Books, Books and More Books Part 33 & 34

And without realizing it I find that I have somehow completed my book on sirah. It was fascinating. And history must be my favorite subject to be able to sail through the pages. FYI I am also reading books by Ustaz Azhar, Haron Din and a couple more (and these are taking forever to finish).

This Fiqh al Sirah by Muhammad Sa'id Ramadan Al-Buti volume 1 tells of the early life of Rasulullah saw till the move to Yathrib (Madinah). Stories I have once knew when I was a kid (and have forgotten since) are narrated in the book. And when I came across them I thought, I (used to) know this story of the prophet (how come I have forgotten it? How could I?)

I have also drawn a line chart and plugged in the important / historical dates along it. I havent gotten a name for this chart yet (I am thinking of one). And maybe I'll share the chart one day when I am satisfied with / verified the result.

Also. If you had asked me before, how many years difference there is between the Gregorian & Hijri calendars, my cocky response would be "easy-peasy", 2011 - 1432 = 579 years. Duh.

But I have since found out it isnt that easy because the number of days in a year for each calendar is not the same. The (almost) correct answer is 622. Kalau tak percaya tengok screen shot kat bawah (the internet never lies.. ??). You've gotta have a formula though.

I am doing some reading on the Hijri calendar also. Maybe I'll share that too later.

Nevertheless. I am into vol 2 of my sirah series now.

In the meantime. In an about-turn story ~ I have finished this book too some time back (like an addict, I need to have a fix once in a while). No comments necessary here I suppose. Although I think I will read more of Ms Quinn's writings in future.

Happy reading to you. Ciao.

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"Pulang"

إِنَّا لِلَّـهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَ‌اجِعُونَ

I dedicate this post to a dearest friend who has lost someone very close to her. May she find comfort and peace, in patience dan dalam keredhaan terhadap ketentuan Allah.

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَ‌اتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ‌ الصَّابِرِ‌ينَ ﴿١٥٥﴾ الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّـهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَ‌اجِعُونَ ﴿١٥٦﴾ أُولَـٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّهِمْ وَرَ‌حْمَةٌ ۖ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ ﴿١٥٧﴾

Demi sesungguhnya! Kami akan menguji kamu dengan sedikit perasaan takut (kepada musuh) dan (dengan merasai) kelaparan, dan (dengan berlakunya) kekurangan dari harta benda dan jiwa serta hasil tanaman. Dan berilah khabar gembira kepada orang-orang yang sabar:

(Iaitu) orang-orang yang apabila mereka ditimpa oleh sesuatu kesusahan, mereka berkata: "Sesungguhnya kami adalah kepunyaan Allah dan kepada Allah jualah kami kembali."

Mereka itu ialah orang-orang yang dilimpahi dengan berbagai-bagai kebaikan dari Tuhan mereka serta rahmatNya; dan mereka itulah orang-orang yang dapat petunjuk hidayahNya.
[Al Baqarah, 2 : 155 - 157]


Al Fatihah.


ps - Maybe it could comfort you some to know that you have made the right decision when you packed up and moved. Our doas are for you and family.

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Sacrifices

I am currently reading a book on sirah (I'll share that when I'm done ~ I am only on Vol I and there are three in this series). Tercapai dek tangan buku ni sebab ustaz kata jahil nye saya mengaku Islam namun sejarah peribadi Rasulullah pun tak tahu (he didnt literally said it like that tapi saya translate lebih kurang begitu lah) Angkuh nye. He added. Saya istighfar banyak2. Memang betul kata ustaz.

Kata penulis,

Setiap muslim yang mengaku dirinya Muslim yang beriman dengan Allah dan Rasulullah saw wajiblah membuktikan keimanannya dengan usaha dan tenaga; serta rela menerima tawaran Allah untuk menukar syurga dengan jiwa raga dan harta benda mereka.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ ۚ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ

Sesungguhnya Allah telah membeli dari orang-orang yang beriman akan jiwa mereka dan harta benda mereka dengan (balasan) bahawa mereka akan beroleh Syurga, (disebabkan) mereka berjuang pada jalan Allah maka (di antara) mereka ada yang membunuh dan terbunuh.
(Surah Al Taubah, 9:111)

Lalu soalan saya pada diri sendiri - apakah / pernahkah / adakah usaha saya dalam jual-beli ini?

Dan ayat ini.

