hijab brides

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful :)

I think it's good nowadays that people are aware about the importance of covering aurat i.e wearing hijab and unrevealing dress during akad nikah ceremony. Alhamdulillah :) Akad nikah ceremony is a very important moment in a muslim couple's life; A SACRED MOMENT. You are about to embark on a new journey together with your life partner, mestilah nakkan sebanyak mungkin keberkatan. Apalah ada dengan hidup ini kalau Allah tak berkati. Kalau Allah berkati, hidup yang sibuk rasa lapang, duit yang sikit cukup untuk semua perkara, masa yang ada sempat buat macam-macam, hubungan dengan manusia terasa tenang etc etc etc. Marriage is such a wonderful journey and yet a challenging one too. Kita perlukan keberkatan daripada Allah supaya rumahtangga sentiasa kuat, filled with sakeenah and mawaddah :) InsyaAllah. So, get things right, right from the start. Right from the akad nikah ceremony, kita dah tunjukkan kita ini humble to Him by doing the right thing.

We should appreciate this kind of positive actions taken by the brides. Even though in their daily lives or right after the nikah, they don't wear tudung. Instead of saying negative things or belittling them, we should praise their effort and continue to support them :)

My dream places :)

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful :)

Before I die, I hope Allah will give me the chance to lead my life in this 4 places.

My dream places are...

1. Terengganu, again...being near to my parents and to be nice to them :)
2. Cardiff, again, together with hubby and kids :) Tapi best ke Cardiff kalau semua kawan medic dah balik nanti? I wonder...
3. Madinah, just like Prof Kamil and his family :) Learning Quran, Praying at Masjid Nabawi...
4. Istanbul... tak semestinya duduk sampai bertahun-tahun... maybe just for a few months while either me or hubby enroll into whatever short courses :)
5. Gaza, Palestin because this is hubby's dream place. Hopefully it will soon become my dream place too. Saya taknak sekadar cakap kat mulut, tapi hati belum bersedia. Deep inside, saya takut nak pergi tempat berperang. Kalau berpeluang pergi, May Allah give me a strong and pure heart :)

Ameen...

Meaning I don't think I would continue being a Government teacher forever. An educator yes. You don't have to be a teacher in order to be an educator. A mother is an educator by itself. I want to study some more... travel some more...experience different kinds of work field... That's the plan...If the plan is what's best for me, hopefully Allah will make the path easy.

I rarely blog nowadays. My life was a bit chaotic. Rasa macam tak terurus. So, it would be an awkward thing to try and inspire others, to try and remind others.

Lagipun bila dah lama tak tulis, jadi hilang kemahiran untuk menulis. The more you write, the more you can write, right? Vice versa.

The good thing about life is, I could feel that my teaching skill is getting better. My confidence level has also improved I guess. I am also surrounded by nice people at school. Most of the teachers are super nice, sisterly and they have big, warm hearts. Nice people never fail to amaze me. Never. Inconsiderate harsh people at times, irritate me. Astaghfirullah.  

I had this trouble with one student. He is supposed to be a bright student, but due to some reasons, this student had trouble in communicating politely with teachers especially with young teachers like me. I felt extremely troubled at that time. I prayed to Allah so that our teacher-student relationship would get better. And Alhamdulillah it worked so far. So, I should never forget to pray to Allah after this come what may. Big or small.

The unsung hero

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful :)

I felt really sorry for those people who are so in need of work and who are willing to be very committed with their work and yet they can't work under certain circumstances. I once witnessed this situation : There was this nice family who really needed a maid and had been longing for one. After a year or two of trying to find one, they got a nice maid. The family liked the maid, the maid liked working for the family. And all of a sudden, the maid needed to stop working because she was a carrier of hepatitis B. It breaks my heart to witness such a tragedy. She was such a good worker...she needed money... she's old...she came all the way from a neighboring country leaving everything behind simply to work and to be paid with a sum of money. Kalau kita fikir-fikirkan pasal kehidupan seorang maid, if you are not strong enough, you could never become one. We'll end up crying all the time I guess. Tinggalkan family, tinggalkan negara. Kena travel jauh-jauh, pastu tak tahu lagi nasib di tempat orang macam mana. Kalau dapat majikan yang baik, oklah. Kalau dapat majikan yang jahat. Nauzubillah. Pastu seharian buat kerja.

