qur’an and hadith, as well as original compositions. Of these prayer manuals, perhaps none have been more successful and widespread than Muhammad b. Sulayman al-Jazuli’s masterwork Dala’il al- Khayrat wa Shawariq al-Anwar fi Dhikr al-Salat ‘ala al- Nabi al-Mukhtar (The Guide to Blessings and the Advent of Light in Blessing the Chosen Prophet). Composed in Morocco in the fifteenth century, Dala’il al-Khayrat quickly spread throughout the Muslim world, from Turkey, to East Africa, to Sumatra.

Who was al-Jazuli? Why was Dala’il al-Khayrat so popular? How have Muslims interacted with and experienced the text, both as a performative act and as a physical object? By exploring these questions, it is hoped that the reader may gain a fuller understanding and greater appreciation of this extraordinary text, its author, and its inspiration.

The Context and Formation of Dala’il al-Khayrat: The Life of Muhammad b. Sulayman al-Jazuli

At the dawn of the fifteenth century, the Marinid dynasty had ruled Morocco for over one hundred and fifty years. The early Marinid period was marked by military campaigns and vigorous architectural activity. They built a variety of structures: new urban centers, zawiyas, fortresses, and mosques. However, their most marvelous architectural contributions were madrasas: four at Fez and one at Salé. In the oldest of these madrasas, Madrasat al-Saffarin in Fez, young Muhammad b. Sulayman al-Jazuli received instruction in the religious sciences. By the mid-fifteenth century, Moroccan society was in chaos. Corruption and immorality were rampant in both the cities and the countryside. Port cities along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts fell to the crusading Portuguese. Due to internal strife and foreign military pressure, the Marinid state began to fragment. Morocco was in need of religious reform and reorientation. It was precisely at this trying time that al-Jazuli introduced his remarkable work Dala’il al- Khayrat.

Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Bakr b. Sulayman al-Jazuli al-Samlali was born to a sharif [a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad] family in the southern Moroccan village of Tankarat in the early fifteenth century. He belonged to the Simlala, an important subtribe of the Sanhaja Berbers that lived on the Sus River plain between the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains. Little detail is known about his life. However, his biographer, Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Fasi (d.), mentions in his work Mumti’ al-Asma’ a number of anecdotes and pithy expressions, giving a glimpse into the religious world of early modern Morocco. As a young scholar al-Jazuli left his homeland of Jazula because inter-tribal conflicts made serious study impossible. He traveled to Fez and enrolled at Madrasat al-Saffarin, where his room is still shown to visitors. In Fez he memorized works of usul al-fiqh and Maliki law, such as Ibn al-Hajib’s Mukhtasr al-Far’i and Sahnun’s Al-Mudawwana al-Kubra. He also met the famous jurist and mystic Sheikh Ahmad Zarruq. As a youth he became known for his piety. Al-Fasi relates a stunning example of al-Jazuli’s detachment from worldly concerns: While he was attending the madrasa, he secluded himself in a house and no one else would enter. This news reached his father who thought the youth’s persistence in barring others from entering was because he was hiding wealth, so he set out to visit his son. He requested permission to enter his son’s house and was given leave. When he entered he saw written all over the walls: “Death, Death, Death ...” He understood what his son was up to. He reproached himself, saying, “Look where he is and look where we are!” Then he left his son and returned home.

Several accounts detail al-Jazuli’s inspiration in writing Dala’il al-Khayrat. According to al-Fasi, he collected Dala’il al-Khayrat from books in the Qarwiyyin library in Fez after witnessing a woman perform miracles (kharq al-’ada). When he inquired as to how she had attained this ability, she replied, “By sending blessings on the Prophet, may God bless him and give him peace.” Thenceforth al- Jazuli devoted himself to sending blessings on the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace).

