De Remind

Being istiqamah

2012-01-27T05:57:00.003-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

We sometimes feel so excited to this 'ibaadah, that 'ibaadah. But yet, are we continuously doing it? Or just when your imaan is at the top of imaan cycle?

It's easy to make a start of a good deed, that hard part is how to achieve the steadfastness.

On the authority of Abu 'Amr, though others call him Abu 'Amrah Sufyan bin 'Abdullah, radiyallahu anhu, who said: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, tell me something about Islam which I could not ask anyone about save you." He answered: "Say: 'I believe in Allah', and then stand firm and steadfast."
[Muslim] - Hadith 21 from the 40 hadith.

May Allah give us the strength to be istiqaamah in all our ibaadah inshaAllah :)

اللَّهُمَّ أَعِـنَّا عَلىٰ ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِـبَادَتِكَ

Mujahadah, mujahadah!

Bila kanak2 hyper berkumpul

2012-01-16T06:27:00.002-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Bila kanak2 hyper berkumpul di alam maya, terasa bestnya tengok semua aktif berdiskusi ilmu walaupun tak nampak masing2 secara zahir. Serius, saya sangat seronok!

Ukhibbukunna fiLlah abadan abada, biidzniLlah... :D

'Ya Allah, Engkau mengetahui bahawa hati-hati ini telah berkumpul kerana mengasihi-Mu, bertemu untuk mematuhi (perintah)Mu, bersatu memikul beban dakwah-Mu. Hati-hati ini telah mengikat janji setia mendaulat dan menyokong syariat-Mu, maka eratkanlah ikatan-Nya ya Allah.

Kekalkan kemesraan antara hati-hati ini. Tunjuklah kepada hati-hati ini dengan limpahan iman jua keyakinan dan keindahan tawakkal kepada-Mu. Hidup suburkan hati-hati ini dengan pengetahuan sebenar tentang-Mu.

Jika Engkau mentakdirkan mati, maka matikanlah pemilik hati-hati ini sebagai para syuhada dalam perjuangan agama-Mu. Engkaulah sebaik-baik sandaran dan sebaik-baik penolong.

Ya Allah, perkenankanlah permintaan ini. Ya Allah restuilah dan sejahterakanlah junjungan kami Muhammad, keluarga dan para sahabat baginda semuanya. Amin."

ps: weekend ni 2nd walimah another member kanak2 hyper. :) Mabruk alaiki ya ukhti, semoga terus tsabat dalam jalan ni ya, ameen2 ya Allah.

Ready tak?

2012-01-13T10:47:00.005-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Wahai orang yang berselimut! Bangunlah Tahajjud pada waktu malam, selain dari sedikit masa (yang tak dapat tidak untuk berehat). Iaitu separuh dari waktu malam, atau kurangkan sedikit dari separuh itu. Ataupun lebihkan (sedikit) daripadanya; dan bacalah al-Quran dengan "Tartil". (Sayugialah engkau dan pengikut-pengikutmu membiasakan diri masingmasing dengan ibadat yang berat kepada hawa nafsu, kerana) sesungguhnya Kami akan menurunkan kepadamu wahyu (Al-Quran yang mengandungi perintah-perintah) yang berat (kepada orang-orang yang tidak bersedia menyempurnakannya). Sebenarnya sembahyang dan ibadat malam lebih kuat kesannya (kepada jiwa), dan lebih tetap betul bacaannya. (Al-Muzzammil: 1- 6)

Dari semasa ke semasa, dalam kita sibuk berusrah, berda'wah sana-sini - kita perlu ada masa sendiri untuk duduk dan bermuhasabah. Bersihkan jiwa dari perkara dunia yang mengotorkan...

Jadi, masa untuk bersendiri ni - bertahajjudlah di separuh malam terakhir. Masa ni lah nak hubungkan hati dengan Allah SWT. Masa paling best untuk muhasabah diri sendiri, dekatkan diri pada Allah.... Bila lagi masa yang paling tenang kan? :)

This is post-usrah presented by Ms.Z. hehe.. benda yang susah kita nak buat, tapi paling sweet kalau dapat buat. SubhanaLlah kann....

ps: This a main reminder for me.

New Year Resolution?

2011-12-31T22:34:00.002-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

I actually intended to write on this on 1 Muharram, which was last month. But since I was in a long holiday, well, let's do it today. But the date isn't really2 important, for you should have renew your resolutions everyday right?

Anyway, I started my new year with breaking my mop stick. Does that sound bad? Haha. Mungkin terlalu rajin mengemop sampai patah? -_- *ini perasan je kot*

:) Alhamdulillah, for me, all has ended well (at least on some big events) in 2011. and the new year of Hijrah also already started well since last month inshaAllah. And I pray that this year of 1433H and 2012 treat us well as we improve ourselves to become a better 'abid/ah...

So, please make some wishes, plan, and work on what you're looking forward to. May Allah give the best to all of us, ameen yaAllah. :)

ps: I removed the current Shoutmix due to its policy change. Use the entry comment to make any comments. TQ!

Hijrah Menuju Hidayah

2011-12-18T08:02:00.001-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Coretan nota di sini untuk tatapan siapa2 yang datang. Tak banyak, sedikit pahala berkongsi juga mungkin 1 point yang mengubah sesuatu dalam hidup manusia.. betul tak? :)

Minggu lepas selepas kerja, berkesempatan singgah di Surau An-Nur, Lebuh Nipah, PP untuk berbuka puasa sempena Hari Ashura. Alhamdulillah, selepas Maghrib ada tazkirah daripada Bro. Kamaruddin Abdullah. Pertama kali dengar speech brother ni, memang la bersemangat. Dengan gurauan spontan beliau, pandai menarik hati pendengar.

Kisah Otak Manusia
Otak manusia ada 3 trillion sel, cuba bayangkan sel2 tu besar mana? Haa... doktor tu cerita pada Bro. Kamaruddin ni, kalau nak dibandingkan, sebiji komputer pun masih tak dapat lawan 1 sel (SATU sel je) dalam otak kita. Betapa hebatnya kebesaran Allah, Allah jadikan setiap sel dalam diri kita ni ada fungsinya. Bukan dicipta dengan sia2.

Sanggupkah kita masih lagi melawan perintah pencipta kita?

Kisah burung

Burung Godwit
Burung ini terbang 35000 kaki atas paras laut. Paras ini adalah ruang udara Jet Stream yang kurang merbahaya, kurang rintangan angin dan gangguan cuaca. Boleh rujuk di sini.

Ketika musim migrasi, burung Godwit terbang 9 hari 9 malam tanpa henti ke New Zealand dari Alaska. Dan selepas 3 bulan, kembali ke Alaska, tempat asal mereka.

Pilot belajar di universiti, burung2 ni? Hanya daripada Allah!
And kapal terbang biasa takkan boleh terbang 9 hari tanpa henti, tapi burung ni?
Siapa yang beri tenaga yang cukup pada burung2 ni? Hanya Allah!

Maka nikmat Tuhan kamu yang mana satu, yang kamu henda dustakan? (Surah Ar-Rahman)

Bila hati mengadap Tuhan

2011-12-05T09:30:00.002-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

A dear sister has triggered me to write some pantun after she put a pantun on her Facebook. It's been a while, I realized I need to brush up my vocabularies.

Wahai cik adik manis berseri
Mengapa bermuram durja di malam indah
Tenang2 zikir2 sentiasa di hati
Luahan perasaan kepadaNya dicurah

Bulan bintang memancar indah

Air sungai mengalir tenang

Bila diri merenung bermuhasabah

Terasa diri serba kurang

Membawa diri di hutan belantara
Mencari siapa pencipta alam semesta
Allah tak pernah perlukan sesiapa
Di akhirnya, kita yang perlukan Dia

Rasulullah digelar Al-Amin

Budi pekertinya jujur dan amanah

Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'iin

Ya Allah, kepadaMu kami berserah

Teman ada di sana-sini

Sahabat, belum tentu lagilah

Kuatkan tenangkan lah hati kami

Moga hidup kami dalam redhaMu ya Allah...

Pelangi hidup

2011-12-02T08:32:00.000-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Nampak ke rainbow dalam gambar tu? Abaikan gambar background yang banyak lampu tu, itu pemandangan biasa bila Jambatan Pulau Pinang mengalami kesesakan teramat.

Biasalah kan, hidup boleh kejap gembira, kejap sedih, kejap stress, kejap relax. Bila tertekan, stress, sedih, doa pada Allah banyak2. Semoga Allah tunjukkan jalan keluar pada kesusahan hati kita.

Dekatkan diri pada Dia, inshaAllah Allah bagi pelangi pada kita. :)

Bersyukur tak kita?

2011-11-18T07:34:00.002-06:00

We always ask for more time but when we get it, we use it so foolishly. Show your appreciation for the great blessing of free time by valuing it more and Allah will increase it for you.

Copied from here

Things that we always forget. Bila minta pada Allah, bukan main lagi berharap. Bila dah dapat, bukan diguna sebaiknya.

Masa tak cukup masa nak buat kerja/belajar (kononnya? betul pun boleh jadi juga), berdoa pada Allah sungguh2 "Ya Allah bagilah aku masa extra untuk aku study, buat kerja yang tak habis lagi ni. Aku janji akan fokus sepenuh hati" & panjang lagi la ayat2 kan...

Dengan izin Allah, tiba2 meeting atau kelas lain dibatalkan atas apa2 sebab yang tak dapat dielakkan. Bahagia tak? Lepas tu anda semua buat apa? Study? Buat kerja?

Yang mengambil 'masa tambahan' yang diberi Allah ni dengan baik, alhamdulillah semoga Allah membantu dalam segala urusan anda yang memerlukan masa tambahan tu.

Yang tiba2 terfikir 'Wah kelas batal, ada masa nak main game ni!!', 'hmm, boleh jugak pegi lepak dengan kawan kejap tengok bola', & lain2 lah yang boleh anda semua fikir... Hmm, di situ ada masalah sikit. Cuba muhasabah balik ya, anda ada kerja tertangguh!

Jadilah manusia hamba Allah yang bersyukur. =)

Eid Adha - think back

2011-11-04T18:14:00.001-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Tahun ni banyak perubahan berlaku. Banyak pengorbanan dibuat. Banyak banyak banyak....

Mengambil ibrah sempena Eid Adha yang menjelang malam ini, mari muhasabah kembali berapa banyak pengorbanan kita untuk ummah?

Tetapkan azam, pahatkan dalam hati dan terus melangkah!

Allah sentiasa bersama anda semua, inshaAllah. :)

Sentapan hati

2011-10-31T09:35:00.001-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Status FB ukhti MM

analogi sifat Allah tidak sama dengan hambaNya
- daripada 100 org, mungkin hanya 50 org yang mampu memaafkan kesalahan org lain
- daripada 50 org, mungkin hanya 10 org mampu memaafkan & melupakan
- tapi daripada 10 orang, ada tak org yg mampu memaafkan, melupakan & menyayangi org yg buat kesalahan dgnnya?
- walaupun dosa tinggi menggunung, rahmat Allah melangit luas. Allah bukan sahaja memaafkan, melupakan, malah menyayangi org2 yg buat salah dgnNya.
- Sesungguhnya Allah mencintai orang-orang yang bertaubat dan bersuci (2:222)
[ikim.fm]

!!Selagi kita masih bernyawa, jangan bertangguh2 untuk bertaubat. Allah itu At-Tawwab...

Another one,

Sabda Nabi : “Yang pertama kali dibakar api neraka pada hari Kiamat adalah tiga golongan : orang alim (dengan ilmunya), mujahid (dengan namanya) dan dermawan (dengan hartanya). ..

Adapun orang alim, maka Allah mendatangkan dan menanyainya : “Apa yang dahulu engkau perbuat di dunia?” Dia menjawab: ”Aku menuntut ilmu di jalan-Mu, lalu aku sebarkan ilmu itu karena mencari kedridhaan-Mu.” Maka dikatakan kepadanya : “Engkau dusta! Sebenarnya engkau mencari ilmu supaya dikatakan sebagai orang alim.” Kemudian diperintahkan malaikat penjaga neraka untuk menyeretnya, maka dilemparkan dia ke dalam neraka. Sambung...

!!Ingat, buat benda baik tu untuk apa sebenarnya?
.

What are friends for?

2011-10-27T09:03:00.000-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Alkisahnya, saya dan kawan2 se-company keluar makan bersama lepas tidak bertemu selama sebulan lebih (satu company tapi tak jumpa sebulan? how come?)....

Sebelum dapat makan, sempatlah kami sesat bersama2 dulu, agak lama sampai 1/2 jam mungkin... Akhirnya, alhamdulillah sampai juga di Puncak Mutiara, Kg. Pelet, Bukit Mertajam. (apa kes cari kedai jauh2 ni? sila google untuk tahu :) )

But my friends are awesome! :D

Selamat makan sedap2, kami pun bergerak pulang. Alhamdulillah saya tak keseorangan, tiba lagi satu ujian selepas sesat mencari kedai makan - kalini tayar kereta pancit! Dengan ada kawan2, mereka bertungkus lumus macam nak sama2 juga pasang tayar spare walaupun tayar tu satu je. Ada juga, kumpulan budak2 lelaki naik motor datang berhenti tolong pusingkan jack tu (maybe dah tengok kitorang pusing slow sangat... hehe). Lagi terharu, budak2 ni taknak terima langsung duit 'upah' siap terus jalan naik motor, takkan nak kejar kan?

Kereta lagi satu pun menemani kereta saya yang tak dipandu laju kerana tayar spare ni agak kecil, takut pula nak 'speeding'. Kawan2 saya ni tolong pam tayar spare tu kat stesen minyak... Pening sama2 bila pam tu taknak berfungsi betul2....

Memang adventurous eating-out kalini!

Kesimpulan kat sini... kawan yang baik takkan tinggalkan kawan dia susah seorang2, atau buat muka tak puas hati bila ada masalah. Lagi bagus, berpusu2 nak tolong ringankan masalah. Ya Allah, kekalkanlah kemesraan hati2 ini... Semoga persahabatan kami atas redha Allah, ameen~

ps: Akhirnya selamat la melayang RM1xx menggantikan tayar yang leper tu.

Syai... bissukkar?

