Sujud Sykur is Most Apt

Qtar has increased the number quota of people making hajj to another 6000.

I received the long awaited sms this morning.

Labaikallahumma labaik..

Sessi Baru 2009/10

My classes has started since last week. And now they are coming with vengeance. They are introducing new syllabus on tajweed. Following the Qa1dah N00raniyah method. They retested everyone and put us according to our level of reading. Unlike the previous years, where we were tested on our reading of Juzzu Amma. This time round they make you read a page somewhere in the middle of Quran. That would be pretty fair, I believe. Kalau test on Surah Al Masad kalu, mungkin more than half bunyi macam bagus. :D

Now they put more emphasis on one to one 20 minute recitation. Kecut perut - yes. But I think we are all in need of this.

Alhamdulillah my kha is not so much of a problem now. Perhaps a bit of problem when I read it with a kasrah (baris bawah) but most of the time, it was ok based on teacher tak tegur. But on the other hand, my rho is a problem. be it fathah (baris atas), kasrah and dommah (baris depan). Haru betul. Dahlah we are to recite surah AdDzariyat. Where the first four verses ends with a rho.

Not to mention other letters. Particularly the one with sukun (tanda mati) which I tend to make a minor qalqalah with it. It's ok, Insya Allah can be improved.

When the arabic class starts, I think I have forgotten nearly half of the past lessons. And since I am getting the same teacher, she keeps on targeting me to answer. My trick is to answer quickly if I know the answers. So she would look at others for questions that I am quiet on. But today again she always ask me to start first. Stress betul!!

The tafseer class has also started. And so is the general lecture (still using Ideal muslimah book). Also my teacher will add another book on aqidah. General on aqeedah. Not following any book of scholars ke apa. Good for a start eh? So if you are a woman who live in Qtar, I welcome you to join me for this Thursday class. Insya Allah you will enjoy it.

They have increased the hours of classes now. And the only day I am free are Tuesday and occasional Fridays. In case ada orang nak jemput morning coffee. Hahhahah. But usually I would stay at home and hibernate (try to clean the house). I dread even to go groceries.

Alhamdulillah for another busy year.

Masih Ada Harapan

Well they say there might still be hope for more people to go for hajj.

First of all the government is applying to increase the number of quotas.

And then there is also the possibility of the ones accepted unable to go. Qadr Allah.

And other divine intervention.

The one glitch is, they made new rules that expats cannot take the plane but instead only by road i.e. bus. I picked the plane as my first two choices and the bus as my third choice. (We have to fill up form and state our preference). I guess a rebel will continue to be one. Now I am a hopeful rebel.

But, this country is also notorious for changing rules whenever they like. So so so, I try lah.

They also said be ready with possibilities. Time is nearing. It is less than a month for people to depart to the Haram. In such that if they call you, you should be jumping and ready with all the documents on the spot.

So we did the obligatory immunisation; meningitis and influenza. Get the no-objection-letter from lover's employer. Err I have not added more abayas though. I'll probably do it tonight. And still going through the books and the notes and uhuk uhuk keeping fit.

Just in case, if Allah wills.

Praying.

The List is Out

1,200 expatriates selected for Haj
Web posted at: 10/14/2009 3:32:49
Source ::: The Peninsula

DOHA: The Haj Committee has selected 1,200 expatriates, from a total of 5,100 applicants to perform Haj this year.

The selection follows the online registration for expatriates Haj pilgrims introduced by the Committee recently for the first time in Qtar. All the winning candidates were informed through SMS yesterday and they have been asked to complete the other formalities in a week, Haj Committee sources said yesterday.

Qtar has a total quota of 1,500 expatriate Haj pilgrims this year, besides the nearly 4,000 Qtari pilgrims. However, efforts are on to get the quota raised, considering the high number of applicants.

The committee also announced the quota of pilgrims allotted for each Muqawil (Haj contractors) in the C-Category. This category is dedicated for expatriates travelling by road. The selected pilgrims have been asked to contact their respective Muqawils and complete the necessary formalities for the pilgrimage with out any delay. Those who fail to meet the deadline would miss the opportunity to perform the pilgrimage this year.

Meanwhile, the committee has said that all the pilgrims will be vaccinated against seasonal flu and Hepatitis as in the previous years. The vaccines will be administered before their departure to Saudi Arabia.