Al-Manfaluti, Maliki mufti of nineteenth-century Medina, provides a different account in his work Manaqib Sidi al-Shaykh al-Jazuli: The reason for al-Jazuli’s writing Dala’il al-Khayrat … was that one day he was late for his prayers, even though it was his custom to seek the approval of God the Exalted by not delaying a prayer beyond the earliest possible time for its performance. When he arose to make his ablutions, however, he was unable to find anything with which to take water out of the well. This preoccupied him greatly and he was very annoyed. While he was in this state a young girl caught sight of him from a high place and said, “Who are you, uncle?” The sheikh then told her about himself, hoping that she would give him a bucket and thus ease his cares and worries. Instead the girl exclaimed, “You are the one whom people praise greatly, yet you are unable to take water from a well in order to purify yourself !” Then she came down from that high place and spat into the well while reciting the Name of the Lord of Creation. No sooner had she done so than water tasting as sweet as the sweetest sugar poured forth from the well until it spilled over the face of the earth as a miracle from the One who rolls up the scroll of time. The sheikh made his ablution and marveled at this splendid miracle. When he finished, he swore by God Almighty that the girl should reveal to him how she had acquired this great rank. “By making constant prayers on the Best of Creation (may God bless and preserve him) to the number of breaths and heartbeats (bi-’adad al-anfas wa al-daqa’iq),” she replied.

So al-Jazuli resolved at that moment to write a book about the excellence of prayers on behalf of the Chosen Prophet and to include in it many transmitted texts from the mine of prophecy and from those who have drowned in the sea of the effusion of God’s abundant generosity. All of this (which was due to what he perceived in this great miracle) would not have been possible had it not been for this girl, who was devoted to reciting prayers on the Adornment of the Last Day (zayn al-qiyama).

Al-Jazuli took the Shadhili tariqa from Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad Amghar al-Saghir (d.) of Ribat Tit-n- Fitr. After taking part in the resistance to the Portuguese at Tangier in , he went into seclusion (khalwa). Some historians claim that he worshiped in isolation for fourteen years; while others maintain that he traveled east for sometime, reciting Dala’il al-Khayrat twice each morning to the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) in Medina.Upon his reemergence in , al-Jazuli established a zawiya at the Atlantic port city of Asafi. Al-Jazuli was “frequent in reciting litanies (awrad), observant of God most High in all his states, not exceeding the boundaries God established, and exerting himself in following the Book of God and the example of his Messenger (God bless him and give him peace).”

He founded the Shadhiliyya Jazuliyya order, with Dala’il al-Khayrat at its core, and over ,disciples received spiritual training (tarbiya) at his hands. Later writers describe the nature of al-Jazuli’s relationship with the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace): there mixed, in his person, “the two loves”—the love one feels for the Prophet due to religion, and the love one feels for one’s kinsfolk (mahabba al-diniyya wa al-tiniyya).

Al-Jazuli died in while prostrating during the morning prayer, the victim of poisoning. He was later buried at Riyadh al-’Arus in Marrakesh. Known in the local dialect as “Sidi Ben Sliman,” he is one of the seven patron saints of Marrakesh. He left Dala’il al-Khayrat as a testament to his immense love and longing for the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace): O God, I believed in Muhammad but did not see him; do not deprive me in the Gardens of his vision. Bestow his company upon me and cause me to die in his religion. Let me drink from his pool a quenching, pleasant, delightful drink after which we shall never thirst again. You are powerful over everything. O God, convey to the soul of Muhammad my greetings and peace. O God, as I believed in Muhammad but did not see him, do not deprive me in the Gardens of his vision.

From source:
http://sufi.forumup.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=281&mforum=sufi

Rights of a Palestine civilian

“Can Israel survive?”

This was the title of a article that was published in Time magazine.

And one reader wrote back in another issue:
“I propose that the US say, “Israel, we love and support you but not your unethical occupation of Palestinian territory. If you really recognize the right to the existence of a Palestinian state, prove it by getting out of the occupied territories and dismantling the remaining settlements. You might say, ‘Well, we did, in Gaza and look how that turned out!’ but the moral high ground would be yours- it is decidedly not after you kill more than 1000 Palestinians. And you would certainly have more worldwide sympathy and support as some Palestinians continue to bad-mouth your right to exist.

It wrote: 'Israel's Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, has promised a 'war to the bitter end.' But after 60 years of struggle to defend their existence against foreign threats and enemies within, many Israelis maybe wondering, where does that end lie? The threat posed by Hamas is only the most immediate of the many interlocking challenges facing Israel, some of which cast dark shadows over the long term viability of a democratic Jewish state.'

