Tanggal Tiga Puluh Satu Bulan Lapan

Try asking your kids why we celebrate merdeka. I find out there's always a big pause before they give me their (sometimes lame) answers. But at least Eirfan knows who said merdeka! merdeka! merdeka! years ago and where that was said.

Cakap macam best; and so righteous. Now try answering this question - what is merdeka to you, personally? Kalau setakat naikkan bendera di pagar di bulan Ogos, apalah sangat (I am talking about yours truly. We have done this almost every year. Kononnya patriotic lah tu).  

(occasionally my photos will be turned at a right angle, like so here, but I simply do not want to take time to figure out know why)

So seriously, what is merdeka to you? I wish I could give you my answer in big words. But find out that I cant. So sad.

Nevertheless. Happy merdeka. I'm getting a lot of zzzzzz's tonite (it has been a week that I wrung my hands a lot).

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Mencari Taqwa Part 10 ~ The Clock Tower

The clock tower is a huge building.With a big shopping center and many hotels within it. We didnt shop (there are quite a number of posh shops here); although we did look at the shops from the outside on our way to and from the food court on the 3rd and 4th floor. I hadnt thought of mentioning it until a few people asked for photos; apparently the building wasnt ready when they were there a few years ago (I prefer this tower to the Hilton actually).

These are among the (many) shots we took of the building. It is conveniently (or inconveniently, depending on one's perspectives) located across from the Haram.  

 

The photo below was taken from the inside of the clock tower. We sat and had lunch with the view of the Masjidil Haram from the glassed arch.

I could sit here and look at this view for hours too.

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Selamat Hari Raya 1433

Wish you the best of raya. Dan dengan ikhlas saya pohon, mana-mana salah dan silap kami sekeluarga minta dimaafkan semuanya.
 
And how's your raya so far? Alhamdulillah ours was fab; my mom is in town celebrating raya here this year. We spent the day at my sister's yesterday, masak ketupat and wajik, dan ambil peluang  beramai2 dengan mak.

And alhamdulillah juga, mom looked relaxed today (and yesterday, above, masa buat ketupat sambil menjawab panggilan dari anak2. Kan seronok tengok mak senyum/ketawa macam ni? She looked happy); unlike last year when the stress of being raya host di kampung got to her sampai demam dia dibuatnya. Namun masih juga bercita2 beraya di kampung pada awal Ramadhan baru2 ni.. but we managed to convince her to stay here for the big day.

Anyways. After coming back from umrah a few days before Ramadhan I told the children to get ready for baju Melayu shopping. Luqman, whose least favorite activity is shopping, said tak payah lah mama kita pakai jubah je tahun ni (antara ole2 dari tanah suci adalah jubah Arab). I thought, bagus jugak idea tu.. (sebab jimat).

So this year tiba2 kami ada tema raya pulak.When we got to my sister's place this morning, my brother in law peeped through his windows tertanya2 siapa yang datang rumah dia. And then we got applauded when everybody saw us, haha.

 Percayalah, we were only trying to jimatkan kos raya (although I must say I love the outcome). Maka ni'mat tuhanmu yang manakah yang ingin engkau dustakan? Astaghfirullahuladhim.

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Mencari Taqwa Part 9 ~ The Desert

In a way I think I've always liked deserts (blame it on High Chaparral or Zorro). I like watching scorpions in the desert like shown on National Geographic (tongue in cheek). Or the saguaros and cactus flowers in the spring. Or even Anthony Bourdain when he ate baked dhorb in the Saharan desert.

And when we got down to the dusty (and co-incidently dirty looking) ladang unta, I cant help but tell my hubby, I love this place. There is something rather seductive about the harsh place, with hills upon hills of nothing but sand below the big blue sky. Sand dunes. Hot sun and strong wind with sand flying at/around you. And imagine yourself traveling upon that space a thousand four hundred years ago. It is simply mesmerizing.

I love the scenes at the ladang although I dont think I've got chemistry with the animals (I, of course love the blue skies here).

 We waited a long time for some camel milk. I told the Badwi packing the stuff, ithnan min fadlik. He stared at me with eyes like bola pingpong when I said that. I thought, did I said that wrong, and asked ustaz in Arabic class about it. He said no, you said it right (I only begged the badwi with "two, please").

The camel milk was rich, and I thought it tasted better than the full cream milk we usually get from the grocers - refreshing with no smell whatsoever. Fyi, kencing unta pun ada dijual (untuk ubat apa dah tak ingat). We pass (kata ustaz, kalau ada ikhtiar lain usahakan lah yang itu dulu. Kami setuju).

I'd love to come here again. To travel in the desert and maybe spend a couple of days in the open space with nothing but sand, hot sun, dry wind and the big blue sky above me.

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My Kueh Cara Story

Among the children's favorite kueh for berbuka include kueh lopes, kueh buah melaka and of course the kueh cara. Di bulan Ramadhan mesti kueh ini antara yang diminta anak2. And this time around, I still owe them kueh lopes (pardon me, saya suka mengeja kueh dengan huruf e, it is an indulgence for me).