There is so much that I could learn from this type of people. Learning how to be tough, how to be committed with work. Makes me appreciate my life more than ever. Makes me stronger to face the trials and tribulations of life. These people are the truly unsung heroes (at least for their own family) and worth to be pondered upon.

I choose Arabic!

Dengan nama Allah yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Pengasihani :)

I've attended the so-called intensive Arabic classes for 4 times. With Mama and Hubby. 

Mama is already an expert in all this nahu-nahu things. She has been studying arabic 

ON HER OWN for the past 10-15 years.

Hubby pun oklah, he took arabic language subject for PMR. 

Sayalah paling, erm....I don't want to say sayalah paling lemah sebab lemah is a negative word. Sayalah paling memerlukan kelas ini.  No basic at all.Very limited knowledge. 

Tapi saya NAK belajar. InsyaAllah.

Saya NAK faham Quran :) Saya NAK jadi orang yang masa solat tarawih boleh imagine word by word apa yang imam bacakan. InsyaAllah.

Subhanallah that would be wonderful! 

The first three classes was quite easy to digest. 

All the Isim, Fi'il, Jumlah, Harf Jar.

Masuk Muzakkar, Mu'annas. Ok lagi.

Masuk mufrad, musanna, jamaq. Susah sikit.

Masuk Maf'ulum bih dan Idofah(Mudofun Ilaih) during the fourth class. 

SUSAH BANYAK! hehe.

It is not about understanding the concepts. 

I can grasp the concept. But the terms and the baris!

I think the Ustaz mentioned that I'rab is the term used to explain about baris-baris ni.

Baris atas, baris depan baris bawah. 

And each baris has a few different names.

Katakanlah baris atas,

kejap-kejap ustaz guna fathah, kejap guna mansub, kejap guna an-nasab.

In Arabic, you have to change the baris to show different meanings 

or the number of things or the gender. 

This I'rab thingy is a bit challenging. But I won't give up insyaAllah.

It is one of my childhood dreams to master another language apart from Malay and English.

I would love to learn either french or japanese language.  I don't know why. Random choices.

But in order to be a better servant, in order to understand kalamullah and be close to Him.

I choose Arabic.Let us choose to learn Arabic,Everyone!

French and Japanese and other languages (kalau hidup lama lagi and semangat lagi), 

boleh belajar lepas-lepas tu.

Till then!

Pertandingan video APG 2011. OSEM.

Dengan nama Allah yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Pengasihani :)

Tak lama lagi akan masuk tahun 2012. Berperasaan segar untuk mengajar. Untuk memulakan tahun pertama sebagai arkitek bangsa, sebagai jurutera bangsa, sebagai doktor bangsa. Sekiranya ada rezeki dan peluang daripada Allah, mungkin akan melanjutkan pelajaran di peringkat Masters. Berperasaan penuh harapan dan angan-angan untuk berkeluarga, untuk terus berjaya.

Bagaimana pula dengan perancangan dakwah saya? Ini sudah masuk tahun keempat berada di dalam Dakwah dan Tarbiyyah(D&T) dan tahun kelima sejak berkenalan dengan D&T. Adakah saya berperasaan segar untuk memulakan tahun seterusnya sebagai arkitek ummah, jurutera ummah dan doktor ummah? Pertandingan Video Osem APG 2011 anjuran blog Angel Pakai Gucci mengetuk hati saya untuk terus berjuang. Adik-adik, kakak-kakak, abang-abang, pendek kata, ikhwah dan akhawat begitu bersemangat, penuh dengan himmah yang tinggi membuat video tentang dakwah dan tarbiyyah. Subhanallah. Tahniah APG! Semoga usaha anda dan juga semua peserta dianugerahkan keredhaan Allah. Semoga diberikan kekuatan untuk terus menjaga keikhlasan hati. InsyaAllah. Ini link kepada blog tersebut : AngelPakaiGucci

Saya juga perlu terus bersemangat.