As much as any other nation on earth, Israel is based on a dream: the aspiration to establish a home for the Jews in the birth place of their ancestors. To a remarkable extent, that dream has been fulfilled, as Israek has grown into the most modern and democratic country in the Middle East and a dependable Ameriacan ally. A strong, confident Israel is in America's interest, but so is one that can find peace with its neighbors, cooperate with the Arabs to comtain common threats and, most important, reach a just and lasting solution with the Palestinians. But accomplishing all that will require Israel and its defenders to confront excruciating dilemmas: How do you make peace with those who don't seem to want it? How do you win a war when the other side believes time is on its side? And what would true security, in a hostile neighborhood populated with enemies, actually look like? As is always true in the Middle East, there are no easy ansers. But it's never been more vital that Israel start looking for them.

And Time reported: The most immediate challenge facing Israel is that posed by Hamas. Gaza's tradegy has for days been playing out on the world's TV sets. By 7 Jan, more than 700 Palestinians, many of them noncombatants, had been killed.

(From 2000, at least 6,000 Palestinians had been killed compared to the 1,000 odd Israelis. Can you tell who is innocent here?)

This is a bias report. Clearly, the Time correspondent is siding Israel. Against the people of Palestine. Against the civilians (innocent children and their families)

And this is a story of an innocent civilian, with his family:
Khaled Abed Rabu lost his 2 daughters Amal and Suwad on 7 Jan 09, the day Israeli tanks churned across the strawberry fields and knocked their way into a little park about 18m from their home. After the warning over the loudspeaker, Abed Rabu herded his wife, mother and 3 young daughters to the door and gave the children a white flag to wave. He saw 2 Israelis soldiers eating chocolate and potato chips beside their tank. Suddenly, a third Israeli soldier then popped out of the tank with an M-16 and fired a single shot. The next thing was, his 2 year old daughter was lying there with her insides spilling out. He started screaming at the soldiers, and then the soldier shot his 2 other girls. His wife fainted. His mother tried to drag Suwad inside the house, but the soldier shot his mother in the chest, shoulder and leg.

It was unclear whether the Israeli troops were under threat when they opened fire. Most of the residents there claimed that there were no Hamas fighters in the area at the time of the alleged incident. After the shootings, Abed Rabu said that he dragged his wounded children and mother into the doorway and shouted for help. The ambulance who was nearby, was driven by Samiyeh al-Sheikh said that he heard shots and screams coming from Abed Rabu's house. But when he tried to go toward them, the Israeli soldiers beat him up. Then, with a bulldozer, the soldiers backed the ambulance against my house and crushed it like sand.

He tried calling the Red Crescent, or friends with cars who could help his family reach a hospital. His daughter who was shot in the stomach was demanding for water. So for 2 hours, Abed Rabu was unable to summon help or move from the house despite pleading with the soldiers. Finally, his aged father picked up Samar in in his arms and stood in the doorway, risking or exchanging his life for his grandchildren. The soldiers finally relented and let them go. Even while walking, the soldiers did not lose grip on them as they fired at the dirt around their feet.

Abed Rabu walked and carried his daughters for more than a mile. But by the time they reached the hospital, the girls were dead. He sat alone beside his blasted home and cried out:
" I don't understand. I'm not Hamas. My girls weren't Hamas. Why did they do this to us?"

Isn't it sad?

Let us continue to pray for our Muslim brethen in Palestine and Gaza, may Allah swt have mercy and keep them safe from such terrorist acts against the civilians. amin.

Being a Muslim and its challenges

Ever since I got hold of the news that my teacher will be giving a talk at Darul Arqam this Friday, I didn’t cease my prayers to Allah swt, to aid him in his speech, to make smooth his speech so that the audience can hear him clearly.

I prayed more fervently for Ustaz than I prayed for myself.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday… the days got nearer, I prayed harder. Thursday…. And finally Friday, 20 February arrived.

And I found myself thinking and thinking about the lecture that will take place at Darul Arqam, 8pm. I kept asking and asking Allah swt in my prayers for forgiveness and mercy. Because if Allah didn’t want the audience (which will be us) to reap the benefits of this lecture, He, the Al-Mighty could have got Ustaz to slur in his speech right?