Last week I made them the kueh cara. Yang manis, bukan cara berlauk. Kalaulah anak2 ni masih budak2 kecil, I can see them jumping excitedly over the prospect of eating the kueh..

Nope, no recipe for this sebab buat pun main agak2. I blended the daun pandan and poured the strained pandan juice into the dry ingredients. Gave it a stir (love the green and the sweet smell of the pandan) and then poured spoonfuls into the mold. Then I stopped in mid-air. Oh no, oh no I thought. Does Ilyas or doesnt he take the kueh with the pandan smells?

When he was eight or nine I made kueh cara the same way. Ilyas came running to the kitchen to eat them and then took a bite. His face crumpled when he tasted the kueh and spat whatever in his mouth out. And then asked, mama letak apa dalam kueh ni. I said daun pandan. Kenapa?! he was clearly upset. Bagi bau wangi. He said, Ayeah tak suka bau ni. He pushed the plate away and left the kitchen, all the while crying. Many years after that I dont make the kueh again. Not until much, much later.

So when Ilyas came home later that evening I asked, worried, do you take the kueh with pandan? He said yes, kenapa? I told him the story. I said, I dont think I want to see you upset over the kueh on a buka puasa evening.. He said tak pasal2 la mama ni itu berapa tahun dulu? (I dont think kasih ibu melangkau jarak masa sejauh manapun)

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Mencari Taqwa Part 8 ~ Haram

One of the things I love to do in Masjidil Haram (in the late afternoon when it is not too hot) was to sit at the Dataran Kaabah and watch others tawaf or in prayer or even clamouring to get to Hajarul Aswad or into Hijr Ismail or at Multazam. I didnt know that can be done - I mean to just sit and relax and just soak in all those scenes on the sidelines of the dataran with Kaabah right in front of you.

 (I could sit for hours here, I think)
 
And after Saie, usually late morning when the sun is strong (the temperature was like 46 - 48°C while we were there), I will tell my husband let's sit and watch people. So we sat on the stairs in the shades of the Haram and watched people performing their ibadah in seeking rahmat Allah. Ini antara favorite past time saya semasa di masjid. Sungguh mengasyikkan. Dan saya suka melihat ramai yang membaca alQuran di mana2, terutama jika mereka duduk di anak2 tangga masjid. MasyaAllah.

 (it may be close to 50°C outside but there is always a crowd at the Kaabah)

 And while sitting in the masjid waiting for the athan, I will look up to the ceilings and around me and wonder at the magnificent built of the Haram. Memang cantik architecture masjid. Something to gawk at and to admire.

(the masjid is most beautiful; inside and out)

And I think the masjid is planned really well. First the vast dataran around the Kaabah. Then the older part of the masjid with columns and old stones with crystal clear view of the Kaabah. Next is the newer sections with white marble columns, higher ceilings, more modern look.

(the older structure in the front of the masjid with lower ceilings and the newer parts with white marble columns. And a view of the Kaabah)
 
Tiada tujuan lain ke Makkah kecuali ke masjid dan beribadah.Memang istimewa tempat ini.

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The Last Ten Days

What are your plans for these last days of Ramadhan?

Unfortunately I just found this interesting chart on 8 steps to finish the Quran in Ramadhan. May not be too late to be of help, I hope. 

Check out more info at the (it-looks-wonderful-though-I-have-not-finished-discovering-it-yet) website. 

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Mencari Taqwa Part 7 ~ Makkah

Memang sedih tinggalkan Madinah. I'd love to stay there a few days longer (I am thinking maybe one day I'll go there as an arabic language student, maybe, for a few months). Namun terpaksa ditinggalkan juga.

Our journey to Makkah was without incident; except for one, when an old father who was traveling with his daughter didnt show up on the bus after our stop at miqat Bir Ali. Tunggu2 pun tak datang sampai ustaz pergi cari. Kemudian ustaz pun tak balik. A few other men followed. Then all of them showed up with the daughter crying (saya agak memang rumit kalau ayah ditemani anak perempuan, ataupun ibu ditemani anak lelaki.)  

 Masjid Bir Ali untuk berniat umrah (saya suka kalau semua bertalbiah kuat2; namun Alhamdulillah mutawwif agak sensitif dengan hal ini).

Our journey took us through desert road, across Asr, Maghrib and part of Isya' with the view of the sunset. Saya sebak terkenangkan mungkin jalan inilah yang dilalui Rasulullah berhari2 untuk sampai ke Mekah; untuk berhaji; berperang! Subhanallah. Dan juga semasa baginda berhijrah ke Madinah. Dusty and hot. Nothing to drive anyone to do it kecuali dalam mencari taqwa dan mendekati Allah.

It took us about 8 hours to get to the hotel, with a stop for jama' prayer, dinner and road closures etc when we get to the hotel. We settled the luggage and then left for Masjidil Haram.

Saya tergamam pertama kali melihat kaabah.

It was an unbelievable experience actually, bertawaf and saie. I am not sure how I want to describe it.

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