Teringat kata-kata naqibah saya iaitu, 'Begitu banyak tenaga, masa, wang dan perancangan dilaburkan untuk menghasilkan seorang akh mahupun ukhti'. Saya pernah berpengalaman membawa bulatan gembira adik-adik di U.K dan saya juga pernah berpengalaman didekati oleh kakak-kakak. Dan saya tahu usaha itu bukan mudah. 

Allah telah menganugerahkan saya seorang suami yang turut berada di jalan D&T. Bahkan beliau aktif dan penuh dengan keazaman untuk terus berada pada jalan ini. Jadi, saya juga perlu mencontohi dirinya. Suami saya pernah berkata, 'Masa hidup nilah nak pergi program,nak buat usrah, dah masuk kubur nanti tak boleh dah'. 

It is really up to us. Kalau kita nak, kita akan meletakkan dakwah dan tarbiyyah lebih daripada segalanya. Kalau kita taknak, kita akan berterusan mencipta alasan. Nauzubillah. Semoga saya bersedia dan terus bersedia untuk kekal berada pada jalan ini. Dengan sepenuh hati. Bukan lagi bersyarat. Bukan lagi atas rasa terpaksa. Lawan perasaan yang sentiasa inginkan kesenangan dan kerehatan. Gerabak dakwah akan sentiasa bergerak. Adakah kita mahu ketinggalan? Adakah kita mahu ketinggalan di saat Islam kembali dijulang? Adakah kita ingin menjadi pemerhati dari jauh ataupun kita ingin menjadi mereka yang bekerja untuk menegakkan Islam? 

Saya ingin menjadi mereka yang bekerja.

Izinkanlah wahai Allah. Kuatkanlah wahai Allah. Ameen. 

Doakan =D

Will certainly vote for this one :) So comel! 

I miss all my bulatan gembira :) especially the ones in Cardiff...Semua orang pun vote ok for whichever video that they like! 

Till then!

If you haven't been to Bukit Kayu Hitam and Padang Besaq...

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful :)

Right after coming back from Langkawi, we went for a short trip to Bukit Kayu Hitam and Padang Besar.

Alang-alang we were there, we decided to visit the famous places. 

I was a bit disappointed  upon reaching Bukit Kayu Hitam Duty Free Zone. Ada satu shopping complex yang sederhana besarnya. Barang-barang dia biasa jelah. Barang Thailand. Tempat dia tak besar. Dan tak menarik pun (in my eyes). We travelled so far, for nearly one hour from Kuala Perlis, and yet the place was not as what we expected. We expected something like Pengkalan Kubur or Rantau Panjang in Kelantan. Well, siapa suruh ada great expectation. Of course the shopping complex was not to be blamed. I'm just sharing this info with those who have not been there and who used to have similar expectation with me. If you're hoping for something like Rantau Panjang, then Bukit Kayu Hitam is certainly not the place. AND YOU DON'T NEED A PASSPORT TO GO THERE. You drive through the sempadan, and you will see a shopping complex on your left. And apart from the shopping complex, there was one Bazaar nearby with about 10-15 kedai kecil. We did not buy anything there.

Entering the Thailand border...No passport needed if you are just going to Bukit Kayu Hitam Duty Free Zone.

Bukit Kayu Hitam Duty Free Zone

Bukit Kayu Hitam Duty Free Zone

Heavy traffic... heading towards Malaysia...

Lepas pergi Bukit Kayu Hitam, we decided to go to Padang Besar without the slightest picture of the place in our minds. But we were still hoping that it would be better and bigger than the Bukit Kayu Hitam Duty Free Zone. This Padang Besar was quite far from civilisation. Kena meredah ladang tebu sebelum sampai(sangat cantik!) Walaupun pemandangan cantik, saya masih rasa bosan sebab lama sangat berada dalam kereta.Out of boredom, I kept asking Hubby ' Bila nak sampai ni...?'. Just to annoy him. Hehe. And when I kept myself quiet, hubby would start asking me 'Bila nak sampai ni...?' ;p 