By 8pm, the auditorium was already 98% filled. The good thing is, Darul has improved its PA system and the people who had to be seated outside would have the LCD screen and the audio audible to them. (my previous experience outside was quite bad).

Finally, about 8.20pm, Ustaz came into the auditorium on a wheelchair. Quickly, I recited ‘fatihah’ and then asked Allah swt for help.

After the introduction by the Head of Marketing/Communications of Darul, Ustaz briefly told the audience about what had happened to him 2 years ago. I am sure all of his students would be very happy for him that he is able to return and enlighten us with his talk. And so he opened the talk with a story with a light hearted joke that rocked the auditorium. It was a topic that Muslims needed badly at this time:
"Being a Muslim and its challlenges"

He talked about the importance of having taqwa and the true meaning of taqwa is the only criteria to be accessed in terms of nobility.
" O you who have attained to faith! Be conscious of Allah (taqwa) with a true conscious, and do not allow death to overtake you unless you are in a state of submission to Allah."

He told us the importance of knowing the verses that were contained in the Quran, directed to the Muslims. In it were lessons, guidance and teachings for the believers. He said that, if one truly has taqwa, one will be truly fearful towards Allah swt, and no thought of transgression would ever occur.

He also stressed the importance of learning Islam from the right sources. He mentioned that there was a surge of Islamic terms which portrayed Islam as being an orthodox religion, religion of raising jihadists, extremists etc. He also noted that Muslims themselves are 'going' towards the non Muslims Professors to learn about Islam. "Doesn't Islam has our own breed of scholars? Do we know who they are, and what did they contribute??"

It is indeed a shame, really. To think that our predesuccesors have contributed and sacrificed so much in the past. Islam's history has been so rich because of what they did. But now, we are doing nothing to preserve our religion. There are alot of things happening around us, and i believe people are aware of it so i don't want to go into details.

Ustaz had alot to cover that night but due to time constraint, he had to stop. It was a pity. But nevertheless, he didn't close the door on us. Anyone could visit his weblog for the entire powerpoint slides.

I really learnt alot of things that night. Now it's time to convert that theory into practical. Insya allah.

A visit to my teacher

I came across a device called the liptrainer at one of the fairs held in the Institute. According to the case studies presented by the Japanese salesguy, it has benefitted people who have snoring, eczema, sinus, down syndrome and even stroke patients! But I need to be convinced before I commit to buy the item which was quite pricey. But I’m thinking of this one person whom can benefit from this device, and that is my teacher, who has suffered a stroke almost 2 years ago.

As I hadn’t been well since my trip to Malaysia, I couldn’t arrange for a visit to my teacher’s place the week I returned back to Singapore. I wanted to pass him the device as soon as possible so that he could use it but just couldn’t find time in my hands to do so.

Finally, I got ‘clearance’ from my husband to visit my teacher after our Sunday class. Quickly I called Ustaz’s wife to ‘book for an appointment’. After several calls made, I finally got her permission to visit Ustaz. Alhamdulillah.

I got to Ustaz’s place ard 6.30pm after getting some groceries at a nearby supermarket.
He was already sitting at his usual armchair waiting for us. As soon as we got to our seats, I had noticed that he was in good spirits. Later I was told that he was so happy that we were coming because it has been a long time since his students came. I was feeling guilty. He was also looking much better nowadays. After exchanging questions of our wellbeing, he began asking me if I had been reading his blogs and which one was my favourite. I was actually following all of his blogs but only 3 blogs were often updated. Recently, Ustaz had created a new blog for his daughter. And this blog was only open to invitation to selected students of his. Alhamdulilah, I had this special privilege. Ustaz asked the development of my recitation and I told him I had stopped at surah al-Bayyinah because it was quite tough. So he told me to recite surah al-Qariah. I was so nervous and as usual, I didn’t quite do a good job.

We kept talking and talking despite being reminded by Ustaz’s wife to proceed to the dining area for our dinner. Alhamdulilah, even though the visit was planned at a short notice, she still managed to whip out so many dishes for us. During the dinner, she revealed to us that Ustaz will be conducting a talk at Darul Arqam this Friday, 20 Feb 09. Masya allah!!! I was really excited but yet a little worried about my teacher.