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِن قَبْلِكُم ۖ مَّسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ

Adakah patut kamu menyangka bahawa kamu akan masuk syurga, padahal belum sampai kepada kamu (ujian dan cubaan) seperti yang telah berlaku kepada orang-orang yang terdahulu daripada kamu? Mereka telah ditimpa kepapaan (kemusnahan hartabenda) dan serangan penyakit, serta digoncangkan (oleh ancaman bahaya musuh), sehingga berkatalah Rasul dan orang-orang yang beriman yang ada bersamanya: Bilakah (datangnya) pertolongan Allah?" Ketahuilah sesungguhnya pertolongan Allah itu dekat (asalkan kamu bersabar dan berpegang teguh kepada ugama Allah).
(Surah Al Baqarah, 2:214)

Dan andaian saya dari kefahaman yang cetek mungkin begini,
syurga = pengorbanan harta, benda, jiwa dan raga.

And I mull over the sacrifices (if any) that I have made.

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Although FB Not My Cup of Tea

I dont do FB (although I do have an account to check things out). Neither do I tweet. I leave that to the birds.

HOWEVER. There is a facebook account I found quite some time ago and keep going back to check up on a lot of things, the least being the gorgeous photos that are posted.


Semua gambar dipetik dari fb Ustaz Azhar Idrus (Original). There is a lot more amazing photos to be found there. I especially like the kampong scenes (there is more gratification in spelling kampung as kampong, me think). And the ones of the two beautiful kids Rasydan & Mukmin (and also of Pok Mang, of course).

Namun ceramah ustaz di Google videos (walaupun dah lama) maupun di youtube juga tidak kurang ke-amazing-an nye . Layan diri bila ada kelapangan (I think I'd rather say make the time, actually). They are worth thousand-folds more of the time spent.

Also, Ustaz Azhar akan berada di Masjid Al-Mardhiyah Fasa 5 Melawati Ahad ini (18/12) dari 3 - 5pm. Jemput datang kepada yang berkesempatan. Make time.

Selamat mencari bekalan untuk perjalanan pulang.

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Stuffs

I had some hours to spare (like I already have everything under control) so I went about on the internet and found this -

.. a gorgeous morris minor (to die for!) - it is a wallpaper ad actually.

.. some rad toilet papers

.. colorful spatulas I like, wildflower shaped utensils (how cool are these?), ninja cookie cutter (so cute for some tough little boys) and a mat from old newspapers (let's recycle) from here.

I also found out what hard work and commitment are all about in developing and sustaining your own business -

.. like collecting sea water in pails and then ultimately put it out in the sun to turn it into table salt (!)

.. and to hand pour candle wax to create original and distinctive candles.

Now let me own up that making sea salt has never been on my list. I have thought about making candles but do not have a clue to get supplies. I have thought also about many other ventures but nothing seem to stick. You've got ideas?

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The Wedding - A Wrap

So how have you been? Me, I've been busy doing .. err .. nothing special, I suppose - update blog pun tidak - but the usual stuff.

We have finally gotten the photos from the wedding photographer. Teringatkan bos yang bercerita gambar2 lama habis rosak dan tidak ada salinan lain, saya nekad untuk simpan gambar2 keluarga dengan lebih cermat. Like making back up copies and printed copies. Siapa tahu 5 years from now what media drivers we'll have dan boleh baca lagi ke gambar2 yang di simpan dalam CD / thumb / hdisks?

Anyway. The photos.

The bunga rampai was finely cut by neighbours (Allah saja yang dapat membalas budi). Lepas hiris tu letakkan dalam kain batik, campurkan kelopak bunga (if you want colorful rampai. Otherwise letak melur saja lagi wangi dan cantik. Kata orang. Lain kali we will try it with the melur) dan air mawar. Campur & balik2kan. Bungkus dengan kain batik tu dan masukkan dalam peti ais so it will not wilt. Esok pagi baru letak dalam bekas in the bedroom / on the pelamin / around the house. Wangi.

We originally wanted purple only for the scallops on the khemah. Seminggu sebelum kenduri a friend's son got married and they had this pretty yellow and rose colored scallops which was beautiful. We then added pink to the scllops too (dasar!)

Friends commented we had many khemah. The only reason we had them that many is because naive as we are in this kenduri thing, we followed the caterer's advice to a t (dah tak tahu tak nak tanya orang yang tahu pulak tu).

Saya suka pengapit yang sedondon ini dengan payung yang nampak macam raindrops falling on them. Pengantin pun comeii (this is one of my fave photos actually). And as mentioned before, I love the pelamin that Fatin / Boy put up for us.

(ps - I know the photos are a bit small in the collage. You may click on the photos to have a somewhat larger view)

The men in the baju Melayu are our neighbours who had worked hard to make the kenduri as it is (semoga Allah membalas budi masing-masing). We know no thank you's will ever be enough.