A senior official of the Medical Committee functioning under the Haj Committee, in a statement issued yesterday, has also clarified that the seasonal flu vaccine given this year is similar to the one administered in the previous years. “Many people were given this vaccine in the previous years and no side effects were reported,” said Dr Faleh Mohammed Hussain, Assistant Minister for Policies at the Supreme Council of Health and head of the Medical Committee. He said the H1N1 vaccine would be given to the pilgrims as and when the vaccine arrives in Qtar.

The Saudi government has made the vaccination mandatory for the pilgrims provided the vaccine is made available before the pilgrimage. If the vaccine is not ready by that time, people will be allowed to perform the pilgrimage on condition that they get vaccinated against seasonal flu, said Faleh.

And I am not in the list. :(

Pantang-pantang and myths

Do you usually adhere to pantang orang tua? Like during the confinement pantang for example? Do you or can you believe to the smearing of your face comot during confinement? Or putting bawang putih in your ears?

Or what about these?

Jangan tunjuk kat pelangi (or is the crescent) nanti jari kudung?
Jangan duduk atas bantal, nanti bisul.
Jangan bukak payung dalam rumah, nanti ular masuk
Jangan tiup api lilin/ pelita..nanti nanti apa ah? tak ingat
jangan sharpen pensil dua-dua belah, nanti rumah terbakar (ni pantang orang tua ke budak-budak?)
Jangan meniarap angkat kaki, nanti mak mati.
Masa bini mengandung, suami jangan memburu, nanti anak cacat/ sumbing.
Jangan menyapu malam-malam, nanti rezeki pendek.
Jangan makan tangan kirilah! Tak baik!
Kalau dah laung azan nak pergi buat haji, jangan pandang belakang, nanti tak dapat sampai. (oh man)
Kalau lepas beranak jangan minum air banyak nanti peranakan berair.
Jangan main nyorok-nyorok waktu malam, nanti kena sorok hatu kopek.
Anak dara jangan nyanyi kat dapur, nanti kahwin orang tua (preferbally filthy stinking rich)
Hah anak dah gigit kaki tu, nak dapat adiklah tak lama lagi tuuuu

Do you adhere to most of them? Or you would chose only the logical ones?

I, for one, always argue with my parents (my dad especially), about some pantangs that just seem unbelievable. I think like for the many of us, we are using our sensible brain and thus become anal when caution with pantang orang tua.

So I am just thinking, thinking and thinking, that perhaps we are at the risk of treating the sunnah Rasulullah s.a.w. the same way we are treating pantang orang tua.

For example
Jangan makan tangan kiri! tak baik!
Jangan biar budak keluar maghrib. Banyak hantu!
Jangan meniarap (beserta angkat kaki) nanti mak mati

are part of Rasulullah sa.w. sunnah.

Try listen to this for example. Evident no 1 : Makan tangan kiri.

Salim, on the authority of his father, reported Allah’s messenger S.a.w. as saying : “None of you should eat with his left hand and drink with that (left hand) for the Shaytan eats with his left hand and drinks with that hand.” Muslim 5010

Evident no 2: Hantu masa maghrib

The Book of Drinks (Kitab Al-Ashriba)
Muslim :: Book 23 : Hadith 4998

Jabir reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Do not let your animals and children go out when the sun sets until the first and the darkest part of the night is over, for the Satan is let loose with the sinking of the sun until the darkest part of the night is over.

Evident No 3 : meniarap

Ibn Tikhfa al-Ghifari reported that his father told him that he had been one of the People of the Bench. He told him, “I was sleeping in the mosque during the last part of the night, lying on my stomach. Someone came to me and moved me with his foot, saying, ‘Get up. This is a manner of lying down which Allah hates.’ I raised my head and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was standing by my head.”

This hadith describes that Allah does not like us sleeping with our stomach down. So we must try our best to avoid sleeping in the position.

As the reason why it is disliked, AbuDharr said it in a different narration

“The Prophet saw passed by me while I was lying down on my stomach. He saw then struck me with his foot and said,
“O Junaidab, this is nothing other than they lying-down position of the dwellers of Hell fire”

So so so, I am thinking now I want to make a new approach. To make teguran to my children concerning the sunnah by actually mentioning to them that it is a sunnah.

Ya bunaya, I would say. Do you know that Rasulullah wants us to eat with our right hand.
Why, they might ask.
Because you know who eats with the left hand? It's shaytan. Now we don't want to copy what our enemy does, do we?
Euuuww, so not!

Our children have probably memorised the six pillars of faith since they enter school. I think casual mentioning of the sunnah like this is among the time we can reassert they knowledge of believing in their prophet with something practical. Introducing how to believe and love Rasulullah s.a.w. How to abide to the command of Allah. That loving and adhering to Allah and His Messenger's s.a.w. command should become our way of life.