After our dinner and prayers, we continued talking. Ustaz shared a lot of things with us.
1. He completed the story of the student who could not find a place to slaughter a chicken where ‘no one can see him’.
2. He encouraged us to use the audio lessons on Quran recitation that he had took the effort to put it on his blog.
3. He also encouraged us to send blessings and salutations to our beloved Prophet saw and told us the ‘humongous’ benefits and rewards that we will reap from it.
4. He also reminded about our time in this dunya to perform good deeds for the preparation of the akhirah.
Listening to all his advice reminds me of the lessons that I attended with him. It makes me sad. Allah swt had almost took him away from us, and cut off all the channels of knowledge we could ever obtained from him.

But Allah swt is always the al-Compassionate, ar-Rahman, the al-Merciful, ar-Rahim. Although Ustaz is still experiencing the after-effects of the stroke, he continued to help so many people with the blogs that he created. The vast information that he has posted on his blogs are really fantastic. When you read them, you would not be able to imagine that all that was done by a stroke patient who had to perform all computer functions with only the help of the right hand, whereas I could write this post conveniently with the 2 hands that Allah swt has provided me with.

If it wasn’t because the next day was a working day, I wouldn’t want to leave the house. But of course, he had to rest after doing so much of the talking and sharing.

If Ustaz had done so much for his students, why shouldn’t we, as his students appreciate his work and blogs by reading it conscientiously. It is not put up there just for fun, but for the benefit of the weak ummah and one of them is ME.

After this visit, I told myself to buck up and insya allah try to do the things that he had advised us to carry out. And the first assignment I wanted to do is to get the book called ‘Dalail ul Khayrat’ and learn it as much as I can cope. Insya allah.

May Allah swt bestow upon me guidance and istiqamah. Amin.

Questions from Taiwan

A friend from Taiwan dropped by Singapore a couple of days ago.

12 years ago, through a primary school gathering with my mates, I got to know this friend. He tagged along with his friend, who was my primary school mate. While exchanging telephone numbers amongst my mates, he wrote down his number happily and managed to copy mine down. From then, that’s how we became friends. We almost went into a relationship but it couldn’t work because he was in States and I was here. Now that’s history.

Nevertheless, we still continued to keep in touch with each other.

So apparently, he didn’t quite noticed that I’ve changed when he came here for a visit about 4 years ago. I became a muslim and I wasn’t wearing clothes that would flaunt my figure publicly. It was a short visit and I didn’t had the chance to tell him about my conversion.

The truth had spoken on its own when I invited my primary school mates to my wedding reception. And a couple of months later, he asked me on MSN if I was married. That was when I told him about my conversion. And because, Thank God, he was not a local, he did not utter that golden question; “ So your husband is a Malay?”

We talked a bit about our past but both of us had moved on. He had a girlfriend then.

1 year plus later, he called me and told me that he is coming back for a few days and would like to meet up. Omigosh, it has been a long time since we met. I was hesitant yet looking forward to seeing him. He had never seen my ‘new look’ and I wasn’t sure if he would scream at me.

So on the day when we were supposed to meet for lunch, I texted him in the morning and told him to prepare himself for a new change. Then he asked: 难到你变得更火辣，还是把自己包得像个粽子吧。我便回答：不是啦。就是比较回教的装扮啦。

I could sensed that there would be understanding from him. I took half day and went straight to Kinokuniya to meet him. He was in the queue when I arrived in Kino and immediately he spotted me and waved me to meet him in the queue. I was shocked. He told me that he was more or less prepared since I pre-empt him about my new ‘dressing’. We started talking excitedly in Mandarin, and got everyone staring.

After that, we went Delifrance for lunch. He wasn’t picky and he understood that my diet was different from the others. The moment we sat down, he pestered me for more details into the reasons why I converted. Slowly I explained to him what happened and how I got into Islam.

He began asking me lots of question about Islam. I loved questions. And I would be most willing to share. Somehow, he had gone to churches before and had some knowledge of similarities between Christianity and Islam. I told him that Prophet Jesus (Isa a.s) prayed to God alone, and told his people to submit to One God.