Kawan lama. We last met like maybe 20 or more years ago. They got the invitation through FB (ada jugak guna FB tu rupa nye..) and called to ask, betul ke aku boleh datang? I thought, a thousand million times yes! (Seronok nye dapat response macam ni. Apalah sangat kenduri kami). Ramai kawan lama yang datang tapi sayang, takde gambar pulak. Masa wedding tu apa pun dah tak ingat yang sebenar nye.

Ayah Cu berbaju batik masa kenduri (saya amat terharu dengan cara ayah cu berdoa). I am in fact, his number one fan (even though he is mum's favorite!) Semoga dilindungi & dirahmati Allah dunia & akhirat. Ameen.

Terima kasih kepada anak2 ni yang sudi melapangkan masa & meriahkan majlis. And for all their help. Semoga diberi Allah taufiq & hidayah sepanjang perjalanan hidup.

I like this photo with the hills at the back. Terima kasih kepada siapa yang came up with the idea to take the family photos here.

And thank you too to everybody who had cared enough. Hanya maaf juga yang dapat dipinta jikalau ada salah-silap, terlanjur kata, yang terlepas pandang dan seandainya.

So that is a wrap on the wedding (I swear!).

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Books Books &More Books Part 30, 31 & 32

(That sure is a lot of numbers for a title)

Thanks Zana for posting the following :

"Read, read, read. Read everything—trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the most. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out the window.”
— William Faulkner

At least now I wont feel that guilty whenever I read a non-acknowledged author with an even more obscured book (sigh - with content).

I was on my way home one Friday evening and felt a compelling need to read. I headed to Kinnokuniya in KLCC but the sky was dark and it definitely was going to rain so I turned around and headed towards MPH that's closer to home. Got some books and dumped (almost) everything else and burrowed down with the readings.

So I have finished all these three books. A couple I like. The other not. Janet Dailey was (yes, was) a favorite author of mine - her later books divulge a bit too much on horses and ranches and cowboys. Bluegrass. Sonora. Cholla. Quarter horses. Wyatt Earp. Saguaro. And so on. Feel like I have enough takes on the wild, wild, west thingy. Maybe I could even try a hand at writing about ranchers, wranglers and rodeos.

I am trying to read To Kill A Mocking Bird next. Which friends had said, kita dah baca la buku tu masa kat sekolah dulu. Unfortunately I didnt do literature at school (or had I and had forgotten?) Anyway. I have bought the book I cant remember when nor where it is now - had it misplaced somehow masa kemas rumah for the wedding (in fact I had done so good a job at the kemas thing that I have lost quite a few things - the laundry bag - found it again after searching high and low, a couple other - good - books, the magic eye cream).

I am also reading a few other books in between (at least 3 - tiny, thin ones). As usual buku2 ilmiah memang susah nak perabis. Terlalu banyak gangguan bila baca buku2 nih. And no, I have not finished the book on Tun either (not that I consciously categorize that as ilmiah..) Yet.

So what are you reading currently?

And also. The other day I read from here the following -

(jika anda seorang wanita) .. bayangkanlah jika saya mengajak puan ke masjid untuk bersolat…. Apakah puan perlu mencari telekung? Jika ia, kenapa? Apakah puan merasakan yang pakaian puan belum cukup sempurna untuk mengadap Allah SWT? Jika benar begitu, kenapa pula kita boleh ke hulu dan ke hilir dengan pakaian tersebut?

Saya tinggalkan puan/saudari dengan penilaian masing2. Namun saya sendiri terasa saya perlu mencapai setidak2nya stokin saya hari ini..

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A Day On The Highlands

We were in Genting the other day. We were sending Luqman back to his training under Khazanah's SL1M program after Eid Adha and thought we should see what there is in Genting (it was an impromptu visit actually). After all, I have been to Genting only once a long time ago (Luqman was only 4 or 5 years old then!)

We took the cable car instead of driving all the way up to the top. The queue at the skyway was long, we stood in line close to an hour (ramai orang mid east). The ride was very interesting - especially when you are at the top of a steep incline and then looked down to where you had started from and see all the tiny cars hanging on the cable. Scary and exhilarating at the same time.

As we got to the top the clouds closed in on us and there is nothing to see except the cable car that passes by ours on its descend to the station. It was quite daunting sitting in the silent car (everybody was silent looking out the glass pod when the clouds came in) thinking should anything happen.. So do not think. Looking at the photo, maybe I can dream that I am perhaps sitting in a ski lift on my skiing vacation on the alps or the rockies.