Dan kami dah sampai ke kawasan terpanas dalam Malaysia! It was, Chuping,  located on the way to Padang Besar. Alhamdulillah when we reached the site, it matched our expectation. Banyak jugaklah kedai. Tapi sampai-sampai dah dalam pukul 5 petang. So, we had about 1 hour to wander around. I think everything was made in Thailand. Ada banyak baju, tikar, barang-barang anyam, kacang-kacang, beg, mainan, barang kahwin, food stalls, toto etc etc etc. You might need half a day to ronda-ronda sampai puas. Things there were relatively cheap. We bought a picnic mat for RM8, whereas the normal market price would be RM12. Departed from Padang Besar, headed towards Jitra at about 6 p.m. Loved the green scenery. Breathtaking!We both enjoyed the journey through the sugarcane field :)

Disappointed with Bt.Kayu Hitam, decided to go to Padang Besar.

Journey to Padang Besar

Chuping, Perlis - warmest area in Malaysia

Sugarcane field? Or Corn field? Love the green scenery...This picture doesn't do it justice.

Till then! :) Jauh pemandangan, Luas pengalaman, bertambah pengetahuan! 

May Allah bless our journeys. Ameen.

p/s: and please feel free to have your own views. you might like bukit kayu hitam. there is nothing wrong with it. just the matter of point of views :)

A husband is a gift from God :)

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful :)

A husband is a gift from God :)

“Diperlihatkan neraka kepadaku. Ternyata majoriti penghuninya adalah para wanita yang kufur .” Ada yang bertanya kepada beliau: “Apakah para wanita itu kufur kepada Allah?” Beliau menjawab: “(Tidak, melainkan) mereka kufur kepada suami dan mengkufuri kebaikan (suami). Seandainya engkau berbuat baik kepada salah seorang dari mereka satu masa, kemudian suatu saat ia melihat darimu ada sesuatu (yang tidak berkenan di hatinya) niscaya ia akan berkata: Aku sama sekali belum pernah melihat kebaikan darimu.”

(HR. Al-Bukhari no. 29 dan Muslim no. 907)

Some women have this tendency to spot their husbands' weaknesses. They love to nag and complain. It is sort of a syndrome spreading among them. Complain kepada suami sendiri tu satu hal lah. Ada juga orang yang akan cerita segala masalah rumahtangga kepada semua orang. That's not good. Let us muhasabah diri. Are we one of them?

If you feel bad about something that your husband did, it is OK to discuss in a good way on whatever that you both disagree on (a difficult thing to do during crisis). But it is not OK to deny all the kindness that our husbands had been doing for us. It is not OK.  Some women have this habit of forgetting their husbands' sacrifices. Especially when they are mad. Are we one of them? Astaghfirullah.

I once heard on the radio, a caller was telling Prof Muhaya that her husband was having an affair with a third person. And Prof Muhaya asked the caller to ask herself, "Kenapa sampai suami perlu cari ketenangan di luar.Apa yang kurang pada layanan puan pada suami puan?"

Being a married person, we should always improve ourselves in dealing with the husbands.
Be kind, be gentle, be romantic, be loving, be lovable, be tolerant. BE LIVELY :)

A husband is a gift from Allah and we must take care of the gift. Be pleasant to him because Allah wants us to please our life partner. 

Hubby and papa :) The two most important men in my life...

Wallahua'lam

Mount Sinai...

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful...

Sinai is the name of a place/district in Egypt.

Alhamdulillah, Allah gave me the chance to reach the top of Mount Sinai in 2008. After about 3 hours of climbing during the night,  we managed to reach the top.  PUNCAK JABAL SINAI.
Subhanallah, indescribable feelings. It was and still is a known fact that I am not physically fit. As far as I am concern, Saya bukan berpenyakit ke apa, tapi saya cepat penat. Naik tangga sikit pun dah mengah. Just like Po in Kung Fu Panda 2, stairs is my enemy. So, it was an amazing achievement for me; climbing a mountain! Selepas sejam lebih panjat, saya dah niat siap-siap kalau-kalau jatuh ke bawah dan mati saya redha. I kept saying to myself, if Nabi Musa can do this, I must do this! Sebab dah tak larat sangat dan angin kuat sangat. Rasa macam boleh je diterbangkan angin. Believe me, the wind was strong! It was icy cold up there. Macam musim sejuk di U.K. And yes, we went there during winter, and Egypt also experienced cold weather in December. Kena pakai winter coat and mitten! Kalau ada orang nak bukak bisnes jual selimut kat atas sana pun confirm laku. I saw some tourists wrapping themselves in blankets.