2011-10-18T10:14:00.002-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

It was my flight back to KL last weekend. So much of tense and it has been quite some time not to go and relax with family, I decided to fly back home~

I sat next to an Arabic couple, looks like they're married... ok, that's not the point... So, at that time, I was so tired, and I felt like I just want to sleep and get enough rest before I do the next rush.

But then, the girl next to me offered her McD fries... I took a piece or two, and we started to talk a bit.. The husband asked, "Hajj? Makkah?" I really don't know what to respond other than "Not yet".

But he actually didn't understand English.... Sigh... How to say "not yet" in Arabic? I forgot!

So then we did a little bit of conversation, with only pieces of Arabic and English phrases... What came into my mind, "Why can't I remember all those words now? -_-"

They are actually from Madinah, just got married and is having their honeymoon here in Malaysia. :) The wife knows a bit of English, so at least I can mix up English and Arabic with them. haha~

And lastly, to test my arabic speech, the husband said 'syai, syai' to the stewardess who looked totally clueless what he's talking about. I said to the stewardess that he wanted "Syai, bis sukkar", tea with sugar.. no caffeine. Nice huh?

So, what do we learn from here? Practice your Arabic!!

ps: Rasa rugi je dah ambil sampai intermediate Arabic tapi tergagap bila nak cakap dengan orang Arab. Embarassing..........

Apa makna Islam dalam diri anda?

2011-10-10T09:48:00.000-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Ada 2 senario:

Senario 1:
Seorang pemuda ni berusaha sungguh2, kumpul duit sedikit2. Target dia - nak membeli sebuah kereta untuk kegunaan hariannya. Akhirnya selepas beberapa tahun, dia berjaya juga membeli sebuah kereta kecil lagi bergaya, MyVi Elegance.

Oleh kerana dia mendapat sebuah kereta dengan susah-payahnya selama bertahun2, dia menjaga keretanya dengan sangat baik. Dicuci setiap minggu, tak pernah terlepas masa untuk servis kereta, sentiasa pastikan kereta dalam keadaan baik.

Senario 2:
Pemuda kedua ni pada suatu hari melihat sebuah iklan peraduan teka jumlah ketupat dalam sebuah kotak. Hadiah utamanya - MyVi Elegance. Dengan niat hanya suka2, dia pun menyertai peraduan tersebut. Dan dengan izin Allah, dia memenangi MyVi itu...

Rasanya kan, bila dapat kereta semudah itu, adakah pemuda ini akan menjaga keretanya setekun pemuda pertama tadi? Macam tak kan?

Oleh kerana MyVi Elegance ni cuma kereta keduanya, maka dijaganya kereta ini dengan sambil lewa - servis kereta hanya cukup syarat, tunggu rosak baru terkial2 nak pergi bengkel sedangkan minyak hitam dan tayar tak diperiksa secara berkala.

-----------

Benda yang kita dapat mudah, biasanya kita tak jaga dengan sepenuh hati. Tak sayang macam kita sayang benda yang kita dapat dengan hasil penat lelah kita.

Sama macam Islam kita...

Kita tengok ramai muallaf yang sangat kuat imannya, kita sendiri malu dengan diri sendiri yang tak beramal sehebat Muslim Baru ni. Mereka yang pergi berda'wah, mereka yang memenuhkan surau/masjid, mereka di mana2. Kita? Sibuk bermain game, bekerja overtime tak habis2 tanpa fikir tanggungjawab masyarakat.

Kita (or at least, saya sendiri) dapat Islam dengan mudah, adakah mahu jadi seperti pemuda kedua yang mengambil mudah dengan apa yang dimilikinya dengan senang?? Jangan sekali-kali mengambil tanggungjawab Islam anda dengan mudah!

Buat muallaf, atau yang telah lama memeluk Islam - saya memang sangat kagum dengan anda yang berusaha menegakkan Islam di bumi Allah ini. Semoga lebih ramai yang akan bersama2 memantapkan lagi usaha kita inshaAllah.... :)

-- Ini adalah huraian saya dari kisah di segmen Muslim Profesional di IKIM.fm Selasa, 10 Oktober 2011.

Love and Mercy - not just that!

2011-10-04T08:51:00.003-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Last weekend, I went to this Alkauthar's course, A-Z of Love and Mercy. It was my second time joining alKauthar in Penang, as I don't think I'm able to afford to fly to KL to attend either alMaghrib or alKauthar courses..

SubhanaLlah it was wonderful, awesome!

Some people are saying,
"Wow you're going to this course! Are you getting married soon?"
*making funny faces* "What did you learn there? Anything interesting?"

In my humble opinion, it's not a problem for us to learn that kind of course. Whether I'm getting married soon or not, whether I'm young or old. The class had even been attended by parents, youngsters. It's all knowledge that we should learn and share to others. Allahul musta'aan. :)

Some of the words I can share for now:

Less interactions before marriage increases the barakah, inshaALlah :)

"There is no marriage without a wali and (upright) witnesses." (Reported by Ahmad & AlBaihaqi)

Accepting an invitation to the walimah is obligatory. Fasting is not an excuse to not attend the function.

Until a zani/zaniyah (the one who commits zina), s/he is temporarily forbidden from the believing muslim. So repentance is the first condition before she can marry believing men and vice versa.

The responsibility of a father is to find the suitable husband, not preventing for invalid reasons!

Lastly, may you live happily every after~ ;)

Relationship

2011-09-19T09:04:00.005-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Relationship? Apa yang kita fikir bila sebut perkataan ni?

- kawan2

- mak, ayah, adik-beradik

- cikgu, lecturers, bos...

- husband & wife

- extended family members

- customers (if you're in business?)

- etc~

Macam mana relationship anda dengan manusia2 sekeliling anda?

- erm, ok la.

- Palinggg sayang, tak boleh bayang kalau tiba2 kehilangan dia/mereka

- Allah je yang tahu perasaanku pada dia

- hm, sekarang ni dah tak bercakap pun.

- Jangan disebut nama tu, buat sakit hati je (erk?)

Banyak juga saya belajar tentang perkataan 'relationship' ni.

- Sebab harta, hubungan terputus

- Sebab 1 perkataan disalah sebut, hubungan teman 10 tahun terputus begitu saja

- Sebab tak bincang 1 perkara, satu keluarga bergaduh

Macam dalam iklan kat IKIM,

"Hidup manusia boleh berubah dengan 3 patah perkataan; 'Terima kasih abang', 'Saya sayang awak'."

~~*oh ni contoh je la.. hehe *~~

Saya pernah bergaduh dengan kawan kerana sekecil2 salah faham, melihat sebuah keluarga bergaduh kerana harta. Tapi, semuanya dipelajari dan dibetulkan semampu boleh. Tak kurang juga, saya menikmati 'relationship' yang sangat dekat di hati terutama dengan ahli keluarga dan ukhti2 sekalian yang tak pernah hilang dari ingatan. Sampaikan lepas berjauhan masih lagi mahu 'bersama' di mana2. SubhanaLlah~

The art of relationship is complicated, yet sometimes we are taking it so easily. Learn how to handle it, inshaAllah the ukhuwwah will stands firm and stays forever inshaAllah. B-)

Post-Ramadhan

2011-09-14T09:42:00.000-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Malam ni dah malam ke-22. Dah habis ke puasa 6? Bukan untuk membanding2 antara kawan2, tapi jangan sampai terlepas fadhilatnya, belum pasti lagi kita akan sampai pada Ramadhan dan Syawwal tahun depan. Cepat tau!

Eid kalini, saya rasa ada kelainannya. Entah kenapa raya tahun lepas tak tersimpan di memori, sedangkan itulah kali pertama beraya di Malaysia selepas 5 tahun beraya di kejauhan... *jauh betul, lebih kurang setengah ukurlilit bumi direntasi*

Lainnya tahun ini, saya merasakan Ramadhan dan Syawalnya terlalu pantas. Sangat!

Tahu2, oh sudah 10 malam terakhir?
   Tahu2, eh esok raya?
   Tiba2, aik, sempat ke habis puasa 6 ni?

Pertama kali balik dengan keretapi intercity KTM, teruja!

Apapun, saya berdoa semoga amalan saya dan amalan anda semua dimakbulkan Allah. Semoga Ramadhan kita berlalu dengan bertambah ketahanan kita menghadapi bulan2 seterusnya, ameen~

TaqabbalaLLahu minna wa minkum! :D

Ini kisahku

2011-08-14T10:20:00.000-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

This is a really touching story, definitely is. I wish I have tv9 to watch this.

"Sekiranya kita dah berubah menjadi orang yang lebih baik, maka Allah akan hantar orang2 yang baik pada kita"

"Whatever happens, I trust Allah and Allah is the best for me."

"Islam is cool and Islam is the only way of life"

4th night

2011-08-05T00:39:00.002-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

*this was written during 4th night of Ramadhan*

It's already 4th night of Ramadhan (subhanaLlah).

While I was watching a news on the demo at the Wall Street in Buletin Utama TV3, suddenly my memories drove me to the past years when I was in States.

Particularly on Ramadhan events, for sure...

We went to ICN (Islamic Center of Nashville) during taraweeh & Qiyamullail. We ate sahuur together with the sisters who always bring good food to share. :)

And we had tadarus Al-Quran online with Malaysian sisters across the States throughout Ramadhan.

And of course, sometimes we had Iftaar together, either just Malaysians, at the ICN or with all muslims in the campus. Then, yeay, taraweeh & tazkirah in between.

In Chicago, in the other hand, while I spent most of my time alone, I met adorable sisters during taraweeh after walking along the Sheridan Road by myself (well, it's just 10 minutes walk).

And I remembered, my friend and I accompanied an aunty with her grandson back to her home few blocks from the prayer hall at the Religious Center. *How brave she is to walk across the dark area by herself just to pray taraweeh!*

Sometimes, a dear friend of mine, Aamna who is now working with Islamic Relief in Chicago sometimes bring me to experience taraweeh at the masjeed nearby.

I wonder how are they doing...

All are in memories, but the spirit should stays. Allahu akram, thank you Allah for giving me the opportunity to feel such wonderful Ramadhan anywhere I go. :)

Are you ready to greet our visitor?

2011-07-30T09:51:00.001-05:00

Ramadhan is coming.

Is your home prepared to welcome Ramadhan?

Are you physically prepared?

Are you mentally prepared?

Are you readyyyyy?

Gembira ke?

2011-07-21T11:19:00.000-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Harini banyak benda baik jadi alhamdulillah... Well, kira minggu ni banyak la benda positif sebenarnya. Lagi2 lepas minggu lepas yang sangat memenatkan dan banyak benda kurang bagus berlaku.

Kisah minggu lepas yang penat - travel balik rumah, terkunci pintu tak bawak kunci, bateri kereta k.o, almost terlepas waktu solat, kerja pun tak produktif. NO positive outcome at all, I can say. Allah je yang tahu betapa letihnya saya minggu lepas.

Tapi takde la teruk mana sangat sebenarnya. Emotionally, not too bad. Teambuilding and Pangkor trip plus family event did cheer me up in the middle. =)

Dan minggu ni - alhamdulillah sangat2, walaupun ada la sesi mengantuk saya, tapi kerja yang saya kerjakan selama berminggu2 membuahkan hasil yang hebat. Walaupun belum perfect, but at least my script did work as expected! Susah sebab tak ada manual, macam kerja mengarut pun ada. But our assumptions did work until now haha~

To double the joy, I did receive my long-waited transcript - which finally proves me as a Masters' grad. No words can describe the feeling. =) SubhanaLlah...

Semua susah payah akhirnya berakhir dengan jayanya... Betullah, nikmat kejayaan selepas berusaha keras dan bermacam rintangan sangat manis. Samalah dengan kita mahu berusaha keras beramal sepenuh hati untuk dapat hadiah syurga Allah di akhirat nanti....

Dan sesiapa yang menghendaki akhirat dan berusaha mengerjakan amal-amal yang baik untuk akhirat dengan usaha yang layak baginya, sedang ia beriman, maka mereka yang demikian keadaannya, diberi pahala akan amal usahanya.

(Al-Israa: 19 - Tafsiran Ar-Rahman)

Addiction

2011-06-24T09:51:00.000-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

I have this habit of watching movies/series/anything on TV non-stop until I want to sleep. Or maybe had, I'm trying to resist this habit a little bit.

I do have addiction to Youtube videos once I start watching a few and clicking videos under "Suggestion" on the sidebar.

Some people have addiction to play games, be it video game or just cellphone game. You name it. Farmville? Halo? FIFA? Quadrapop? Solitaire?

Other people would love to go on travelling on and on. OK, I don't actually say this as an addiction. hehe...

Some addiction or habit can be good, some are not. Depends on the outcomes, the intentions and the way you do it. Watching movies are okay as long as you do not waste much of your time, enough for you to get a rest and benefit from the story.

Playing games are okay as it could sharpen your brain to work faster and smarter. But not playing like you have nothing else to do. Life is more than games, ok guys and girls?

And I wish to have an addiction to read the Qur'an. I think I used to read Qur'an really a lot when I was very young, but now? I used to spend most of my time reading and memorizing Qur'an aayah by aayah, it consumes hours each day! I remembered I tried to memorize suratul Jumu'ah within a day or 2, and alhamdulilah it stays. Big effort for a big exam last 12 years subhanaLlah~

I would want to get myself admit one day, "I'm so addicted to reading Qur'an". :)

Sepagi bersama Imam Muda Asyraf

2011-06-19T09:20:00.000-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Sejujurnya saya tak pernah menonton rancangan Imam Muda. Tiada Astro di rumah, juga tiada di Malaysia semasa rancangan ni bermula. Tapi memanglah rancangan ni sangat popular, tak kira orang hardcore Muslim atau yang biasa2. Saya pun teruja juga mendengar, tapi belum berkesempatan nak tonton di website mana2.

Kisah pagi ni, MISG telah memulakan program Summer pertama dengan kuliah online bersama Imam Muda Asyraf. =) Memandangkan program ni online, apa lagi, saya grab sajalah nak ikut dengar. Rugi kalau tak dengar free2 ni!

Ok, I wanted to share some points I got (let's write before I forget!)
Tajuk kuliah: Kepentingan Tarbiyyah sebagai asas kehidupan menuju dewasa

Pentingnya kita ada perjumpaan face-to-face, mata bertentang mata dengan sahabat2, teman usrah/setarbiyyah kita.... You know, dari mata jatuh ke hati.. kan?