The boys went on the rides. Most of the rides had long queues - menyesal pulak tak ambik express line tickets. You pay more but surely it is worth the time saved in queuing. At around 4pm strong wind blew and the mist came down. But nothing could dampen the boys' spirit in trying out the rides. My husband and I got newspapers and coffee and ice cream (yes, in the cold) and then hid in the London bus-cum-restaurant getting warm.

It was really cloudy on the way down. And raining too.

If you are heading to Genting on the skyway this year-end, be sure you are there early so you can beat the crowd. The service starts very early, 730am if I am not mistaken. The last ride is like 11pm or midnite. The park opens at 9am and closes at 10pm weekends (10am till 6pm on weekdays). If you take the cable car down when the park closes, like we did, then you will be in for a(nother) long wait.

Tickets are RM46. Or RM82 for express lines. With no queue to any ride.

Tak ade ape pun kat atas tu. Budak2 je nak masuk amusement park. But the weather was very nice that day. Very, very cool, almost like mid-autumn with a little bit of fall showers.

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My Eid Adha

You have to excuse me - I had to put up this photo - it is our first family photo with menantu (Ilyas sakit perut pulak pagi raya so he's missing from here)

I had to put this up too - our first raya with Sushi and Fishy (although Fishy isnt here - mesti keluar kawan dengan stray cats kat luar!) And after all saya memang suka letak gambar skema dalam blog.

My raya turned out to be packed. My mom is in town, so I spent the morning with her and sent the boys aje pergi tolong kerja korban. Then I spent the rest of the day at the emergency ward with Ilyas waiting for the doctor and test results. Ilyas had stomach cramps all morning and I suspect it is stones in his bladder or something akin to that. We need to do more tests to confirm. For now he's doing ok.

As usual, kalau mak ada di KL our raya celebration meriah sikit la. My sister invited us over to her place for makan2 the next day. Which was nice, everyone of us in KL turned up - including my MakSu & Pakcik with our cousins. The little cucu(s) seronok kat kolam. Orang2 tua sibuk bersembang and the youngsters watched tv or played on their iPads / PSPs / phones (what else do they do anyway?)

My days are back to normal. Slow, now that the wedding's over. I somehow think I need to create a new project to manage (not another wedding, though. Not this soon anyway). But something big. Hmm.

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The Wedding (& Photos)

As promised, here are some photos of the wedding.

Iman wanted the pelamin white (she wore pink for the akad and a gorgeous deep plum for the bersanding). With pink and purple flowers. With lots of pillows. I said we must have a cleopatra chair. The mak andam came up with this. I thought it looked amazing (I actually cannot believe this photo is really taken in my house).

We made the hantaran ourselves. I actually scout around to outsource the hantaran but they all seem very price-y. I also made the bunga dip for the hantaran. I had to make numerous trips to the kedai riben to get the perfect ribbon colors and then spent days getting the ribbons twirled right (!) - namun masih tak nampak being twirled right dalam gambar nih.

I like this photo. One of the bridesmaids was our unofficial photographer (thanks Sakinah). I wonder when we can get our photos from the official photographers we had engaged. The first time we put up the curtain in the bilik pengantin, I thought oh no, I have yellow curtains! For a while I toyed with the idea of running to Ikea for ready made curtains. Thank goodness I didnt - I thought the curtains look perfect (in this photo anyway).

The men got down to the serious business..

The father of the bride performed the akad. He had jitters all morning, the day before, the day before that (and everytime he thought about the akad). I had thousands of butterflies swarming over me. Alhamdulillah the men did a splendid job. They sailed through the ceremony (the jurunikah became one of my favorite persons for conducting the most perfect wedding ceremony..)

Fatin is the mak andam responsible for the clothes and the pelamin. I find that her taste is impeccable. And I thought her fingers could create magic too. She also did decorations for the stairs and the walkway outside with the pintu gerbang. I thought all that were gorgeous too. I'd recommend her for any wedding (call me if you want her number.)

Iman wore a pink multi-layered dress for the akad. She refused white / cream / beige (she thought she'll look fat). Kurung is a no-no too she said (me, on the other hand had thought a beige lacy kurung moden is just the thing). We found a demure grey dress which I thought was perfect. But she had set her heart on the pink. Luckily Fatin had a grey baju melayu for the groom to wear (I cant bear a man in pink baju melayu).

She wore a deep plum baju ala kebaya for bersanding. Unfortunately I have to wait for the pros to share a photo of that.

We made the bunga dip for the pelamin / bunga pahar. I had to put up this photo also as a compensation to my poor fingers / arms that twist and turn who knows how many wires for the flowers (I lost count after the hundredth, I think). Thanks Has for tutoring and spending valuable time coaching. May you find light in taking this skill to the next level.