He (Jesus) answered: ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel’ ” (Mathew:15:24)

But when he was brought up to God and someone (close to his resemblance) replaced Jesus on the crufix, his message was diverted away from the straight path. Over the years, Christianity evolved from Paul. Why:

Jesus a.s. came for the Jews but Paul was interested to popularize this teaching amongst the Hellenized world (Romans and Greek). Scholars considered him to be a Hellenized Jew (i.e. a Jew strongly influenced by Greek culture and ways of life). He was not amongst the original disciples of Jesus. He was originally a persecutor but then later converted, claiming to have seen a ‘vision’.

The word “messiah” was later translated into Greek which is “Kristos” (which has the meaning of ‘the anointed’). And from this Greek word it was kept in use, even in English with the Latinized spelling “Christ”. From this we get the word “Christians”.

We are told that many years after Jesus time (circa 100 CE), at a place called Antioch, the remnant followers of Jesus, was ridiculed, persecuted and mocked by their enemies. These Greek people started to refer them (followers of the prophet Jesus a.s. at that time) as “these are Christians”, implying wrongly that they “worshipped Jesus” – whereas they were of the Judaic tradition that believed in monotheism (One God).

My friend didn’t deny the existence of one God. He knew that scientists can only prove THAT much of stuff, but most of it aren’t explainable by SCIENCE. But the issue he brought up was very tricky and he really got me thinking deep into my religion and my faith that intertwined together.

“how did you know its HIM up there? And not someone else?”

“how can you be so sure that the Quran is still true and accurate even after 1400years ago?”

“So you can only rely on your beliefs to know that God exists? Well I don’t need to see God, but I just need some proofs about the certainty of God.”

I’ve explained all to him but he just kept going on and on. Back and forth. Back and forth. Rephrasing and rephrasing.

I couldn’t convince him. Neither could I give him good answers. And I was upset. I have failed in my da’wah. I realized that I do not possess the qualities to be a muslim who can da’wah.

Is it because of my weak faith? Or my lack of knowledge and intelligence?

After sending him off, I began to question myself. Deep deep down my heart. If I believed in God, why couldn’t I be able to give good solid answers? If my Tauhid was strong, why couldn’t I convince him?

Instead of entertaining the Shaytan and his whisperings, I read all the books that I could find in the house. I went through all the materials in Chinese about tauhid (monotheism) on the internet. And I posted him a note about believing in God in Facebook. I hope he reads. And I fervently pray to Allah:

“Oh Allah! Please bestow the right guidance upon my friend. Amin.”

Post CNY update (Part 2)

Since gambling was out of the question (of course it never occured in our minds) we spent most of our time in the mall.

But guess what my dad suggested to me: 'Take down your scarf lah, and you can go in and have a look.' My face went blank. ???

Anyway, I 'psycho-ed' my hubby to buy tickets to the Outdoor Theme Park. He didn't like the idea of riding those scary machines that swing you 'up and down', or 'left and right'. I had to keep re-assuring him that; 'this looks harmless; and 'hey, that look harmless too'. Some of the rides were closed temporarily for maintenance and security checks. Some were closed because the weather was wet and misty so the rides had to be suspended. It was really such a disappointment. We bought tickets for UNLIMITED rides but we took LIMITED rides. Sigh.

And to further aggravate my sorrow, we went into the Indoor Theme Park. Now, this is for families with kids, or kids who don't qualify for Outdoor Theme Park. I joined my nieces and nephews for some kiddy rides. There was only one roller coaster ride inside that looked really fast and exciting, so all of us went to queue up. Guess what, my hubby didn't want to join us. Omigosh.

It was really fastt.. But i needed the adrenalin. Genting is too bored for me, so roller coaster rides has to be it.

I didn't get to fulfil my 'thirst' from the Theme Parks hence it wasn't a satisfying trip. And somehow, most of the 'activities' that my family and relatives engaged in were not in the 'legal' zones. Somehow, i think, the 'change' in me made me feel 'left out' and 'drifted away' from them.

Though i don't really like the 'change'. But i didn't regret the 'change' i had decided to make.

Praises be to Him. The One and Only in my heart.

Post CNY update

I haven’t been updating for a long time. And all the things which I wanted to post were stuck in my head for a very long time.