Walaupun online tu penting untuk kita yang berjauhan, online tak mampu mengganti fungsi face-to-face untuk dekatkan hati2 kita dengan lebih dalam & lebih feeling. Walaupun online tu mudah, jumpa face-to-face sangat penting untuk kita lebih faham pemikiran sahabat kita, ketidaksamaan kita.

Macam baru2 ni kalau ada baca di website Ustaz Hasrizal, UZAR & lain2, pertemuan Ilmuan & Da'i yang dimulakan mendekatkan ustaz-ustaz ni walaupun mereka berbeza pendapat dari pelbagai perkara. Bukti kita hanya tidak setuju, tapi menerima pandangan orang lain. InshaAllah, mesti kita praktikkan dalam hidup kita ok?

Nak mentarbiyyah orang lain, jangan tunggu rasa diri kita perfect.

Jadikan proses mentarbiyyah orang lain itu untuk tarbiyyah diri kita juga. Boleh? Pointnya:

Kurang Tepat : Bila kita dah amalkan satu2 perkara dengan hebat, baru kita sebarkan pada yang lain.
Lebih Baik : Bila kita tahu satu perkara, kita sebarkan pada yang lain & pada masa yang sama kita sendiri praktikkan pada diri sendiri.

Cool, not? Kalau nak tunggu sampai kita super hebat, sampai bilalah tak ada peluang nak tarbiyyah pada orang lain. And pada peringkat kita sekarang yang sudah di alam dewasa, sebaiknya kita bukan saja mencari tarbiyyah untuk diri sendiri TAPI kita mahu ditarbiyyah dan mentarbiyyah orang lain.

Em, cukup la 2 point dulu. Harus bergerak buat benda lain.

ps: cik adik kakak sekalian, bila semua ada kat Malaysia, KENA usahakan nak berjumpa ye! ;)

pre-Pilihanraya

2011-06-17T11:57:00.001-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Adakah anda berumur 21 tahun atau lebih?

Adakah anda sudah berdaftar dengan SPR?

Siapa pilihan hati anda?

Apapun pilihan hati masing2, jangan lupa register ya~

Tanggungjawab tetap tanggungjawab, yang penting doa kita supaya yang benar akan memimpin negara.

Doa itu senjata orang mu'min. Ingat tu!

ps: saja mengingatkan, SPR cuma update database setiap 4 bulan. Jadi pastikan nama kita sempat masuk sebelum minggu pilihanraya ;)

Sometimes

2011-06-10T07:46:00.001-05:00

Sometimes you cannot just wait, you have to act. Especially when you have been waiting for ages.

Say what?

2011-06-07T10:08:00.001-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

2-3 minggu ni, jalan antara rumah dan Bayan Lepas akan jadi agak perlahan. Ada jalan nak dibaiki di depan Queensbay, jadi jalan ditutup buat sementara.

Masa untuk pulang jadi lebih panjang, memandangkan semua perlu ambil jalan alternatif.
Agaknya boleh habis kot 1 roti, 1 kotak air. *Wopsss, makan je tau eh?*
Sambil tu habis dengar berita IKIM.fm, boleh dengar nasyid/ayat qur'an sekali.

Haa... construction kat area2 Lebuhraya Bayan Lepas ni la...

Selalunya anda buat apa bila ada masa menunggu macam ni?
Masa dalam bas/train ke...
masa kat traffic light yang 2 minit setiap arah ke...
Masa tunggu train ktm yang tak sampai2 ke...

Do you do something beneficial, or just wait and see?

[1]Demi Masa! [2] Sesungguhnya manusia itu dalam kerugian - [3] Kecuali orang-orang yang beriman dan beramal soleh, dan mereka pula berpesan-pesan dengan kebenaran serta berpesan-pesan dengan sabar. (Al-`Asr: 1-3)

Homesick

2011-05-24T10:35:00.003-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Sejak 2 menjak duduk jauh sekangkang kera dari family ni, makin teruk homesick saya. Don't ask why, I myself don't know the exact truth.

Contohnya macam sekarang ni, tak sabar2 nak balik padahal baru je balik awal bulan haritu.
Oklah, banyak logical reasons untuk rasa nak balik, tapi... still.

Oklah. Abaikan.
I'm hoping to see happy faces inshaAllah this weekend.

May is full of happiness mashaAllah alhamdulillah~ =D

ps: Apapun jangan lupa pada mangsa2 tanah runtuh tu ya. Pls donate even a bit of your money and du'a. Bagi yang kembali ke rahmatuLlah, alangkah berbahagianya mereka yang masih tiada cacat cela dosa hidup. Semoga keluarga mereka menerima dengan hati yang redha.

ps2: Juga mari doakan dan sedekahkan Al-Fatihah buat Bu Yoyoh Yusro yang kembali kepada-Nya beberapa hari yang lepas. Beliau saya kenalinya semasa Muktamar MISG 2007 (ke 2008?). Seorang ahli parlimen & 12 orang anak yang semuanya hafiz/ah - saya juga ingin sehebat beliau!

Mengumpat

2011-05-14T13:38:00.002-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Ada la beberapa hari yang lepas, oh mungkin minggu lepas... Saya ke surau untuk solat Zohor sebelum masuk kerja balik. Ada beberapa orang berehat2 sekejap sambil borak2 sebelum mengambil wudhu' untuk solat.

Cerita2, gosip2... mengupdate diri masing2.
Terdengar sekejap makcik2 ni cakap... Lebih kurang camni la (dah ingat2 lupa)

A: Kita duk cakap2 ni, sebelum solat buat dosa dulu naaa..
B: Ya la, bukan selalu mengumpat ni kan. Sekali sekala~ Lepas ni nak semayang, boleh taubat.

Alamak... macam tu ke? Boleh sekali sekala? Aduh! Astaghfirullah....
Kalau lepas kita cakap tu, tak sempat solat & taubat macam mana?

Sabda Rasulullah S.A.W. "Wahai orang yang beriman dengan lidahnya tetapi belum beriman dengan hatinya! Janganlah kamu mengumpat kaum muslim, dan janganlah kamu mengintip-intip keaibannya. Sesungguhnya, sesiapa yang mengintip keaiban saudaranya, maka Allah akan mengintip keaibannya, dan dia akan mendedahkannya, meskipun dia berada dalam rumahnya sendiri" (Hadis riwayat Abu Daud)

Beratur

2011-05-12T10:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, this was the view from my apartment. A super long line going to the bridge due to an accident on the fast lane on the bridge. This one was from town. The northern side - industry area to bridge also had this kind of long lanes. So I had double time of reaching home...

Please, please drivers drive carefully. You might end up making troubles for others, like this!

Here, opsss I mean there, a long queue of graduates waiting to be on the stage to receive their diploma. It's been 2 years already for me. Congratulations Class of 2011! =)

ps: You can watch this commencement live tomorrow.

Things you might not think of

2011-04-28T10:10:00.001-05:00

maybe will be the best for you.

True indeed.

Though I don't feel the happy super excited feeling for what I received a week ago, I feel bad for not having the super duper shukr feeling....

It's huge thing after like super hardship faced. I've once, or twice (maybe more?) felt to surrender and give up. Eventually it passed through the obstacles, Alhamdulillah.

Hm...

First great achievement of UPSR&UPSRI

then wonderful PMR&PMRI

cool enough to fly the colors of SPM

BSc with 2 majors in one of the most expensive (why entah I mention this) university in States

And done with MSc degree.

Now working at such a Great Place to Work company.

What's next?

Jeng jeng jeng.....

Sabarlah oh~

2011-04-20T11:12:00.001-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Hari2 kena melepasi traffic jam di kawasan Penang Bridge. Pergi kerja, dan balik kerja. Itupun bersyukur tak tinggal di area town (Georgetown, Tanjung Bungah, Gurney, area2 situ la). Bersyukur jugak tak tinggal di Seberang - kalau kerja di Seberang lain cerita ok.

Traffic jam boleh la diterima. Part tak best lagi - driver2 yang rasanya semua lepas driving test dengan hebatnya tapi mungkinlah ada masalah sikit dengan kereta.

Lampu signal rosak kot? Derang kena tipu masa beli kereta - bak kata kawan saya, Cik S.
Reason biasa untuk husnuz-zhon: Driver2 ni tak tahan nak pegi toilet. - ni kata saya sendiri. :P

Bukan kereta2 biasa saja, motor sebesar2 Harley Davidson pun nak menyelit celah kereta 4WD. Bas & lori pun hebat2. Nak tahu, cuba try datang sini bawa masa peak hours & masuk town. =D

Bila fikir2 balik, saya sendiri kadang2 lupa diri bawa laju (kadang2 masa jalan besar tak banyak kereta). Tapi kenalah ingat balik apa yang silap. Jangan kita jadi penyebab kepada kematian/kesakitan kpd orang lain... dengan SENGAJA.

So......

Kalau kita buat jahat, benda kecik sekalipun, ingat balik dan betulkan. Jangan kita jadi sumber kepada sikap buruk orang lain. Orang tengok kita buat benda tak baik tapi best, last2 ikut buat benda yang sama..... Sepatutnya kita jadi role model yg baik untuk Islam. Ni nak jadi apa??

Marilah jadi Muslim/ah sejati ok?!

Terima kasih! Merci!

2011-03-26T10:24:00.000-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

One of the things I learned and practiced a lot in US was to say 'Thank you'. It is really common to say 'Thank you' for whatever you received even if it's a small thing.

You get an information,
someone gave you free food or drinks,
your colleague help you to unplug your laptop's power cord,
a stranger gave you direction to the elevator without you asking first.

And some other things you never realized you should say thank you..

Back in hometown...
I hardly hear people saying thank you a lot.

So...
Thank you readers for reading? =)

2011: A disastrous year?

2011-03-18T09:58:00.012-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Since early of this year, until now we reached the month of March - we have been getting a lot, I mean A LOT of huge news.

Egypt Protest

Libya's Protest

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12756518

Yemen's

News on AlJazeera

and even the latest,

Japan Earthquake

Is there anything we can learn from these? Definitely. Go take a minute and look back, what you have done and what you should have done.

See what you can do to make changes?

Be grateful if you are in the safe place right now, coz we never know what will happen tomorrow.

Be generous, as this is the opportunity for you to help other people.

Be strong, as you might face the hard times like what happened in these places.

Be prepared,

coz if Allah takes our life now, are we ready to see Him?

Learn whenever wherever

2011-03-02T08:59:00.003-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

1. Baru lepas tengok siri Hani di TV3. Memang rasa ditembak ditampar bila tengok. Kalaulah memang ada 'Hani' ni dalam realiti (I'm sure there is!), saya memang patut ditembak bertubi-tubi. Hafaz Al-Quran tak habis, sumbangan apa pun tak tahu lah kan.

SubhanaLlah, wal hamduliLlah, waLlahu akbar. Semoga menjadi motivation booster untuk kita.

2. Baru balik dari sebuah pulau di Sabah. Ada orang Bajau laut yang sentiasa berada di laut. Di lautlah mereka tidur, makan.... segalanya. Tiap-tiap pagi, ada yang datang ke tepi jeti setiap homestay. Besar-besarrrr ikan, tak mampu nak habis 2-3 orang.

Saya fikir, apalah mereka buat di laut tu ya. Yang saya nampak, cuma mereka duduk dalam bot/sampan tapi tak pasti pula apa yang mereka bincang.... Saya fikir, apalah yang mereka fikir dalam hidup ni.

Orang Bajau laut yang tinggal di laut

3. Baru balik dari Sabah ni juga, saya jumpa dengan ramaiii sangat foreigners. SubhanaLlah mereka sangat friendly, semuanya bukan Muslim. 2 benda saya fikir

- Mereka ni sangat lama di pulau, berminggu-minggu bahkan berbulan hanya diving di situ. Macam... hidup mereka cuma untuk diving? Atau umumnya, untuk kepuasan hidup begitu?
- Jarang sekali jumpa orang Islam di Malaysia yang rajin bertegur sapa dengan orang Islam lain. Umm, belum lagi jadi amalan ya agaknya.... *Sendiri juga terasa*

Basically... Banyak lagi saya belajar setiap hari sebenarnya. Bukan cuma apa yang ada di skrin komputer yang saya mengadap 8-12 jam sehari.

Shameful

2011-02-23T23:24:00.001-06:00

A proposed Tennessee law would make following the Islamic code known as Shariah law a felony, punishable by 15 years in jail.

"What do you mean, really, by saying I can't abide by Shariah law?" he said. "Shariah law is telling me don't steal. Do you want me to steal and rob a bank?"

About Penang

2011-02-19T00:36:00.006-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

After 2 months I've been staying here (been here so many times), I hear so many things about Penang. Either from people in Penang, or outside Penang..

1. Jauhnya dari KL
Hm, takdelah jauh mana pun. Takat 4-5 jam, macam tak biasa je duduk kat Beseri dulu 2 tahun. Pegi US, macam tak biasa travel 5-10 jam. And katalah nak duduk asing dengan family, berbaloi lah sikit bila duduk jauh sikit.

2. Panas
Ni memang betul la. Kalau tak hujan tu, memanglah panas terik kering segalanya. Rasa nak duduk dalam aircond taknak keluar sampai malam (ok hyperbola...). KL memang lagi selesa dari segi temperature lah, cuma lagi banyak asap lah kan. Penang (especially tepi laut lah) banyak angin dari bayu laut & darat. Air circulation agak bagus lah.

From Queensbay Mall parking lot 7th floor facing Jerejak Island

3. Driving issues
Saya tak pastilah di KL macam mana, baru drive di KL beberapa kali. Sekarang drive di Penang hari2 sebab nak pergi kerja, terpaksa lah kan. Memang kalau tak sabar, tangan ada dekat hon je bila traffic jam. Tapi saya memang tak reti hon kat orang (asyik tertekan masa nak lock stereng ada lah).

Tak signal masa tukar lane, lepas tu laju macam kereta sport. Potong lane, double lanes, etc. Motor sibuk menyelit depan2 kita masa bersusah-payah nak merge in. Dan lain-lainlah. Penang ni banyak jalannya sempit, tapi driving style macam KL yang jalan luas. *Alhamdulillah kereta kecik, tak perlu risau dgn size jalan.*

4. Bestnyaaaa...
Part ni, memang saya tak nafikan. Salah satu sebab saya pilih Penang berbanding negeri2 lain selain KL. Lautnya, makanannya, memang menarik. Memang rugilah kalau tak dapat dua benda ni kalau datang sini. Umm, tapi of courselah benda ni terlalu abstract, can be different depends on who you are. =)

More interesting inputs about food in Penang --> Check out this blog

4 perkara utama yang orang sebut-sebut dekat saya. Alhamdulillah, Penang treats me well so far with some minor issues mentioned above. I have no regrets of coming to work here inshaAllah...

