What's Your Fear?

Haziq told me the thing he thought was the coolest thing he did was to pray in congregation with the boys in his group at the Central park, New York. While his mat salleh teacher stood by waiting for them.

He did well in the competition he entered, Masya Allah tabarakallah. Got second place for science quizzes and arts. Won two debates out of four and receive honorouble mention. Allahuma Bareek. But all these came out pale compared to what he told me.

I hope this doesn't come out like bragging to you. May Allah protect me. Praises all go to Allah, the One who bestow tawfeeq and hidayah to the young men to be steadfast . And Yes I am proud of them. And I am happy that this is the group that my son is with. May Allah increase their eemaan till the end.

I have been in this situation. In the western place. Surrounded by mat sallehs. Public place and not knowing where to pray and not very willing to openly pray in front of them.

Will they watch me? Will they target me? How will I react after that? In the train cabin in Europe crossing countries, I felt worried what if someone walked on me? In the park near Gare du Nord, Paris, how do I wear the telekung?

Many I know, resort to fitting rooms and even toilets. Store rooms. Also made self fatwa not to pray.

May Allah guide my son and his friends for not being afraid to pray in the land where Muslims are better known as terrorists, where Muslims are the one accused of flying planes onto buildings. Where Muslims are the general targets. I am not sure how Haziq really felt. I asked him did you not feel afraid, he said no.

Until the day that we fear Allah most above everything else, then only we will achieve true victory.

And this is what I wish for myself, my family and all of you.

When Haziq is Not Around

Haz\iq is not around for a week. He got selected, out of the last W0rld Sch0lar's cup round in Bangkok (HERE), to go for the summit of the game in Yale University, New Haven, the United States. He will later become a tourist in New York. He is having fun in the freezing cold weather, I am sure.

But Ibu is also finding herself with extra work in hand when he is not around. I find myself having to water the plants, wash the dishes by myself, angkat kain jemuran, fold his clothes. Bless him. Don't be too impress, he grumbles all the time.

Sya is taking up the dish washing but not in the full scale now.

Anak makin besar, kerja kurang sikit you (tapi kepala pening banyak).

Alhamdulillah.

English Worksheet

I bought some english worksheet book for Sya and Jack the last time I went back during summer. It was Building writing skill workbook, Singap0re syllabus.

We did the first exercise. It was a picture story where you need to describe the pictures ad make it into a story. It was a picture of an accident between two cars. One of the driver looks like she fainted or maybe dead (I suppose up to you whichever way you want to write). So you need to describe the story.

I didn't think much of it until I read the following exercise.



And I thought how gory the description is.

Then we proceeded to the next exercise. Here is teh picture




OMG! What picture is this? Someone fell from an HDB flat? Or or or suicide? Are those suppose to blood splattering on the floor? And you are suppose to describe this story. Oh sorry, an eight year old suppose to describe the story? Blood and all?

Another picture. Less gory but still on subject of mishaps or series of unfortunate events.



A boy tripped on the stairs carrying a big bag.

That's it! I think, I had enough of these examples and very likely not proceed with the book.

Look, it's not that I am protective much. I read them stories of battles and so forth and the kids had their doses of Gaza and Syria. Those are real and heroic. While these story builders are just odd and not suitable to be in a child's exercise book.

It's probably a one off case. I am sure other publishers fare much better.

I'll just stick with online stuff after this.

________________________

I found this interesting STORY STARTER. Cute and simple and you can be imaginative as well. and no gory stuff also.

Our Lost Honour

As we watch in despair the happenings of the world, we can't help to note that most of the headline news revolve around the Muslims.

Where has our honour gone?

Sayidina Umar r.a. said
"We were the most humiliated people on earth and Allah gave us honor through Islam. If we ever seek honor through anything else, Allah will humiliate us again.”

We are now humiliated at the cost of massacre of Muslim's life in the view of the whole world to see.

Allah said in

Munafiqoon 63: 8
But honour, power and glory belong to Allâh, and to His Messenger (Muhammad SAW), and to the believers, but the hypocrites know not. 

I fear reading this. Are we not mu'mineen as how Allah describe that we are now being humiliated?  Ya Rabb.

I cringe in agony, each time people mention the glory of our past Muslim scholars coming up with wonderful innovations be it in medicine, inventions, engineering, astrology, maritime, pharmacy, mathematics and so forth. But where are we now? At least from my limited scope of perspective, Muslims are one lazy lot. This is generalisation of course because I have seen really good ones. 