I truly, truly love this cake. It was a present from Aida. To tell you the truth, I have never seen a more amazing cake than this before. Seriously. Thanks Aida. Very much. Unfortunately we didnt get to eat the cake (with the edible flower). As it is the prettiest of all the cakes that we have, we gave it to the rombongan pengantin.

Alhamdulillah the day went well. It rained and rained the evening before the wedding. The chairs, the table, the carpet (everything, in fact) got wet. I was worried. But the new day dawned somewhat sunny and bright, with some patches of clouds in the sky to fend off the hot sun.

The wedding somehow reminds me of the verse, Maka nikmat Tuhan kamu yang mana kah yang kamu dustakan?

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Owh, Look At What We've Been Up To Lately

(I was at a gorgeous wedding a couple of weeks ago. Our friends' eldest son got married.)

..... He was sitting at the piano, putting final touches to his face with the compact powder. I thought rude pulak tak tegur – he was the nicest neighbor when he was living on our street. Tak pernah sombong. So we chat up a bit. My daughter hovered at the back, tangkap gambar.

He then put the compact away and said mari kita tangkap gambar kat atas pelamin - biar padan muka orang tengok! (in his typical drama queen / artistic way). So that was how I ended up like in the photo below (ps - my husband went whoa! when he saw the photo).

After that he asked anak you tak nak tangkap gambar? Iman pun duduk tangkap gambar. Dia lagi best, siap pegang kipas macam artist jugak!

Azwan was the emcee at his nephew’s wedding. I must say he did a superb job at emcee-ing. Memang ada natural talent. Semoga dilindungi dan dirahmati Allah selalu.

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It Is Fall Again

I suppose fall colors, especially in the mountains, will always make me feel melancholy in a way. Weepy sometimes. Definitely nostalgic every time.




Not surprisingly I have posts on fall almost every year, like here and here (and guess what? - I hadnt realised it until now, but they were all posted on the same date too).

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The Big Day ~ Thank You

So life is (almost) back to normal now that the wedding is over - in the sense that the mind and time is free from the plans and preparation for the big day and all the (inevitable) worries that come with the package.

Alhamdulillah the day turned out fine. Sesungguhnya Allah maha penyayang. I couldnt (and shouldnt) ask for anything better (in fact, what good have I done to deserve anything like this?)

In a way the whole experience has been humbling. You start to appreciate again things you have somehow taken too much for granted. Like the support of family and friends. Not to mention the precious eco-system of a close knitted neighborhood.

This thank you post goes out to family members, to friends, to neighbors. To suppliers. Everyone who had cared enough (to continue) to build the silaturrahim. For any shortcomings - we know there are many - we apologize for them from the very bottom of our hearts. Do tell us how to make it up to you. Thank you, thank you. You are all the dearest.

ps - I do not have even one photo to share at this point. I will post some once I get a few decent ones.

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Things I Tell Myself (& Sometimes The Kids)

Hidup ini hanyalah semata-mata untuk mencari keredhaan Allah.

Tiada tujuan lain kehidupan kecuali untuk mengumpul bekalan bagi perjalanan pulang kepada yang abadi.


(The challenge is matching actions with these words.)

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Makan2 at Al Rawsha

We were in city center to fetch Iman and somehow without conscious planning stopped for (late) dinner at Al Rawsha. It's a mid-eastern restaurant located at the very edge of Bulatan Kampung Pandan heading towards Maluri as you come from city center on Jalan Tun Razak.

Boleh baca ke map ni? You can if you are familiar with the area, me think (namun pakai lah GPS or Garmin or whatever your preference, especially if you are from out of town).

The place has this facade that looks like a castle from outside. The insides are pretty too with typical mid-eastern motifs on the walls (but the interiors at Tagine on Bukit Bintang is much prettier).

Reading the menu was a piece of cake; understanding it is totally another matter.. (sebab tu semua orang concentrate semacam masa baca menu tu, haha) Kabsa or hanith are a snap. We can also safely figure out falafel, shawarma and tabbouleh too. But anything else is beyond me.

We ended up ordering the lamb kabsa in a big plate (the boys went wow, when they saw the plate). With some vege flavored in olive oil and wrapped in vine leaves (I dont know what those are called though). Baklava. And typical mid-eastern malt drink. The lamb was good. So is the rice. I think I made better baklava during my years at college, nak cakap jugak tu.. (although I have lost that skill somehow. The last time I made baklava, recently, the phyllo turned out soggy).

On a scale of 1 - 10, I'll give the place a 7. I'll gladly go back to Saba in Setiawangsa for a meal anytime. Tapi nak buat tukar angin, Al Rawsha isnt too bad at all. They are open - believe it or, 24 by 7. Visit them here.

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