It does not matter where you live, where you work - it's up to you. But one thing for sure - wherever you live and work, think of ways you can contribute for the better of yourself and ummah. It will be a waste while you just be there to only live having family and work to earn money. Ok?

And I remember a friend once asked me where would I choose (if I can choose of course) to settle down in the future? I say KL/Selangor or Penang.. =)

dunia yang kecil dianggap besar

2011-02-09T09:05:00.000-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Dulu masih fikir,
'Wah pergi US, jauh amat sampai 24-25 jam naik kapal terbang.'
'Uih, macam mana eh life kat Alaska tu. Snow je.'

Sekarang banyak jadi macam ni,
'Eh, dulu awak kecik2 kat US kan? Kenal tak Pakcik XX?'
'Laa, dia satu universiti dengan kite dulu'
'Wah, rupanya kita bau2 bacang ye. Tak sangka!'

Anda rasa apa? Bumi ni kecik ke besar?
atau versi Penang
Hang rasa apa? Bumi ni kecik ka besaq?

Kalau dikira seluruh alam ciptaan Allah, bumi ni seciput je, nak lukis pun tak boleh.

May Allah protect the innocents

2011-01-30T04:58:00.000-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Anda2 semua mesti dah dengar/tahu pasal kisah yang berlaku di Mesir kan? I hope everybody follow the news, or at least get to know what actually happens there. Kalau belum, SILA BACA BERITA sekarang!

Linked from The Globe And Mail

Kawan-kawan, adik-adik sangat ramai di sana. Please, please pray for them. May Allah protect the innocents, and may the crisis there will end soon and peacefully. Ameen.

Live news --> click here

Bijak

2011-01-22T07:55:00.003-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Harini dengan bijaknya terbeli tiket yang possibly boleh dapat murah 20 ringgit. Hanya dengan tak register di Malaysia Airlines' account, saya sudah rugi! bijak, bijak... huhu tak apa lah. Lain kali masih ada.

Pasal duit je, sensitif kan? Ish3. Mata duitan sungguh.

Em, haritu Mak saya selalu sebut, kalau nak kerja ni, make sure kita kerja betul2. Kalau kerja dibayar untuk 8 jam, kerjalah 8 jam jangan buat kerja lain (facebooking, blogging, watching movies.. etc).

Kalau kerja on result based? Still, kita diexpect untuk kerja dalam office hours. Kalau tak siap, pandai2 lah tambah masa sendiri kan. Dan, bila masuk kerja lambat, pandai2 lah tambah masa lepas office hour.

Contoh
Office Hour: 8 am - 5 pm
Masuk kerja: 9 am --> Waktu kerja: 9 am - 6 pm atau sambung lagi sejam di rumah.

Betul tak kawan2?

Boleh je cara lain untuk menyusun waktu anda. Be wise, be creative. Ini salah satu perkara penting untuk kita dapat hak yang HALAL dari kerja yang kita buat, bukan gaji BUTA semata2. Kita nak gaji yang berdasarkan apa yang kita usahakan, yang Allah berkati inshaAllah.

A good time management will have good results. Dan bak kata boss saya Mr. Z, work hard is important but you still have to work smart. They can do it, I can do it, we can do it inshaAllah! =)

First entry of the year

2011-01-16T07:01:00.001-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Oh kesian blog kena tinggal beberapa lama ya. Mahu update tapi tak punya masa yang sesuai untuk berfikir dengan bagus dan hebat.

Hm... update saya?

Jujurnya, tahun baru 2011 saya gabungkan segala cerita dengan 1432 Hijriah. Memandangkan keduanya dekat2, jadi ok la kan nak gabung pun. Saya tak ada senarai azam baru yang betul2, banyaknya pembaharuan dari azam yang lama (macam sama je dengan 2010? erk....)

Alhamdulillah, berjaya memasuki ke fasa hidup yang baru - Kerjaya. Berpindah dari rumah yang selesa selepas bercuti 4-5 bulan, tak mudah. Dari relax2 di waktu pagi membaca surat khabar, memasak, etc - sekarang perlu bangun dan terus bersiap untuk keluar. Tapi, setakat ni, saya masih tidak mengeluh perlu keluar awal. SubhanaLlah, macam miracle pulak haha~ Memang Allah permudahkan saya untuk mulakan hidup baru yang masih tak dapat dijangka bagaimana.

Ahli keluarga juga menghadapi banyak benda2 baru Disember/Januari ni, sesuai lah nak dikatakan sebagai permulaaan tahun baru yang mencabar. Rumah kembali sunyi bila tak full house, tak ada yang boleh mengusik si adik kecik. Kesian dia... :p Apapun, terima kasih Mak & Ayah yang tak putus2 bagi sokongan duit & moral untuk kami teruskan hidup berjaya dunia akhirat. :)

Anyway, macam dalam blog Ust Hasrizal & Jiha, saya nak promote cerita Hani di tv3. Dah terlambat sikit la nak promote, tapi boleh je tengok di tonton.com.my atau tv3.com.my. Especially yang gila TV lah, dari anda2 semua tengok cerita tak berfaedah & tak ada pengajaran - baik tengok yang ini. hehe. Salah satu OST nya, Bila Waktu Tlah Berakhir by Opick. Selamat Menonton!

With love

2010-12-24T05:53:00.004-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

I've been wanting to update since forever, but I got no time to sit and think what I should write. And so, today seems to be good (hopefully inshaAllah, semoga tak merapu)

Now is almost the end of the year, and of course it's school holidays, and that means --> Weddings!

Few of my friends are getting or already married last months and this month, alhamdulillah. Like before, it seems like I have no rezeki to attend most of the weddings, you can just count them with fingers! Sad, yeah :(

Anyway, barakaLlahu lahum inshaAllah. May their marriage will last forever inshaAllah under His blessings =)

One of them... is one of my close friends.

We met the first time at the KLIA for our departure to States for undergraduate studies. Yeah, she looks sooo dark - just because of her PLKN, not for real :D At that time, I think we don't talk to each other since I'm not really into approaching new people I know.

In States, we weren't so close earlier. Just we were in the same major, so we took almost all same classes. The third year marked the time when we started to be close. Maybe because of the huge tense during our junior year made us sharing more and more.

Then we graduated. She worked for few months before going for graduate school while I went straight away into graduate school after graduation (of course summer break first!). She came to States, I was very-super excited and counting days for her to come back. Though we weren't in the same school anymore, cellphones & YM are the MOST IMPORTANT things for us to connect. Believe me, we talked on the phone almost every day like we haven't seen each other for months! And chatting on YM after that... (Apakah??)

Of her marriage event, she has been telling me since.... hehe I don't know. But alhamdulillah things have gone through successfully though there were sooo many problems occured along the way (ie legal procedures, registration, family travels, etc). I'm sad (and still right now) for not being able to come, and even not able to call on her Big Day - but I'm glad & happy to see both are married now. =)

Congratulations Dayana for being married with Bro. Zharif!

“And among His Signs is this that He created for you spouses of your own kind, that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy for one another: verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.” (Quran 30:21)

Cinta pada Dia melebihi segalanya

2010-11-30T09:08:00.002-06:00

Khadijah Khuwailid

Cintanya pada Rasulullah bukan pada susuk tubuhnya

Tapi misi cintanya yang agung pada Allah s.w.t.

Jadilah seperti orang biasa, tapi milikilah cinta LUAR BIASA.

Maka, baikilah kepincangan CINTA kita pada Allah s.w.t

ps: Lagu ni tak ada kaitan dengan yang atas, saja nak letak. Like it!

To or not to?

2010-11-25T08:37:00.003-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Banyak betul benda yang kena putuskan.

Nak kerja ni ke tak?

Nak duduk sana ke tak?

Perlu ke pergi event/program tu?

Nak sambung PhD ke?

Nak kahwin dah ke? opsss

more and more questions come up, buat saya dilema selalunya.

argghhh la kadang2 kan?

Target dah dibuat, plan dah ada.

Tapi tentulah, obstacles datang je along the way kan? ;)

Dan dalam banyak2 kawan/teman yang saya ceritakan berita2,

seorang ingatkan saya untuk istikharah.

Yang kadang2 saya lupa bila nak buat BIG BIG decision.

Imam An-Nawawi (may Allah bless his soul) adds:

“After making Istikharah, a person must do what he or she is wholeheartedly inclined to do and feels good about doing and should not insist on doing what he had desired to do before making the Istikharah. And if his or her feelings change, he or she should leave what he or she had intended to do, for otherwise he or she is not leaving the choice to Allah, and would not be honest in seeking help from Allah's power and knowledge. Sincerity in seeking Allah's choice means that one should completely abandon what one desired oneself.”

more

Semoga kita lebih dekat dengan Allah, tak kira susah atau senang. inshaAllah! =)

A travelog: Putik-putik Islam yang Kian Berkembang

2010-11-03T05:51:00.031-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Alhamdulillah tsummal hamdulillah..

Akhirnya terbit juga buku yang diusahakan selama setahun (kot?)

Bukan buku saya, tapi buku mak saya.. hehe~

Tajuk

Travelog Pengembaraanku di Amerika Syarikat: Putik-putik Islam yang Kian Berkembang

Jumlah mukasurat: 255

Harga:

RM 22 (Semenanjung Malaysia)

RM 25 (Sabah/Sarawak)

USD 18 (USA)

USD 17 (UK)*

* USD17 ~ GBP10.60 mengikut kadar Nov 9, 2010

=Harga termasuk kos penghantaran=

Sebarang pertanyaan, komen, order - boleh hubungi saya di sini, atau email @ nazirahmkhairi@gmail.com =)

PEMBELIAN

1. Sila buat pembayaran melalui salah satu cara di bawah:

PAYPAL

MAYBANK

NO. AKAUN: 1624 0510 0075
NAMA: SITI SALWA ARSHAD

BANK ISLAM

NO. AKAUN: 1401 4020 3025 37
NAMA: SITI SALWA ARSHAD

2. Sila isi borang di bawah:

Loading...

Pemergian yang tak disangka

2010-10-21T09:39:00.004-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Aku & keluarga baru nak mula makan malam.

Baru perasan, tv tak bukak. Selalunya akan dengar berita sekali sambil makan.

Jadi, aku pun ke depan membuka tv.

"Mak, ada student Malaysia meninggal kat Indon. Tak sempat dengar sapa and sebab apa" aku terkejut mendengar berita.

Sambungan berita itu cumalah peringatan dari Menteri Luar yang meminta semua tidak mengaitkan dengan apa2 yang boleh merosakkan hubungan dengan Indonesia. Jadi aku pun taklah ambil pusing sangat.

.......

Buka Facebook selepas makan...

Terpana membaca status seorang sahabat: Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un. Berita

JAKARTA: Seorang pelajar perubatan dari Malaysia ditemui
meninggal dunia di rumahnya di Bandung pagi tadi.

Tak ku sangka rupanya dia adalah temanku ketika sekolah rendah.

Yang selalu kutumpang kereta ibunya bila pulang lewat dari sekolah.

Aku belajar malam ini,

Allah ingatkan aku bahawa nyawa Dia yang punya.

Aku tak boleh fikir aku hidup sampai tua.

Semoga temanku, Inani Zalikha, berada bersama orang-orang yang beriman. Al-Fatihah.

ps: yang regret tak contact lepas dah add dia di Facebook.

Sabar lagi lah

2010-10-13T08:23:00.003-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Sepertinya Malaysia's companies need better management. Kena hantar orang kursus habis-habisan kot, lepas tu supervisor kena bagus.

- interview tak tersusun

- surat lambat keluar

- email hari ni, esok interview? kalau tak buka email hari Ahad macam mana?

- err... tak boleh fikir dah. itu je kot.

ada la benda-benda bagusnya, saya cuma nak tekankan perkara yang perlu diberi perhatian.

dan ini tak semestinya pada company Malaysia, tapi juga international yang Malaysia Based.

ps: yang tengah fikir kerja apa yang suits me well sebenarnya.

MCTF - musykil

2010-10-10T21:30:00.003-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Alhamdulillah last Saturday was a good one. Went to MCTF (shortly Career Fair) @ MidValley. Visited good companies' booths, more information etc... Sampai sakit tekak, air pulak tak bawak.

I passed by a booth, I saw 2-3 Muslim women, with hijaab of course. Looks interesting, lots of people stop at the booth.

But wait,

It's actually a tobacco company, which definitely makes cigarettes...

Hadeih, too bad people need jobs. So maybe they got only this job to get money. *Positive thinking...*

tukar

2010-10-05T09:38:00.000-05:00

Mahu tukar layout.
Ada cadangan?

Raya stories

2010-09-23T10:29:00.005-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

MashaAllah teruja sungguh banyak jemputan ke open house tahun ni. Tahun lepas, saya tak berkesempatan untuk beraya sangat gara2 baru mula hidup baru di tempat baru. Tahun2 lepas kira bagus lagi, open house tiap2 minggu semua gilir2 nak buat. Best betul! =p

Tapi, maaflah tak dapat attend semua. Badan ada satu je, tak boleh nak belah2. Lagi2 ada urusan keluarga yang perlu diutamakan juga. Tapi inshaAllah boleh je jumpa kan bila2 tak kira raya ke tak, rite? ;) Ziarah tak kira musim ye tak?

Hm... yang menarik tahun ni - pastilah balik kampung. 5 tahun tak beraya kat Malaysia, semuanya teruja. ish~ salah satu benda menarik saya jumpa ->

Duit syiling segi empat. Satu sen. 1/2 sen pun ada~ Kalau sekarang still ada duit ni, boleh beli apa je dengan 1/2 sen?

ps: I still owe my trip back home stories. Malasnya nak menaip.

EID Mubarak

2010-09-19T11:46:00.003-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Not to late am I?
EID MUBARAK to all Muslims around the globe.

May Allah forgive us all, and start our days after Ramadhan fresh to serve our Lord
I apologize for all sins I've done to all of you, ok?