I have nothing to offer to what we can do about this but hope is not at lost Insya Allah, for Allah promises us us this

Fatir 35: 10
Whosoever desires honour, (power and glory) then to Allâh belong all honour, power and glory

And thus, what is left for us to do, is to turn to Him. To do what he pleases. These entails many things because it is not just a saying of the mouth. It should translate into actions, choices of course in life made, direction for the children, Quran, ilm, leaving sins, discipline and and and...

Allah Mustaan. To You Ya Rabb, I seek help to what capacity I can do.

Smart Stuff

I remember when I first came here, among  the changes I enforced in the family is to have an all together sit down dinner. No eating in front of the tv, on the couch, upstairs, in front of the tv. Even though we cant do it everyday with lover because of his odd timing, but I insist the rest must come down and be there.

I personally feel that there is so much bonding during this family get together. And since I am not working, I should make the best of the time I have.

But something evil is creeping in lately. This doesn't happen much at home though. It is mostly when we have our dinner outside. Enter the restaurant  Myself, lover, haziq and the kids will take out our respective Iphone, S3 (TRAITOR!), ipod and ipad. We will check the wifi, and our eyes are glued on the phone or tablet whatever.

Look we are not talking to each other. Sometimes even if we do, we wont be concentrating on the convo. Evil indeed this whatsapp that makes me pay attention to others more than my own family at this hour. And all these smart gadgets became so addictive that my heart yearns for it almost all the time.

Do you not see this happening almost to all. Sitting together but all are quiet staring at the gadget? I am a believer in a good old conversation. Jack, is in his talkative phase. He talks non stop and can go from one topic to another. Haziq, less talkative, but I enjoy the convo I have with him. Sya talks less but play alot with jack (oh by the way she must stop reading at dinner table too). I don't think I want to miss all of these.

Time to take action! No more smartphones, tablets and even story books at dinner table. I must stop this before this evil become permanently stuck on our hands and we lose the ability to talk to our loved ones, and only LOL and emoticon faces with those far away from us.

Who is with me?

Kantoi

Among our routine in the evenings now is, me and jack have to wait in the car for Sya while she finishes her memorising class. I would usually park the car conveniently at the mall nearest to Sya's class. This is the best place so I can have easy access to musolla and toilet and food in case Jack needs any.

So to not waste time, Jack would do his memorisation with me, while I listen and check. Usually I would use the IPad IQuran HD. Alhamdulillah for technology. We can play our favourite sheikh reading a certain verse and repeating it many times.

So we were there again this evening, him reciting, me errr chcking the IPad. When suddenly Jack asked me what am  I doing. Apparently he can see the reflection of the screen on the car window.

And Gosh it was FACEBOOK!

Kantoi!

Tight Space

I am beginning to love my new house. Its smaller but very cosy. It's easier to clean up as well (relative). But there are a few things that bug me initially.

Like for instance, my compound is right at the smack of the heart of traffic jam. AFter a few route run, I have found a reasonable route that I think is the fastest. This route, will force me to take Salwa Road which is actually a very long road, running from the central Doha up to Saudi. It's like an extended Jalan Tun Razak.



This road however has been on construction for ages and just recently managed to install a new traffic light set very near my house. And because the road is still under construction, it has a lot of diversion and winds about.

To get to my compound, I have to be careful that the car behind me is not trailing me too near because I have to make a quick swerve into my very tight compound entrance and pray to God that my car doesnt scratch the compound gate.

To top it, to actually get into my garage, I have to make another swerve into a tight corner and quickly get my car straight again to enter the garage.

The parking garage space is long. Yes, it can fit both our cars even though my lover prefers to park outside because to park both, it really is a bumper to bumper situation and I have to drive up close and personal to the wall and the other car have to get up close and personal to my car. Suffice to say, it's easier to park one car outside.

But that is no matter. The bigger matter is, it is a very loooonnng, narrow parking space.



To ensure easy exit out later, the getting in must be good. All eyes must be set to 360 degree so that the car doesn't rub onto anything. And to exit, will be another round of carefulness.

Now I am getting a hang of it.

Yeah I am. The moment I get onto Salwa Road and had to swerve left right at a speed and avoid slow cars and diversion and must finally maintain the middle lane to get a good spot later - I am already feeling like Stella Bridger (Charlize Theron) in "The Italian Job".

I am Stella Bridger with a Hijab

And when I swerve into my tight compound entrance, I am her again, swerving and making 90 degree turn into the metro line and making continuous calculative judgment and more tight corners. All eyes on the road. Sharp and quick!

And into the long garage with very little space to maneuver. There is no room for mistake! Do not even sweat!

And then halt!

Alhamdulillah safe and sound. And back into mummy's mode.

My Stella Bridger moment.