Perhaps by clearly saying which one is the act of sunnah, we will not be eagerly disputing the sunnah like what we do for the pantang, Insya Allah. We listen and obey. Asami'na wa ata'na.

Perhaps also, we will come to understand which one is the real one and which one is fabricated. So one doesn't get attracted to the fabricated ones instead, Insya Allah.

Perhaps by mentioning Raulullah s.a.w often we can instill our love to him. Our prophet wo brings us light and help us show the true path.

I remembered that there are certain time in my life, I did dispute eating with right hand. I think I look stupid eating with right hand when I eat steak. But Alhamdulillah upon knowing that it is a prophetic's command, I don't dispute anymore.

Now tell me which one bears more weight. Knowing it is a prophetic command or it is just another pantang orang tua.

I have so much to learn.

Macam Tak Sangka

I was watching my children play together, and fight, and laughed, and teased and jeered each other, and disturb, and argue and make noise plan naughty things and other things that siblings do.

And I realised that I don't have a sibling to at least criticise just for the sake of it.

Macam tak sangka yang I have no sibling. That my one and only brother is not here anymore.

May Allah have mercy on him. May He forgives him and elevate his status. May we all be united in Jannah.

Bunga Cauli

This is actually an old post. But yesterday I was cutting up cauliflower. And also I found my old friends (in this post) in the fb. Found my ex housemates back in the UK, also thanks to FB. So I am sort of reminiscing my old entah apa-apaness.

Aku teringat pulak lebih 10 tahun dulu masa aku mula-mula sampai UK. Sesungguhnya aku memang tak tau masak langsung. Hancus! Tak tau masak dan tersangatlah kekoknya pergi dapur.

The first few weeks aku sampai UK tu, aku dan dua lagi member aku (jantan teruna), pergilah rumah a few postgrads. Aku tak ingat pun apa pasal kita orang beround sakan pergi rumah-rumah pakcik PhD tu. Cari rumah aku rasa.

So ada satu time tu kita sampai rumah pakcik PhD tu nak dekat time lumch. Ko taulah kita orang ni kan bujang. Pakcik PhD tu ada family. Rumah pun rupa rumah family. Ada bini, ada anak. Makan pun jenis berhidang. Kiranya macam perfect family setup gitulah. So naturally orang melayu mesti ajak kita makan punya. Memandangkan lagi kami yang baru sampai ni rupa macam orang makan fish and chips dengan kebab aje hari-hari, mereka pun ajaklah kami makan tengahari.

So OK we stayed on untuk makan lauk free. Dok sambunglah sembang dengan pakcik PhD. Aku tak sembang pun, member jantan aku tu aje yang sembang. Pakcik PhD rasa tak sesuai berborak dengan orang pompuan aku rasa. Bini dia entah pergi mana agaknya.

Sekali pakcik tu bangun sekejap. pergi kencing kot. member jantan aku cakap kat aku.

"Woi! Ko tak pi tolong bini dia kat dapur ke? Bini dia tengah masaklah"

"Oh! Aku kena pi tolong eh? Bukan aku guest ke? Aku nak tolong apa pun aku tak tau. Aku tak geti masaklah"

"Pergi ajele! Tanya dia apa nak buat."

Itulah yang aku ingat. Sesungguhnya masa tu aku tak tau yang walaupun aku guest, sebak-baiknya aku tolong jugaklah dia kat dapur. Particularly dia baru aje start nak masak. Ayoo kalau aku ingat balik memang haru aku waktu tu. *sungguh malu*

Anyway I went to the kitchen. Muka makcik tu macam lega aje tengok aku masuk dapur. So aku tanya dia apa aku boleh buat. She quickly handed me the cauliflowers to cut.

CAULIFLOWERS??!!!! Ayooo aku tak pernah potong itu sayur seumur hidup aku. Mak aku tak pernah masak sayur ni. Ni sayur omputih ni. AKu budak kampung yang duduk bandar Muar. And Cauliflower is not like sawi or bayam or petola or or or. Macamana nak potong sayur ni? Aggghhhh.

Tapi aku potong ajele. Sebab makcik tu dah potong sikit, aku trylah follow sample dia. Tapi cauliflower tu asyik hancur aje. (sebabnya aku potong kecik sangat. Now I can tell you)

So hari tu semua orang makan cauliflower hancur. Aku sengih ajele.