Has Ramadhan left you with new spirit?
Did Ramadhan be your training center very well?
See your results of Ramadhan School!

Puasa 6 dah?

Malam itu?

2010-09-05T11:30:00.003-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Masih mencari malam yang hebat itu,
entah sudah berlalu atau masih boleh dikejar.
Lagi-lagi dengan kondisi yang kurang baik beberapa hari ini.

Maka aku memaksa juga diri berqiam walau setakat beberapa rakaat.
Takut terlepas, tahun depan belum tentu jumpa lagi.

Dan sekurang-kurangnya, aku berpuas hati dengan prestasi tahun ini
Walaupun tak sebaik yang diharap,
tapi inshaAllah aku dah usahakan untuk lebih baik dari tahun lalu.

Allahumma ameen.
Banyak doaku, semoga Allah perkenankan doa hambanya yang lemah lagi berdosa ini.

Buat kakak2, adik2, teman2 tersayang - doaku agar Ramadhan kali ini menjadi yang terbaik buat kalian semua. Andaikata ada terkurang di mana-mana, masih sempat lagi memohon maghfirah Allah dalam beberapa hari ni.

Tak nak rugi kan?? ;)

Just because

2010-08-20T08:05:00.005-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Just this evening at 6 pm, I watched TV3 (oh yes, my favorite channel hehe) - Jejak Rasul 16 Srikandi. And today I managed to wrote some point that I got.

Asiah bint Muhazim - who knows her?

She's one of the 4 mu'minah leaders in Jannah.

Suami dia Fir'aun pada zaman ketika pemerintahan berada di Luxor, antara kawasan yang termaju berbanding kawan seperti Giza.

2 cerita yang saya dapat tadi (sebab ada termiss sikit)

Asiah yang begitu sayangkan Nabi Musa -- Masa tu Fir'aun dukung N.Musa tiba2 N.Musa tarik janggut dia. Fir'aun marah sungguh la kan, "kecik2 dah pandai melawan!". Asiah pun pujuk Fir'aun, katanya bermaksud "baby kan belum ada akal, kalau tak percaya I'll prove it to you". Jadinya, Asiah bawa roti dan api kepada N.Musa. BiizniLlah, N.Musa cuba memasukkan api dalam mulutnya.... Bukti terbukti?? haa..
Bila iman pada Allah di puncak tertinggi -- Lepas Asiah tahu kisah Masyitah mati dibunuh kerana imannya, Asiah tak ragu2 lagi nak menyatakan imannya juga~ Fir'aun tersangatlah marah, lalu dia & Hamman menyiksa Asiah. Apa perasaannya kalau disiksa oleh suami sendiri? Sakit tak sakit. Ibu Asiah ada memujuk Asiah supaya mengaku ketuhanan Fir'aun, tapi dia tetap dengan pendiriannya mashaAllah........ Ibu Asiah menangis tengok anaknya disiksa.

Kisah Asiah disiksa ada dalam surah Al-Fajr:10. Semasa disiksa, dia banyak berdoa - boleh refer doa dalam surah at-Tahrim:11.

Dan Allah mengemukakan satu misal perbandingan (yang menyatakan tidak ada mudaratnya) kepada orang-orang mukmin (berhubung rapat dengan orang-orang kafir kalau tidak terjejas keadaan imannya), iaitu: perihal isteri Firaun, ketika ia berkata: "Wahai Tuhanku! Binalah untukku sebuah rumah di sisiMu dalam Syurga, dan selamatkanlah daku dari Firaun dan perbuatannya (yang kufur dan buas), serta selamatkanlah daku dari kaum yang zalim";

sabar

2010-08-17T20:28:00.002-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Betul la puasa menguji kesabaran. Bukanla marah, tapi sedih la.

Apa hukum merapatkan saf???

Makcik kat sebelah kiri taknak rapat ke saya. ok.. saya rapat ke dia. makcik/kakak/adik sebelah kanan pun taknak berganjak. aduih.

Last2 minta orang belakang isi. Memang muat seorang lubang tu. Cik adik tu tengok je saya, lepas tu mula solat.

Aaa.... what should I say?

Huhu berusahalah saya membuang geram sabar untuk rakaat seterusnya. Balik rumah, saya cerita dekat Mak. Mak kata,

"Biasalahh, lubang sana lubang sini. Kena slow2 la."

Teringat saya teraweeh tahun lepas, ada satu tazkirah cakap pasal solat jemaah. Cakap pasal merapatkan saf. Solat terawih lepas tazkirah tu memang best, semuanya rapatttt je. NO lubang2. Mungkin sekarang ni dah lama tak diingatkan, manusia kan mudah lupa.

Tahun lepas first time Ramadhan sejak 4 tahun di US. Tahun ni tahun ke-2. Well, masih la takleh terima kan. ish3. Marilah bersabar mengajak ahli2 masjid merapatkan saf! =)

And Ramadhan begins

2010-08-10T11:00:00.003-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Welcome ya Ramadhan!

Saat yang sangat dinanti, mashaAllah.

Malaysia mula puasa hari Rabu, teman2 di US dan Canada macam mana?

Perasaan?

Bercampur-baur - kisah Ramadhan saya tahun lepas tidaklah semenarik mana, agak hambar bila bermusafir ke tempat baru, berorientasi seorang diri. Allahuakbar seminggu itu terasa sangat sunyi.

Tahun ni?

Kalini dengan izin Allah, akan berpuasa di Malaysia, dan pertama kali beraya di Malaysia setelah 5 tahun diperantauan. Tak tahu bagaimana rasanya. Bezanya memang ada, boleh cari dalam archive Ogos 2009. Namun, setiap tempat ada kelebihan dan keunikan tersendiri alhamdulillah.

Azam?

InshaAllah, setelah kehambaran tahun lepas, tahun ini berazam dengan hebatnya untuk memperbaharui azam tahun lalu - lagi2 si adik bongsu mengajak beramal bersama, lagi best ada geng kan? ;) InshaAllah!

Moga Allah permudahkan kita semua menjalani sekolah Ramadhan kali ini. Ameen ya Allah.

Ground Zero, New York

2010-08-05T03:04:00.006-05:00

And the news: Mayor Bloomberg Delivery Speech

Tak sangka Imam Syamsi ni memang berpengaruh besar for the whole New York. Kalau orang Indonesia boleh bergerak di negara orang, macam mana orang Malaysia? Yakin boleh!

Things are getting better? Let's pray inshaAllah & show your Izzah to be a Muslim! ;)

It's a small world after all

2010-08-04T09:50:00.006-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

this time informal sikit.

Alhamdulillah, it's almost a week I've been home. Feeling? less stress of course. hehe...

This past weeks, saya belajar banyak tentang kebesaran Allah.

Betapa kecilnya bumi Allah ni kalau nak dibandingkan dengan seluruh alam.

Betapa kecilnya kita yang pasti sangatlah little tiny dari titik noktah yang kita tulis tu.

Tak sangka, semuanya dengan kebetulan, dengan percaturan Allah - aku terjumpa dengan ramai manusia yang berkaitan denganku. Si adik rupanya sebilik dengan adik junior kat Vandy dulu.

And bila hantar adik, tiba2 ternampak jersi cik adik junior lagi sorang pulak. Jadi bila ditanya2, betullah adik dia pun kat tempat yang sama...

Bila balik kampung, terserempak dengan kenalan dari Chicago kat restoran. Bila balik rumah, dinner kat restoran depan kawasan perumahan saya. Tup2, terjumpa lagi junior Vandy! Kebetulan dia tinggal di rumah neneknya yang dekat dengan kawasan perumahan saya untuk beberapa hari.....

Pulak~

Kecik sungguh dah dunia ni. Boleh jumpa sape2 kat mana2.... MashaAllah mashaAllah~

Sungguhlah, alam Allah ini sangat luas tak terjangkau akal kita yang dianggap hebat ni.

Journey Back Home 1

2010-07-19T02:51:00.006-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

I believe if I do not start the story right now, I won't write about it anymore. So, let's start even though I don't have much idea how to write right now.

-----

Alhamdulillah tsummal hamdulillah. The journey back home began smoothly. Though the beginning was a bit rushing, but it was okay. Just I did not have a proper goodbyes to Chicago people.

The trip began from Chicago on Saturday after noon. It was a total rush. We were supposed to arrive in Midway Airport an hour before the departure, but it turned out the traffic jam was a total mess. It was our fault a bit that we didn't go out early as Uncle Rahman said, sibuk nak makan jugak. And the traffic jam was worse than the usual - so it was unexpected.