Nevermind my shortness, I have got a huge SUV instead of a mini cooper to compensate for it.

Pick Up Line

I hope I make you smile

Mostly I hope to be your righteous friend

And you, mine.















BIG PRINT : Not to be used on non mahram.

________________________

May we be bestowed with righteous friends of whom when they speak, they remind us of Allah. Their actions remind us of Allah and that you love each other for His sake.


May the companions rubbed off perfume on each other.

The Prophet ﷺ reminds us of the importance of good company in this hadith (record of the Prophet ﷺ):

“A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift, or you might buy some from him, or at least you might smell its fragrance. As for the blacksmith, he might singe your clothes, and at the very least you will breathe in the fumes of the furnace.” [Bukhari, Muslim]

Look at Our Food

I saw some food show or documentary (I can't remember) where the host is trying to show where food actually comes from. A chicken burger for example, comes from a chicken. The thighs and the breast pieces that they cut up nicely and sold in the food store actually comes from a chicken also. Slaughtered (or killed for them) and cut up to pieces. And if you have to start from scratch, there are wiggly yucky bits and stuff. Many were squirmish doing it. Some even look like they will vomit.

Like for real.

Anyway, I try my best to always point to the kids where their food comes from. Too bad I don't live in situation where there are much to be shown. I still try though to get them involved.

Like this is where you get buah cempedak, from a tree belakang rumah nenek, cut, mix with tepung and goreng and makan.
This is pokok tebu. It is Haziq's job to cut it into reasonable pices, peel off the skin (because makcik air tebu kata kalau tak buang kulit nanti mesin dia rosak) and send it to makcik air tebu.
This is coconut where you get the santan and i got to cook all the high cholesterol delicious food that you like.
This is daun kunyit.
This is kelapa muda petik rumah mak long. Tolong belah and ambik air dan isinya.
This is a cow. And this part where you get the rump. tenderloin. The ribs.

Haziq is also given a job to cut up the whole chicken to eatable pieces. Squirmish at first but getting a hang on it. Nak kena fine tune aje sikit insya Allah.

If you reflect on your food and go beyond the salivating part, you will come to realise how weak we are as human. None of us can produce our own food source even if you are the richest person in the world. You can buy food. You can buy ingredient but you have to get the source's ingredient from the earth.

The soil toiled. The sea fished. The fruits reaped. Can we produce any of these?

Sure there is some chemical "food" people produced, but those are not food. They are poison. And still they have to get the source from nature.

Reflect on your food, you will know that the One who creates you is Ar Rabb, the Provider and the Nurturer .  Food - we regard as an ordinary thing. Had Allah not provided the means for it, it was not in the power of man himself to have created the food on the earth in any way.

Allahu Akbar.

Abasa 80: 24-32

Then let man look at his food, (24)
We pour forth water in abundance, (25)
And We split the earth in clefts, (26)
And We cause therein the grain to grow, (27)
And grapes and clover plants (i.e. green fodder for the cattle), (28)
And olives and date-palms, (29)
And gardens, dense with many trees, (30)
And fruits and herbage. (31)
(To be) a provision and benefit for you and your cattle. (32)

Jim Mim 'Ain

We were discussing surah adiyat (me and my children) sometime ago. And we reached the 5th verse.
 فَوَسَطۡنَ بِهِۦ جَمۡعًا  Penetrating forthwith as one into the midst (of the foe)By the way it was a great discussion and I learned alot  of general knowledge concerning Arabian horses doing this surah. You  can read part of it here

Al Adiyat 100: 1 - Arabian Horses
Al Adiyat 100: 1
Al Adiyat 100: 2 - Horseshoes
Al Adiyat 100: 3-5

So we got to ayat 5 and I pointed out the word جَمۡعًا and I briefly mention the word comes from the three root letter which is جمع. Which in general means group or join or unite. And as most arabic words, they are derived from a three  root letter.  And they can then means similar but different. So from the letters jim mim 'ain, you can get the word 

jumuah (Malay) pronounce is Jumaat. جمعة 

Jamaah - as in solat jamaah  جمعة

Jamek - as in Masjid jamek. جامع

Majmuk - مجمع

Ijtima' (meeting or gathering) - اجتماع

Can you see, the changed word still have the root letter jim mim 'ain?

Then, suddenly Sya asked me, what would jima' mean? It is spelt like this جماع

:O

:|

It means having sex Sya.

Then Haziq roared and Sya went red on the face..and Jack laughed even though he did not fully understand what was happening.

_________________________________

The other day, I was casually talking to haziq about how some music videos are like porno especially the arabic ones particularly if they singers from Lban0n. 

Then Sya asked, is porno like jima'?