I think I will start from my trip to Malaysia, Genting Highlands during the recent Chinese New year period.

It has been donkey years since I went up to the Highlands with my parents and relatives. Man, this has really been donkey donkey years ago. I am not joking. When I was young, say about 5-6 years old, my parents will make a trip to the Highlands at least twice a year. And until now, the Genting Saga continues…

My husband really hated the idea of going up to the Highlands because it’s a place where it’s not blessed due to the fact that there are casinos everywhere. Gambling thoughts are prevalent in almost every visitor up there. I had a hard time convincing him to go because I wanted to go because my parents asked me to go and because it’s Chinese New Year and because my Auntie and her entire family (cousins and nephews and nieces) are also going too. And that makes the entire headcount to 17! And we are driving up as a convoy. Doesn’t that sound exciting? When I was a teenager, my dad loves to drive up with his friends as a convoy. And the total number of cars: 8 cars!

So my husband relented but I know that at the back of his mind, he isn’t really looking forward to the trip as much as I do. I could tell. As for me, I was looking forward to spending time with my family even though it has to be up in the Highlands where my parents might most probably visit the Casino more often than anything else.

So our schedule was planned way ahead of our subuh time. They wanted to get to the Customs as early as 5pm so that we won’t bum ourselves into any massive pre CNY jam.
Which means, we will have a problem with our prayers. But my cousin assured me that once I pass the S’pore and M’sia customs, we will get to the nearest petrol station. (my cousin understood our prayers obligations and he related that to everybody)

But we forgot one thing. In S’pore, the K.S.S is prevalent. And our PM should be proud of us. Because WE are UNITED in our thinking. Every Singaporean who wants to go M’sia and spend their CNY actually thinks the same way as we do. And guess what, just before we even got to Woodlands to meet my parents and the others, there was a traffic message up on the LED board: ‘MASSIVE JAM AT BKE AND CAUSEWAY’. My jaw dropped!
When we had gathered everyone at Woodlands to set off for the Causeway, it was really bad. Cars were simply not moving at all. And this goes on for 10minutes. Imagine me and my husband’s reaction. So my dad decided (he’s like the Head/Chief of the convoy) to u-turn and go by the other way. It was much better but we know we wouldn’t be able to get out from this sooner than an hour.

My parents asked about our prayers. So I told them that if such circumstances arise, give us 10mins of silence and we will pray at our seats. She was more than happy to switch off her Buddhism ‘dzikir’ on the audio player in the car. (initially, husband said that it would really looked weird to them if we were to pray in the car, with all that actions of takbir and stuff). I think they peeped on us but they kept their comments to themselves.

While waiting, my mum developed this urgency to visit the toilet. I think she was really really urgent. It was so bad that she almost wanted to do it in a bottle. I kept talking to her to distract her from thinking. But it got so worse when we were finally served by an auntie officer at the immigration counter. I guessed it’s the urgency that is driving her crazy because the officer took her own sweet time, and she was really checking us one by one. And my mum was so mad at her. Finally when we cleared the immigration, everyone rushed to the toilet. J
There was another jam leading to the M’sia customs. So the entire episode of ‘jamming’ took us about 3-4hours. If I was taking the driver’s seat, my legs would get cramps because of the clutching. Thank God my father spared me the agony.

There wasn’t a lot of stops along the way. We didn’t had breakfast before we left S’pore so we just snacked on the tidbits I brought.

And Gosh, I thought we were almost reaching when we got stuck in another jam again. This was the last stretch of road before we reached the ‘entrance’ of Highlands below the hills. 2 traffic accidents happened causing the jam.

Jam here, Jam there, everywhere Jam Jam.. Oh MacDonalds, had a farm… Ooops..

Alhamdulillah! Finally, we got up there 2 hours later. Thank God!
But the moment I got out of the car and into the hotel lobby, I sneezed non-stop. Oh dear! Please no! I was cold, my nose was blocked and my throat began to hurt. My husband and I quickly went to find the musollah to settle our prayers. Now we can combine our zuhr and asar prayers as travelers.

The night itself, I slept with a blocked nose.

But Alhamdulillah. Thank God I was sick.