And we had bag packing activity almost everyday since Tuesday before the flight. haha. *Even now, unpacking and putting those into boxes and drawers....*

~~~New York~~~

We stayed at Athirah's apartment, Steven's sort-of on-campus housing in New Jersey. It was my 3rd time I guess, coming here. The first was during our travel to Tamrin in RPI, Albany. The second was my family trip last year before going to Niagara.

My sister and I made a long tour in Manhattan in 8 hours. From waayyy down south at the Statue of Liberty up to the Central Park area. Not having anyone familiar with the area, we traveled by bus then the subway..... We stopped at nowhere, but knowing it's close to WTC, so we exited.

And then walked, and walked to the Ferry Station to see the Statue, but our budget trip didn't allow us to go there so we only watch from far. hehe... but lots of fake 'statues' all over NY you can take picture with. heh~

Then we took the subway and stop near the Central Park, then walked towards Apple Store which looks like a wet market. Couldn't get the thing that we wanted, we got out and walked again until unexpectedly we passed the Trump Tower.... A police was next to us while we were almost sitting on the floor taking the picture of the tower.

Walking towards Times Square, we passed the Rockefeller Center. Oh, a LEGO store has opened. Looks interesting, and the style is almost similar to M&M store... I think.

Lastly, we headed to the main bus station and hurriedly catch the bus to Hoboken, NJ. Overall, it was kinda a refresh for our last year's trip. Honestly, it won't be my favorite place to visit as I'd rather visit caves, falls, and all the sceneries than the busy city with honks all the time and cars running like crazy.

And after the tiring day, we stayed home, and repack (again!) for the long journey for the next day. Unbelievable, the fee for our cab was over $100 to go to the airport. But we had no choice, we have lots of luggage that it is impossible to carry them ourselves on subways. ~_~

Next entry... goodbye US. Hi Korea & Malaysia.

Baiti Jannati

2010-07-14T23:31:00.002-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

home sweet home.

nothing can compare to it. for sure.

but I do miss my old 2nd home.

I miss talking to Dayana for hours

I miss sharing thought with Ateeqa for hours till almost Subuh.

I miss all those programs events (esp ISNA convention that just ended!)

ah, I am only at home for 2 days. sigh...

well it's time to cherish the time I have at home! =)

ps: pics and stories of my journey back home will be on here soon. still on writing.

Just when

2010-07-01T23:03:00.003-05:00

Just when I feel distracted

(which it happens a lot now)

Susahnya nak fokus sekarang.

Pertama kali, saya ada sindrom nak balik Malaysia.

Duduk tak senang, nak kemas tak habis... semua tak kena.

Nak balik ke tak sebenarnya? Hish.

Atau mungkin saya terlalu curious untuk menghadapi 'real world'?

Walhal mungkin saja balik ni cuma terus jadi real-estate manager tak bertauliah.

Belum engineer berjaya, dunia yang saya nak sangat2 explore.

Allah dah mungkin takdirkan saya untuk kembali ke tanah air,

Belum tahu apa mungkin saya akan kembali ke dunia yang dah banyak mengubah diri.

Saya masih terfikir, 'dah cukupkah pemberian saya pada tanah besar ni?'

Bukan soalan mudah. Tapi tak banyak masa dah untuk memberi di sini...

Whichever I feel now, a force needs to come in an instant.

(Cuba mencari paksaan sejak semalam T_T)

ISNA Conference dah nak mula, saya tak mahu fokus terpecah2...

Allahu yusahhilna, ameen ya Rabb........

Once in a while

2010-06-29T01:27:00.007-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

When you get to go to 'events' (read: muktamar, islamic conference, tamrins, summer camps, etc..) only once in a while, it is really a total imaan-boosting for you to motivate for the coming days of your life when you went there.

Even more, when you only get to go to masjid or Islamic center once in a while (maybe once in few months)... you might almost cry when you first step into the masjid. How wonderful is the feeling, mashaAllah!

I wished to have these in just few steps from my door. But yes, I could not get them easily, ain't I? It's a challenge, life challenge. =) Bila lagi nak diuji kalau bukan kat dunia, kan?

Oh well, staying in Michigan, an 'Islamic State' in US for few days after not coming here for few months (sorry UMich sisters!) - visiting Dearborn, you got to see Masajid everywhere.

You go to Warren Avenue and Michigan Avenue -

Halal KFC
Muslim Aswaaq (Markets)
Pita/Kebab restaurants
Halal Thai Restaurants
Halal Subway

What else? Muslims are everywhere.

Oh I might not be visiting Devon Avenue in Chicago too much, that's why. haha. But Dearborn, Detroit, Ann Arbor are wonderful places.

My sis and I just went across the Fordson High School in Dearborn few days ago, where 99% of the students are Muslims. We were so excited that we wanted to call Malaysia at that moment, but it was too early in the morning. =p

Oh, I'm so missed to meet people around. =) ISNA convention coming up, wait for me!

ps: Guess what Vandy brothers and sisters, I met Nashville sisters last weekend at the Al-Maghrib class. They were so amazed to see so many cars of Malaysians from Vandy coming to ICN for Friday prayer. =) Be good examples for the community okay?

what comes after?

2010-06-22T22:38:00.003-05:00

Allahu yusahhilna, ameen ya Allah. May Allah make things easy for me in the near future. May Allah help me to decide of my new life inshaAllah. Ameen.....

The moment of getting out of the comfort zone is always the most challenging. But face it with confidence and tawakkal to Allah will do!

of bola, flotilla, and paper

2010-06-14T15:57:00.004-05:00

3 things came up at the same time these few weeks.

of course 'demam bola' is back, particularly me who only watch football/soccer during World Cup. But still, not as much as the soccer freak like all the guys watching every single game.

and I watch a lot of documentaries, and read all those info regarding the blocked flotillas. on ipresstv, tv3, blogs, youtubes, etc... all to increase my knowledge and awareness on what happened. at least for me who can't do much on donation and going on volunteering, I could spread out the awareness among my friends isn't it?

While my paper is not settled yet, (how come I could write this faster huh? even faster when I write only to myself), I lost some time to do plans I did few months before. Not expecting to have too much delay on this, patience is the best and great du'as for my brain to think and write faster with great English sentences is definitely needed.

*that's why I'm not good in taking social science classes. learning is fine, but writing papers are a total pain for me!*

so long...

ps: May my brother have more strength to work harder for his new college life. I'll be praying for you inshaAllah! Believe in yourself!

new meet

2010-06-04T19:43:00.003-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

I was doing a lazy-walking to Tech to send 2 homeworks. *Why do I need to go out just to send this for few minutes?? ~_~ *

Later then, I walked downstairs to the bus stop. I passed by some people including a post-doc who is in the same lab as mine - Swarm Robots.

Later then, a professor stopped me. At first I didn't here what he said, so I just smiled and started to walk back. But he repeated, and I finally caught what he said.

"I'm a Muslim"

ohhh.... Then I stopped. And he seems wanted to talk to me some more.

He graduated from NU in 70's for his PhD. So, pangkat datuk la berbanding saya kan. hehe... He's alone here while his family are all in Jordan, close to Jerusalem. Kesian pun ye jugak, atuk duduk sorang2 US ni..... wife pun kat Jordan.

It's not always to see Muslims, especially in Sciences/Engineering. And he's pretty excited to see me in hijaab in Tech. ;) Nice right? Oh, he's actually a visiting scholar in Chemistry Department so we are in the same building.

So there you are, meet a new prof when you almost graduated.

May 31

2010-05-31T21:38:00.003-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Harini banyak benda berkait emosi (sikit atau banyak, it's for you to judge yourself ;))

Mak's birthday

Happy Birthday my dear mum. I didn't want to just text, so I decided to call. It's been 23 years for me to be in the world, I didn't realize I'm already a young adult and you have done sooo much to me. May Allah bless u with His love, and may He forgive you for all your sins. InshaAllah!

End of Midwest Games

I wasn't feeling as much excitement during the whole game, just playing with my feelings with lots of frustrations prior coming to Purdue. And lots of stories revealed that I then think, I haven't done enough before leaving States. :( Besides that, I am at least excited to see my sisters there for the last time.

Israel Attacks

As I reached Chicago, I checked my emails, there was hundredsss of emails, majority was about the IFD attack. Shocked, and felt uneasy. Me - makan cukup, tidur cukup, semua cukup BUT do I do something for Palestine? Allah, please punish the Israeli attackers for however You please. You are The Most Greatest The Most Powerful. a short story written for LL4G: here

To be honest, it's hard to focus on finishing the line this time. Pray hard please.

Sikit lagi

2010-05-25T02:50:00.006-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

At one point, 3 more weeks to finish my life as an EE student (at least a long pause for a while).

Kenapa EE student je?

Sebab I'd like to be a student for my whole life!

Nak belajar Islam, nak belajar bahasa Arab, nak belajar life....

Siapa nak jadi tetamu kehormat saya?

3 more weeks?

Sebetulnya, sangatlah cuak/nervous/risau sekarang ni. Orang kata apa, butterflies in the stomach. Risau tak dapat habiskan. Timbunan kerja tak terkira, tapi lagaknya tak macam banyak kerja. Masih berjalan di hari minggu. Tapi, orang pesan, hujung minggu berjalan2 lah lepaskan stres.

Saya masih buka buku dan kertas2 Jumaat dan Sabtu malam ~_~

Bila nak balik?

InshaAllah, jika diizinkan dan jika selesai semua urusan akademik akan pulang juga sebelum tamat musim panas di sini. Sudah berfikir2 nak reunion, nak ke sekolah, apa lagi melawat cikgu kesayangan. Balik kampung memang sah2 la, lagi2 cuti2 Malaysiaaaa~ *hint2 ke Miri ;)

Selesaikah urusan di sini?

Sebetulnya, sepanjang tahun ini memang tak dapat nak mencapai beberapa target yang nak dibuat sebelum pulang. Apapun, inshaAllah berusaha selagi terdaya mengisi masa2 yang ada mencapai impian sejak zaman undegrad dulu... huhu. Entah...

Dalam hidup, tak baik merungut banyak2. Setiap sesuatu berlaku dengan hikmah tersendiri. Live your life & bersyukur dengan apa yang ada. Kenapa belajar di Univ ***, kenapa kawin dengan xxxx, kenapa tak dapat kerja kat ####, kenapa dan kenapa....

Jangan tanya banyak sangat, akal manusia tak lepas nak fikir solution untuk semua. Trust in Allah for what He have decided! =)

Sekadar ngomelan di pagi buta menunggu Subuh jam 3.46 pagi.

We don't need to fight

2010-05-21T20:02:00.005-05:00

My current interest =)

1-year old memories remain

2010-05-18T22:54:00.008-05:00

It's just indescribable. Only Allah knows how I felt when I finally got my rental car last weekend after having so much troubles and dilemmas.

Seeing my sisters far away in Nashville, brought back all the memories. The life, the graduation, the hanging around... I feel like it was just yesterday, yet it's already a year ago.

Congratulations my dearies. Zed, Azni, Jiha, Diba, Syikin, Nad, Oya, Awatif, Ira, Ama, Alia, Izzati, Aliaa, Syu, Aminah. and all the guys. You really made it! =)

May our ukhuwwah last forever inshaAllah. May we be sisters dunia akhirat.. ameennnn~

And to my '09-mates, the 'reunion' was wonderful. And hopefully inshaAllah we will still keep in touch forever sampai tua ok?

She's the best!

2010-05-10T22:29:00.004-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

For I have one the busiest week in the quarter (midterm weeks of course), I could not write a proper entry for the nice event. My pending entry is also still in draft, don't get the time to edit and add some more.

I've always like this Hijjaz nasyeed. It's been years I'm not being under my parents' watch all the time, it's challenging for me. *Anak manja sungguh rupanya~*

So, thank you Mak for being such a great Umm in my life. I pray for your health and happiness till the HereAfter inshaAllah...

Don't forget to thank your mum, and pray for her everyday. She never forgets to pray for you every single day.

Urgent Donation - Fire@MSU

2010-04-28T00:30:00.002-05:00

Assalamualaikum dear friends

I hope this email finds you all in good health and happiness.

I know this is a trying time for many of us due to deadlines, assignments, presentations, final examinations etc. However, as many of you might have known, the times are more trying for one particular Malaysian family over here in Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

The family of Azril Haris & Norbismi Nordin (a lecturer from Universiti Putra Malaysia, who is doing her PhD in Food Science and Packaging), has suffered great mishap as the apartment they resided in caught fire and destroyed almost all of their belongings. The fire ravaged the whole block of the apartment destroying 41 apartment units (including theirs), stripping them of everything except the clothes on their backs and some important documents they managed to salvage later from the rubbles. (Please see link attached)

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100426/NEWS01/304250011/Red-Cross-80-residents-displaced-by-Lansing-apartment-fire

Through the mercy of Allah, fortunately the family of Azril Haris and Norbismi Nordin, along with their 9-year old and 3-year old daughters, were left unscathed except for some minor difficulty in breathing due to excessive inhalation of smoke. They are now doing well (health-wise) and are under the care of one of the Malaysian families here and the Malaysian Student Organization in East Lansing. The MSD officers in Chicago has also been notified and they have came here to lend support to the family. The Malaysian students here have also been (and still are) collecting donations, and are helping them with clothings, food and shelter. However, since the loss was too much, we need more help for this family.

It is our hope that you can extend the news of this terrible tragedy to the Malaysian community in your universities/regions/workplaces, and collect some financial aid to the family of Norbismi and Azril. You can do so by giving alms via paypal directly to Azril's paypal account; or, you can send checks to this family. Below are the details in which you can make financial donations to them:

Azril's email address for payment via paypal - azrilharis@yahoo.com
Check, payable in the name of - Norbismi Nordin

Again, please spread this terrible news around to the community in your universities/workplaces to help collect some donation for the family of Azril and Norbismi. And hopefully you can do this as soon as possible so that we can help this family relocate and provide them with the necessities to continue their lives; and, (hopefully) for Bismi to be ready for her Proposal Defense next week. You can send the checks to this address:

Malaysian Student Organization (MSO-MSU)
Abu Bakar Mohamed Razali
Michigan State University
1618 Spartan Village, Apt. C
East Lansing, MI 48823

Thank you all. May Allah bless your good deeds

Memuhasabah kembali tujuan hidup

2010-04-19T23:23:00.005-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Sedang blog-hopping setelah fokus 4 jam dengan MATLAB untuk homework Digital Control, singgah di blog cik Fathy. Lagu Mirwana 'Khalifah Pertama' automatik dimainkan.

Sekaligus saya terfikir kembali tujuan saya hidup.

Kenapa saya di US?

Kenapa saya belajar Engineering?

Kenapa saya struggle sungguh dengan urusan usrah dan tarbiyyah saya sendiri?

Dulunya mungkin saya banyak dapat macam2 dengan mudah.

Sekarang tak mungkin semuanya mudah. Umur naik, cabaran pun makin hebat kan? ;)

Lagi2 kehendak nafsu yang menggoyahkan hati dan iman. Astaghfirullah 3x.

Let's muhasabah ourselves, semoga hari esok lebih baik dari hari ini.

Mari menjadi engineer yang hebat berjaya untuk Islam!!

Beginning of Spring - Blooming imaan?

2010-04-06T18:10:00.007-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Alamak tengah dengar lecture @ thedeenshow.com, kejap nak fokus. =)

Alhamdulillah Spring season has started peacefully (except for the one I mentioned in previous entry). The flowers start blooming here and there, a lot of people going out jogging and have a nice walk next to Lake Michigan, and even me going to Millennium Park for the 3rd time this year haha~

Anyway, last Spring break, the weekend before school starts back. I went to Univ of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A lot of people asked me, "What event do you have there?", "Is there a conference or a program there?", etc.... But as a dear sister said, " We don't need a reason to visit our own sisters, do we?" ;)

It's just a short break for me to go out of Chicago for a while. And of course not just resting without gain anything. Don't waste your money for a trip without any beneficial outcome!

The best things were of course spending time with the sisters. I felt it sooo long not hanging out with them, and in fact I never came to UIUC before. That was the first. We went to BBQ, eating the tastiest currypuff ever, went to Cocomero for frozen yogurt, and Jarlings the great ice cream. And watching a nice movie while Aiman being the chef of Sushi. =)