Double jackets. Mittens. And still shivering!

We started climbing at about 1 a.m. It was actually quite meriah. Ramai je orang panjat, in groups. Lights from torchlights here and there. Each group must have a tour guide; a local person. In fact ada orang tua jugak - subhanallah fit nya! Must be Europeans. For those who did not want to climb with their two legs, they can choose to ride camels. It was not all the time climbing really. Route dia dah disediakan, just jalan je lah. Cuma ada tempat-tempat, especially when you are about to reach the top, kena panjat-panjat. Reached the top before subuh and we prayed subuh there, waited for sunrise. Takde toilet, air pun sikit je nak berwudhuk. Solat dekat satu ruang. Lelaki perempuan campur. Despite everything, it was a wonderful feeling. Being able to reach the place where Prophet Musa bermunajat to Allah. There were people of different religions up there. Christians, Muslims and others. Orang Kristian pun percaya jugak pasal Nabi Musa. 

And as I was at the top, I experienced another challenge, - habuk entered one of my eyes due to the strong wind. Being afflicted with that kind of pain - it was quite difficult for me to make my way down the mountain. I slipped and fall twice. Luckily the route for going down was easier than the route that we used to climb the mountain.

Surrounding mountains - view from top of Mount Sinai

At the top of Mount Sinai

The sun finally rises!

On our way down

So, if you're thinking of climbing Mount Sinai. Just go for it :) A once in a lifetime experience. Don't be afraid. Walaupun saya cerita pasal angin kuat and rasa nak diterbangkan etc, tapi kalau Allah takdirkan tak mati, takkan mati punya... Challenge yourself and visit the place where Nabi Musa bermunajat :) Ponder upon perjuangan Nabi Musa. Sanggup panjat gunung demi menyahut seruan Allah.

People of the boat

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful :)

I think Allah mentioned about people of the boat/ship a few times in the Glorious Quran.

It was described as a group of people who were sailing on a boat and then they were faced with great calamities; strong winds, huge waves. There and then they prayed to Allah with their sincerest hearts so that Allah removes the adversity from them. They promised to become the grateful ones if Allah answers their prayers. HOWEVER, once they were safe, they turned their backs upon the promise made.

I still remember when I was about to know the result of my posting placement; which district in Pahang. I felt very anxious if I were to be sent far far away. The fact that I am living separately from my hubby is challenging enough. Being away from my family would add up the challenge. I was very emotionally unstable. Lebih kurang lah macam people of the boat. Very desperate. I prayed and prayed and prayed to Allah for Kuantan, since Kuantan is the nearest town to Terengganu and my sister resides in Kuantan. I WAS CLINGING TO ALLAH.

And I promised myself to be a better person, to turn over a new leaf if I were to be posted in Kuantan. And I promised Allah not to become like the people of the boat. The people of the boat, most of them only remembered Allah during difficult times and they forgotten Him, forgotten about their promises once they were free from the hardships. I don't want to be that. Ameen. I know I am far from solehah, but insyaAllah I'll keep trying.

Below is the verse regarding people of the boat...

It is He who enables you to travel on land and sea until, when you are in ships and they sail with them by a good wind and they rejoice therein, there comes a storm wind and the waves come upon them from everywhere and they assume that they are surrounded, supplicating Allah , sincere to Him in religion, "If You should save us from this, we will surely be among the thankful." But when He saves them, at once they commit injustice upon the earth without right. O mankind, your injustice is only against yourselves, [being merely] the enjoyment of worldly life. Then to Us is your return, and We will inform you of what you used to do.

[Surah Yunus : 22-23]

Hidup di dunia, kita akan sentiasa diuji. I pray to Allah so that I will always cling to him, no matter what. Biiznillah.Wallahua'lam.