As what I'd like to say, it's never to just have a tamrin to go somewhere. Well, it's great if we have it there, but it never happens all the time. Tightening the ukhuwwah with long lost sisters are important too for us. Kan kan?

I've been canceling lots of trips, and well, most of them are for just having fun. NOW you know why they have been canceled, set your niyyah right even it's just a visit to a friend's house and not going for ONLY fun.

And finally I got refreshed after spending time with rakan sehati sejiwa.

Bunga sudah berkembang, duhai iman berbungalah jua di taman hati2 kami~

We are not the one who decides

2010-03-25T23:29:00.015-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...
Story 1
The final week had been over since Wednesday. And I've been waiting for the results day to day. I checked the CAESAR and Blackboard every single day, for I was really nervous and scared for not getting good grades.
Day after day.. I can't even do anything properly as I keep checking the grades. Seriously, the situation was even worse than the time I got my SPM results! Probably the last quarter's emotion was still in my mind, that it's hard for me to get another bad results.

I wasted many days not doing what I'm supposed to do. But anyway, it turned out not so bad. I was expecting worse coz the percentages at the Blackboard doesn't promise any A or even B. (Mind me, I have to get above 3.0 to graduate). Alhamdulillah tsummal hamdulillah, I can't say anything more. The curves were low enough - you can even get an A by getting 70s.

So nice isn't it? But the point is, at some level, you will realize that you can't do anything except to put your full 100% trust in Allah.

Story 2
Ah, I almost forgot what I wanted to put here.

hoping for the flowers to come soon! ;)

This week is my Spring break. And usually I will have a trip going either half or full time of the break. But it seems this year I don't.

Last month, I planned so excitedly to go to Kentucky to visit a friend of mine. We planned so much already and I've even reserved a car. But it had to be canceled - due to its over-budget that I can't afford alone.

And then I planned to go to Michigan, as well as other part of Illinois. Both. But yes, Allah decided for me - it didn't happen as planned. I had to choose - for the benefit of me and others. So much that I hate making decisions, I chose one. And going there tomorrow inshaAllah.

Though I've been kind of frustrated on the canceled KY's trip, I guess He had given me hints why I can't go there.

I used to join trips that is not so 'good', and till now I don't feel good about it.
I used to go anywhere I like without concerning too much about money, and now I have to learn to manage it very well.

All in all, I do it through my best judgment under the trust of Allah and He decides whether it becomes reality or not.

For He knows the best! =)

ps: and until know I'm still figuring out much more hikmahs why I'm here.

Interesting - am I?

2010-03-20T22:05:00.002-05:00

"Money will make me happy" is a lie
Am I part of the lost generation?

Mouse = tikus or tetikus?

2010-03-17T21:46:00.008-05:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

-alhamdulillah dah selesai quarter kedua saya, inshaAllah tinggal quarter terakhir (hoping inshaAllah!)

Sejak beberapa bulan ni, saya terasa agak kaku di depan laptop kadang2. Sebab pergerakan pointer terbatas gara2 tiada mouse. Cordless Mouse Logitech saya tinggal di Malaysia, kenapa tinggal saya pun kurang pasti... hehe~

Yang pasti mouse tu dah banyak berjasa, sampaikan penutup bateri dia dah patah. Maka asyik terbuka jela bila terjatuh. *saya memang tak reti jaga barang. cellphone dah tak terkira jatuh berapa kali, alhamdulillah masih tahan lasak walaupun dah hampir 2.5 tahun. =D. belum cerita kamera yang tak sampai setahun T_T*

Kalau semua sedar, atau pernah mengalami, dulu komputer tak menggunakan mouse. Taktahu lah memori ni betul ke tak, tapi saya rasa saya main game dulu kat komputer pakai keyboard je.

Pertama kali mouse diguna di Windows pada tahun 1964, dicipta oleh Douglas Engelbart.

"It was nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out the end," Engelbart revealed about his invention. His version of windows was not considered patentable (no software patents were issued at that time), but Douglas Engelbart has over 45 other patents to his name. (taken from here)

Pentingnya benda2 hi-tech dalam hidup saya ya? hehe, saya selalu berdoa barang2 yang kebanyakannya free of charge (hadiah, package, keperluan) diguna untuk benda2 baik sahaja (note the bold). Tak mahu dicacat cela dengan benda2 munkar, tapi kadang2 ada juga tersesat dimana2.

Sahamnya semua yang terlibat dapat kan?
Saya yang dapat barangnya kenalah guna seperti yang diharapkan. Amanah!

Ayah dan Mak yang banyak menyumbang, saya tak mahu sia2kan pemberian mereka dengan benda2 lagha. InshaAllah saya gunakan sebaiknya untuk Islam. =)

ps: I was inspired to write about this invention after watching this 1001 Inventions!

1/3 to go

2010-03-12T10:24:00.006-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

As far as I've been here for the 5th year, I didn't realize I've gone through more than half (!) of my way to finish my second degree. It's a relief that I'm almost done, but also nervous - afraid that I could not finish on time.

Nevertheless, next week is final week of Winter quarter - I have a 10-page image processing project report due at 6 am Monday, 1 take-home final exam for Probability & Random Processing, and an in -class final exam of Digital Communications.

And then, Spring Break!
5.5 days more... fuh.

The other school (read: my adik2) has already started their break (we have so many different time of Spring Break so we can't really traveling together until Summer). Vandy, UMich, Purdue, etc...

So, this month, as Chicago has been known as one of the famous places to visit, I have so many visitors, mainly from Vanderbilt. (yeay!) Angah did came on Feb 28. I met Bam, Mimie, Nadiah, Aminah, Diba, and few other guys... woah I feel so old thinking that Aminah, Diba, and Zul are graduating inshaALlah!

And Dayana's coming this weekend as well. =)

Despite of having 2 crazy weeks (you know how it is when finals are approaching), I've been blessed with guests alhamduliLlah. Tetamu membawa berkat pada tuan rumah, kan? ;) So, eventhough it's quite tiring that you have to run to class as well as staying up late finishing works, I feel satisfied.

Oh, and last week was a big clumsy week for me. (count: 1) I was locked out of my apartment with my phone inside, so I have to knock on my neighbor's door to borrow his phone. (count: 2) Having to call the worker to unlock the door after office hour, I need to pay $50! Then, (count: 3) I accidentally locked my SIMcard at 2 am, so I can't call the customer service until 7 am to get it unlocked. What else? (count: 4) I broke my camera's LCD screen, now I can't see the pictures I'm taking.

The conclusion was, it all happened in few days.

And all I can say, I have to be calm and not being so 'gelabah' when I don't have phones to call, I still have neighbors to ask. I have Allah to help me think how to solve things. It seems like I rely on technologies so much! *Alhamdulillah, my laptop is still functioning very well.

My brother had his SPM result yesterday, and it was confusing for me to see how good is the result as they use the new grading scheme. But looking at the JPA/MARA requirement for PILN, it seems they set the line (min A-) quite high this year. Anyhow, alhamdulillah again, congratulations to you my dear, and I hope you will get the placement that you're hoping to continue our legacy hahaha~

Alright, it's already too long. My report is still at the 2nd sentence. So long, I'll update more later on inshaAllah.

May we always be under His love and blessings, ameen inshaALlah =)

It's His Mercy

2010-03-01T23:58:00.007-06:00

pic: credit to Alicia :)

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Weekend yang baru berlalu sangatlah best pada saya.
Um... Mungkin sebab dah 2 bulan orang tak datang rumah saya?

Saya sibuk juga, mungkin tak dapat melayan sepenuhnya.
Tapi datanglah Chicago, my little apartment welcomes you sisters
Ada buku EE tersusun macam library. Pilih je mana2. hehe~ =P

So, my dear sister came here all the way from Ann Arbor.
Thanks for accompanying me!

And plus belanja sempena birthday awak 3 minggu lepas. Sedap??

Ada SEA Night juga. Love the wayang kulit. They're awesome!
And food - Mi Goreng, Seri Muka, Karipap & Teh tarik.
My stomach was full with teh tarik the whole night.

To be truthful, SEA Night was much better for my eyes compared to ANYF Vandy.
Though I like ANYF for it is a very huge grand event and SEA Night isn't as grand.
It's just my honest opinion. Reasons? Ask yourself.

Small community is sometimes good.
And I began to like them.

Balik ni saya cakap Mandarin lah ye? ;)
*padahal semua English je*

I remembered a sister said, "Bila seorang tu dah ditarbiyyah dengan mantap, he or she surely inshaALlah akan dapat hidupkan Islam di mana pun dia berada." Nampaknya saya masih tak kuat langsung3. Bagaimana iniii~

updated (Mar 3) - Why I'm here?
I accepted the offer to be here as part of to challenge myself to be out of Malaysian community and work with American Muslims here. There's a big failure as I'm not strong enough to face it alone, but I'm kinda satisfy for what I've achieved so far~ Cuma, I should've done better if I'm not afraid to talk and be outspoken.

I love to be part of Muslim Chicago community, and I will love much more if I can contribute to raise Islam in America. Allahu akbar, I only have few more months.....

Invitation to all :: February 25 and 28

2010-02-20T01:16:00.001-06:00

Should not have said

2010-02-18T22:31:00.002-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Relistening to The Story of the Ifk by Sh. Yasir Qadhi. Refreshing the memory of the story.

Evil gossips around us - too much to grasp.
And we are too busy to know all the gossips, while we have something else to do.

Too busy -

who's coupling with this friend, who's dating with that friend

why did he break up with her..

woah, she's with this guy now!

Heh.. I'm saying in one direction only eh?

Let's not getting who's who, let's get what we could learn from that. The story of the ifk had already showed sooo many wisdoms - but we still keep doing the same thing.

Not lowering our gaze
Not maintaining enough interactions with opposite genders
Not taking care of our hijaabs.

etc...

What should we do? Lets reflect the 20 ayaahs of Suratun Nuur of this story.

Always remember

2010-02-10T00:19:00.004-06:00

"You can do it, don't doubt that you cannot do it."

وهو معكم اين ما كنتم
(Al-Hadid: 4)

to make the change in the society

-Imam Suhaib Webb-

THE PRICE OF IMAAN

2010-02-05T19:56:00.004-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

While cleaning up my external hard drive, I found back this story. I am not sure where I got this, but found the copy in the website below. =)

Several years ago an imaam moved to London. He often took the bus from his home to the downtown area. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride the same bus. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him twenty pence too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'you better give the twenty pence back. It would be wrong to keep it'.

Then he thought, 'oh forget it, it's only twenty pence. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company already gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from Almighty Allah and keep quiet'.

When his stop came, the Imaam paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the twenty pence back to the driver and said:

"Here, you gave me too much change."

The driver with a smile replied:

"Aren't you the new Imaam in this area? I have been thinking lately about going to worship at your mosque. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change."

When the Imaam stepped off the bus, his knees became weak and soft. He had to grab the nearest light pole and held for support, and looked up to the heavens and cried:

"Oh Allah, I almost sold Islam for twenty pence!"

Bottomline: We may never see the impact our actions have on people... Sometimes we are the only knowledge of the Quran someone will read, or the only Islam a non-Muslim will see. What we need to provide, Insha Allah is an example for others to see. Be careful and be honest everyday, because you never know who is watching your actions.

http://www.quranclub.net/2010/02/price-of-imaan.html

pusingan hidup

2010-02-04T01:46:00.004-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Ada satu masa saya tonton cerita Korea & Jepun tanpa henti
sedangkan saya sebenarnya bukanlah peminat fanatik Korea mahupun Jepun

Ada satu masa lain pula saya mendengar nasyid FM sepanjang masa
(suka lagi IKIM sebenarnya, tapi tak dapat2 play)
atau mendengar recording Sheikh Hamza Yusuf & AlJazeera livecast

Ada satu masa lain lagi saya bersemangat mendengar bacaan Sheikh Sudais
mengulang2 hafazan lama yang tak bertambah2 sejak.. (biarlah rahsia)

Ada satu masa lagi pula, saya tak kisah dunia luar
fokus buat homework yang memeningkan tak dapat2 juga jawapan

Masa yang pertama tu - saat paling menerima tekanan perasaan terhebat agaknya
terasa nak jadi jahat pun ada.. *Astaghfirullahal azhim*
Masa2 lain agak tenang, cuma depress dengan hal2 kewajipan lazimnya.

Maka pada masa pertama itu, tahap mujahadah harus tinggi
Syaitan dan malaikat dalam diri berterusan bertarung sesama sendiri
Siapa yang berjaya?

Biiznillah pasti harapnya sang malaikat manusia yang menang kan?
tak kiralah, pertarungan tu mengambil masa sejam dua, mahupun berhari lamanya
yang pasti, saya tak benarkan syaitan bersorak juara.

Oklah, merapu tak tahu sampai atau tak point yang nak disampaikan.

Talib, Taliban, Tullab

2010-01-28T21:51:00.003-06:00

“Talib means student, one student. Tullab means students. Taliban means 2 students, and some people said students in general. So I’m sorry you guys students of Northwestern, you’re the local Taliban.” – Maulana Yusuf Abdullah

"Profiling is a violation of national standards against racial discrimination. It is not something that our country was founded on." – Capt. James Yusuf Yee

That was part of the quotes that I found nice and interesting. =D

Believe it or not, I never thought the against Islam thing isn’t decreasing. Maybe because I always live in many Muslim areas, therefore the non-Muslims are aware of us as good Muslims. And to include the scariness, the thing that happen to Malaysia (the burning churches) might increase the ‘phobia’, or should I say ‘against Islam actions’.

As I bring this up to increase the awareness among us, it is our job to explain Islam to others. Not particularly in States, but in Malaysia as well. And as we want respect from others, we should respect them too, right? ;)

A bit background of both Yusufs:

Maulana Yusuf Abdullah - He memorized the Quran as a child and studied Islamic Studies and Arabic in India. He graduated from Darul Uloom Deoband, one of the leading Islamic Universities in the world. He is fluent in Arabic and Urdu and proficient in Persian. After completing his Islamic education, he returned to the US and got a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Illinois in Chicago. He worked in the consulting workforce for Accenture and is currently a manager at Tellabs. He continues to work for the Muslim community in the Chicagoland area by lecturing on Islamic topics at mosques and universities, leading taraweeh prayers and holding tafseer classes.

Chaplain James Yusuf Yee - a former US Army Chaplain and graduate of West Point who served as the Muslim Chaplain for the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba that would become controversial for its treatment of detainees designated as “enemy combatants” by the U.S. government. After being officially recognized twice for outstanding performance, Captain Yee was arrested and imprisoned in a Naval brig for 76 days in September 2003 while being falsely accused of spying, espionage, and aiding the alleged Taliban and Al-Qaeda prisoners. He was held in solitary confinement and subjected to the same sensory deprivation techniques that were being used against the prisoners in Cuba that he had been ministering to. Eventually, all criminal charges were dropped.

ps: too bad I forgot to bring my camera that day~~

Sources:
http://planitpurple.northwestern.edu/event/398468
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2010/01/22/northwestern-event-fights-islamaphobia.html
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/y/james_j_yee/index.html

Macam-macam dunia

2010-01-21T16:57:00.005-06:00

-I know ramai je tak baca berita kan. Here's one selain berita pasal isu kalimah Allah.

Korea Selatan lancar

SEOUL: Pekerja kerajaan Korea Selatan kini diberi arahan luar biasa iaitu ‘pulang awal dan buat anak,’ menurut laporan Perbadanan Penyiaran Britain (BBC), semalam.

Pegawai Kementerian Kesihatan, misalnya, akan menutup semua lampu di bangunan itu pada 7 malam setiap Rabu bertujuan menggalakkan kakitangannya menghabiskan masa ‘berkualiti’ dengan pasangan masing-masing.

Langkah itu akan diulangi setiap bulan bertujuan meningkatkan kadar kelahiran negara berkenaan. - Agensi

Komen saya: Bila manusia tidak dapat membahagi masa dengan sebaiknya..

dikutip dari Berita Harian

of 3 days break

2010-01-19T12:47:00.003-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Weekend lepas cuti 3 hari. Cuti MLK.
well, harini consider cuti lagi lah agaknya, ada meeting sejam je tadi.
*Saya cuma kelas Monday, Wednesday, Friday ;)*

So cuti 3 hari
banyak benda kot dapat alhamdulillah. seronok!

Daurah, tengok KCB dan KCB 2.

Saya tak tahulah, macam teruja dengan movie KCB ni.
Cerita dia dah memang best,
tapi sebab dah baca novel so takde la 'wow' semua. hehe~

Yang seronok tengok - Behind the Scene, and review movie.
Movie pertama (mungkin) yang saya tengok batas2 dijaga, tiada unsur2 kurang sesuai sebagai filem Islam.
juga pelakon2 lebih terjaga dan niat di arah ke arah da'wah.

Kerana dari pemilihan pelakon, sutradara, dan sebagainya, penulis buku, Kang Abik turut serta.
Dan beliau sangat berpuas hati dengan pemilihan tersebut.

Oklah, tak mahu ulas panjang.
Sekadar mahu meluahkan rasa puas hati dengan filem ni.

ps: tidak berkata saya setuju semuanya (mungkinkah saya ini syadid juga?), tapi sangat berpuas hati dengan perkembangan filem Islam ini alhamdulillah =)

Online shopping

2010-01-14T00:13:00.004-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

I was searching for presents for January people (my dad especially). Since some are in Malaysia, so I tried to search for online-shopping Malaysia so I can send it right away.

But seems nothing is interesting, except for food (not for them, for me haha). Here's one.
http://www.shopmalaysia.com/

Well, anyway, it's better to buy all of them from Malaysia and have them in your luggage. Maggi (5 peket) is $1.90+shipping ($11). heh~

Ok, I'd better find the real gifts.

Sekian.

updated: found a very nice gift-website, a Malaysia-based. http://www.redribbondays.com.my/ love it! =) tapi harus kaya raya a.k.a ada stable financial resources.

Time Traveller!

2010-01-12T22:13:00.006-06:00

Visit http://www.TimeTravelMaster.com

Muktamar 2009 – A Different One [Part 3 - End]

2010-01-07T00:12:00.009-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim... here's the last part of the trip inshaAllah. May readers get the benefit from this sharing. =)

Post Muktamar 1

After the farewell stuffs, we had a Post-Muktamar briefing. Tentative, car assignments, housing assignments… My van group – Me, Midah, Angah, Na’illah, and Dila was assigned to stay at Kak As’ home. I thought they didn’t come to Muktamar, but actually they did come on the last 2 days as they just returned from New York. I wanted to meet Kak Zam, whom I stay at her house 2 years ago during Kembara Musafir Sisters after the Summer Training Camp '07. But since the time was not permitted, I was only able to get her phone number.

Oh, after lunch at Mosaic Mediterranean Restaurant next to Masjid Al-Farooq. Our van did search Masjid Al-Ummah close to the Hotel to pray Zuhr, but we couldn’t find it! Mana2 lah Masjid tu, sedangkan dah lalu jalan tu 2-3 kali. So we went back to the hotel and prayed, and then met everyone at Mosaic eating lunch together. Yumm!

Later, we headed to Laser tag. It’s been a while I didn’t go to arcade or something similar. I did bowl last semester in Vandy, and that’s just it. I never played Laser Tag before, and so do many others, so belasah je la kan tembak orang. :P I though the area wasn’t too big, but I was wrong. Haha… Wearing a jacket and you had to run attacking and defending, it did burn my energy that day. And getting the result, yeah, I got last 3rd place. Hehe~ Well, number isn’t not important right. The purposes of playing for ukhuwwah and exercise are much more important.

We had dinner at the same place, Mosaic with cheaper price for the group (thanks to Post-Muktamar committee!). We had a halaqah at Masjid Al-Farooq. It was supposed to be about ukhuwwah, but it diverted a bit to we talked about thanking muktamar committee members. Then we headed to our assigned houses. The brothers stayed at Masjid Al-Ummah, the one we could not find it earlier. Huhu~ Kak Nita and Kak Izan’s families from Texas were at Kak As’ before went back on the next day. The food was marvelous – mashed potatoes, baked lamb, and Malaysian food of course. And we slept really well after a tiring day…

Post Muktamar 2

The next day, Kak As had already cooked Roti Canai with kuah Dal, and fried Bihun. She said to save money for lunch, so we should eat as much as we could. Heheh… I was definitely full. Kak As packed 2 packs of Bihun for the brothers (actually, but we arrived late at Masjid Al-Farooq). So we gave one pack to kak Aishah & family, who will be staying in Atlanta until 31st.

Just after we arrived at the Masjid, the tour guide who is one of the directors of the Masjid invited us to start our tour. Masjid Al-Farooq was built in 1970, but was renovated starting about a year and a half ago. It now has 2 domes, 2 small fountains outside, a basement parking, and also backside parking. Inside the masjid, there are main prayer hall, women’s prayer hall, 2 large halls for classes/lectures, and a clinic which is only open on Sundays. They also have Darul Uloom for tahfiz, Dar-un-Noor for Pre-K till 8th grade.

The masjid owns a cemetery located an hour and a half away from the masjid. What’s interesting is – I though the whole budget to arrange the funeral service is pretty cheap, maybe few hundreds? But actually it is about USD2000! Well, I think I should save that amount too in case something happen shouldn’t I? =)

The shura board of the Masjid is amazing too – half of them are doctors! I wonder how they can commit with doctor position and the most top position in the Masjid at the same time. Shame on us who are just studying and playing around, yet we still say we don’t have time! Here’s the link of the Masjid’s website

The return

We went to Penang Restaurant for an early dinner, and as usual I will order Char Koay Teow wherever I can find it. Haha~ We started our journey at around 4 pm ET and arrived at Vandy at 8 pm CT. Prayed Maghrib-Isha’ there, and continue driving an hour later. I met Mony, Lilo, Naji, Lily who I didn’t meet them earlier. Seronok derang, I’m happy too :) Kita jumpa lagi nanti ye cik Mony! *Fadhe jangan jeles!*

We arrived in Evanston just before Subuh, prayed, and the Michigan clans continued and arrived later in the afternoon. Alhamdulillah, the journey was smooth; we managed to arrive Chicago before the snow hits the road.

Epilogue

The journey was really different as it’s my first time travelling for Muktamar with different people, so the environment is a little bit different too. Vandy kan macam kanak2 sikit, haha no offense ok I love u all =D

I met different new people; the juniors from all over the States were so great mashaAllah! I do really hope to know all of you better in the future. And being ‘terasa tua’, I feel obligated to contribute something more during my time here which is only less than a year left.

Allah says: “Setiap mu’min adalah bersaudara” and I will miss all my sisters. And I hope to apply what I learn from this trip – from lectures, activities… May Allah gives us strength to face this world and His blessing till we meet in Jannah inshaAllah!

I do not want to say this is the last Muktamar I will attend, as I could say I'm not sure where my life will be after this mid-year. So, till we meet again biizniLlah anytime, anywhere, forever ukhuwwah fillah ameen~

Muktamar 2009 – A Different One [Part 2]

2010-01-02T17:57:00.009-06:00

Muktamar 1

Liyana and my car’s got lost in downtown since we didn’t have a GPS and the Google Map only said one name of the road while it has 2 names (pelik jalan2 kat US ni, kiri nama lain, kanan nama lain). So we accidentally made a tour around there while trying to get back to the highway. Mind me, I know I’ve been there three times but I don’t remember much of the roads. Ehhe~

Checked into the hotel, I got the same room with Angah, Kak Anum and Kak Firuz. The room was nice Alhamdulillah. :D

And being with Angah as the co-Ameerah Muktamar, she’s outside most of the time till midnight to make sure everything will go smoothly. Kak Anum too, is responsible for MasterPIES booth worked hard preparing all the things for sale and reviews for visitors. Well, I thought I’d be free most of the time attending all the lectures. But in the end, I did skip a lecture for a meeting (my last meetings?)

Here in Atlanta, I met lots lots of new people who I never met before. Even earlier in Vandy, the huge group of freshmen made me feel quite out of place when I have to get into the same car with them. But, tak kenal maka tak cinta right? ;) Now I know Syifaa, Azirah (Jirah, macam ni ke eja?), Hafifah… and others. The other univ’s clans – Na’illah, Dila, Asilah, Atikah, Deeja… alamak I forgot their names. Maaf! But I’ll remember all your faces inshaAllah !

Ok let’s just highlight what’s important…

Muktamar 2

Qiyamullail – I think it’s a bit good job for myself, I managed to attend 2 out of 4 nights of qiyamullail compared to last year’s! Alhamdulillah.. Last year was a disaster since I slept very very late, or did sleep for 2-3 hours before running back and forth working. And I see this year’s committee are very good in managing, a number of them did wake up early for qiyamullail and I helped my sister waking people up (though takde orang bukak pintu pun bila kejut huhu~)

Perasmian – Our event was inaugurated by Indonesian Representative and MSD Chicago Director and the huge banner was later placed at one of ballrooms. I like the banner – ceria, clear, and not too fancy.

Lectures – Most of the lectures were superb mashaAllah! I admit I was always feeling sleepy plus I was still sick with flu. This year, IMSA’s parallel lectures did not interest me much since most of them talked about kids.. Soo… hehe~ And the good thing is the MISG lectures were really good even though we only had 2 speakers! 2 of our invited speakers could not attend Muktamar due to some problems (Visa problem mainly I guess). Ust. Zamri Hashim, Timbalan Mufti Perak and Sheikh Omar Baloch from Furqaan Institute of Quranic Education (based in Chicago!!) filled almost all the parallel sessions. JazakumaLlahu khayr katheera!

In the first main session (speaker: Ust Syamsi, Sh. Omar, Ust Joban), Ust. Syamsi mentioned what we have to do in uniting and serving community here in North America. One of them is Ma’rifatul Ishamul Fardi (Individual Affirmative). We should have positive perceptions to people other than our own ethnic. Islam is for all, not for a particular group or ethnic. Same goes to us as Malays, I must say a lot of Muslims (not all) I met here have stronger beliefs than us who are born and live in Islamic community. Therefore, we should work on together to bring Islam to the top of the world inshaAllah!

During a talk by Ust Zamri titled “Peribadi Penggoncang Dunia”, he said the characters of a “Penggoncang Dunia”, which is commonly listed as 10 muwasofat tarbiyyah (you can search on this online).

As far as we see now, human had lost their humanity – people do whatever they want, doing zina, riba’, corruption, not even have the love towards each other as sahabah. We have to work hard to get back the humanity into humans, to have everything back to fitrah of human beings…

Another point that I got in of the tazkirah subuh, “Utamakan diri sendiri dalam ibadah utama (solat, puasa, dan lain2), tetapi utamakanlah orang lain dalam hal-hal dunia”. Given by Ustazah Wirianingsih. This reminds me of the hadith

لا يؤمن احدكم حتى يحب لاءخيه ما يحب لنفسه

Annual General Meeting MISG 2009 – this was the big session. Though I’m not part of Qiyadah anymore, being one of the Shura members gave me a different angle of seeing MISG. As I’m leaving the position, we discussed new resolutions for 2010 and I hope the new Shura Board and Qiyadah executives will work hard to bring up back MISG for 2010. Finally, 3 new faces of Shura board will lead with 4 old members. The qiyadah members were not introduced yet during the meeting, but the President was announced. May Allah help them and us to maintain and improve the Islamic environment in USA, and among Malaysians to be specific.

Yaumun Nisa – Honestly, I was a bit frustrated to see less MISG sisters attending the ta’aruf sessions as this is the time to bridge the gap between MISG and IMSA sisters. But I know the parallel lecture for brothers was attractive. So I do not want to comment much. The game time also happened to face the same thing, but it’s the other reasons. I did enjoy the Tebak Sahabat Nabi (Quiz of the Companions) though I only managed to answer 1 question! The other groups were so fast raising up their hands while I’m still waiting for the question to finish. Haha… I’m sorry mbak2, I caused the group to lose. Mbak Rita still remembers me, mashaAllah, as well as Mbak Rina, and mbak Novi. I’m going to miss them much!

Performance night – I did only watch the first show by the kids from 3-6 years old. They sang Shahadah nasyeed, I’m not sure by whom but definitely a kids’ song. It was sooo cute! At the end of the performance, the kids gave their donation box they collected to an Atlanta representative for Atlanta Islamic programs! They were sooo cute, waiting and asking on the mic who is the representative. The imam of Masjid Atlanta wasn’t able to come I think. Later after that, I was called for a meeting with the new qiyadah members. As usual, I said the same thing every year as a reminder hehe~

LDK session

Well, I guess that’s just it. I woke up late for jama’ah Subuh, and unfortunately, the closing ceremony was done earlier, right after Ma’thurat reading, instead of 9 am. Between 9.30 – 11.00 am, we had farewell among us as many of us were heading back or going somewhere else. As for my group, we joined Post Muktamar.

# I did almost cry listening to IMSA sisters’ performance, as I miss so much my dearly sisters who graduated with me, as well as sisters who couldn’t come to Muktamar this year. And this time, not many seniors came, so the farewell was not too emotional I think. Hehe.. The sisters from Iowa were so happening cheering me up lots of time. The sisters from Purdue working hard selling cute souvenirs and gave me free gift. And, I’ll make sure I see you again, Izzati. Ok? #

I will remember all those relationships we have made inshaAllah!

Next: Post-Muktamar

Sanah jadeedah

2010-01-01T03:00:00.001-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

I planned to update my blog template on 1 Muharram, but it did not turn out good since I'm still editing it and it was just after finals.

So, this new year of 2010, I will just upload this new one first though I'm not satisfied with it yet. I'll work on it later on if I have time for this taking-time work.

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year inshaAllah.

Azam baru & update.
Tekad baru & update.

Pastinya tahun ini, saya akan mengalami perkara2 baru dalam hidup biizniLlah..

Ya Allah jadikanlah kami dikalangan hamba-hamba yang bersyukur.. Ameen~

Muktamar 2009 – A Different One [Part 1]

2009-12-31T22:12:00.001-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim…

Prologue

Alhamdulillah, Muktamar ’09 had closed its door. It’s been great to have myself part of the convention again this year.

The feel was of course different than previous years. I never expected to come again, you know why right?

I came as a graduate student, not many are with the same age or older than me (the students I mean), and true, a lot of expectations for being among the eldest of MISG sisters. And for the first time, I came as a participant, purely without any commitment related to Muktamar.

Pre-Muktamar

Left: Snow while on the way to Ann Arbor, MI. Middle: My undergrad life was here. Right: New traffic lights on this junction.. heh~

As I finished my quarter early than others, I went to Michigan a week after my finals and spent there for 3-4 days. Cooking for the final people, visiting Kak Fezah, go out shopping at Kroger. Then, Midah picked up our van at rental office.

We headed to Vanderbilt as I have to rent a car for them, and some will get onto our van. I was soooo excited coming to Vandy after few months leaving (baru few months kan? :P). InshaAllah, I’m hoping to come again later. Ameeennnn… Oh, I met our dearly advisor, just to say hi, for about 5-10 minutes before running back to Izzati’s apartment and get ready to continue traveling.

And around 10.30 am, we departed for a 4-5 hours trip to Atlanta, Georgia...

Anyway, thanks to my dear Bam for waiting us till 3 am. It’s such a pleasure to meet u guys. ;)

Next: Muktamar days

mabruk alaikum!

2009-12-24T23:00:00.000-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

while I'm here faraway from home, 2 of my close ukht finally got married with their beloved ones.

Asiah & Abdul Rahman Sayuti

Aliyyah & Mus'ab

I'm definitely feel sad for not attending the nikaah & walimah, but I'm much much happy to see them. =)

May Allah bless.

Luv u guys. Upload gambar lagi ok!

Perjalanan Jauh

2009-12-23T17:36:00.000-06:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

The journey will start in less than half and hour.
The journey that I used to travel with Vandy comrades.
But now switched to Umich... (closest among my close friends)

Not that I didn't travel before this.
This one is kinda interesting.

To Vandy
To Muktamar

I set my intentions since I started my journey to Umich few days ago.
And I hope the intentions will still there, refreshing every day.
InshaAllah.

Can't wait to see Vandy people who I missed.
May Allah protect us all.

ps: Di Malaysia (ni yang saya tahu jela), selamat berPKN untuk KARISMAians!