Eid Madness!!

As you all might have noticed, yesterday was the celebration of Eid Al-Adha, which means The Eid of Sacrifice. I had a blast yesterday although half of my relatives were celebrating the Eid in Indonesia and also for an upcoming wedding of my cousin.........far out! I wish i was there with them. I'm not jealous, somehow I do feel sadness.

To make this an even bigger issue for me, my parents are taking off to Indonesia this afternoon. I'm fully bummed out at the thought of that. The only family left I'll have until they all come back are my brothers, sis-in-law, my aunty (mum's cousin), my cousin & her cute bebe.
I must say that yesterday's Eid Al-Adha was a little different without my young, teenage cousins.

Lakemba Mosque is ALWAYS packed every Eid. Whenever my parents & I headed off to Eid prayer it's always a hassle getting through all those people, especially when that section is blocked, because we live across from the Mosque.
I always pray Eid prayers @ Marrickville's Addison Road Hall because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that: praying Eid prayers is better in the field than @ a Mosque. That's where I've been praying Eid prayers since I was 6 years of age,and that's where most of the Indonesian community pray their Eid prayers.

I feel so sad and left out for getting my periods at this time. Friday, the day before the Eid was a chance to fast- if you fast that day you will get an immense amount of reward from Allah Almighty, and your sins will be wiped away (2 years worth of sins, i think- don't quote me on that!). So I didn't get to fast on Friday AND I didn't get to pray Eid Al-Adha on Saturday, DOUBLE WHAMMY! But it was okay, Alhamdulillah. I still got my hubby to take me out on Friday, to Burwood while he was fasting, hehhe. Burwood's a hole! Nothing good there. I went to Lakemba afterwards to find my son a long dress for boys. I loved it! He looks like a Hajj! eeeek! Cute!

Anyway, after the prayer & khutbah finished, my cousin & I went outside of the hall to wait for everybody. There we were with our babies. Two prams side by side, Hamzah & Abdurrahman.

InshaAllah our little ones will grow up like brothers, even though they're just cousins.I feel like she's my sister. We usually take photos of all of us, but since almost everybody was @ Indonesia I didn't feel like taking loads of pictures. Only took photos of the two boys. We waited around to shake hands and ask forgiveness from our family & friends, our parents, husbands, and so on. And so we decided to head off. First, Robbie & I went back home for a bit and then his relos came over. After that we went to my mum's house, my aunty'shouse, and then my cousin's to eat. Yeahh.......Eid is 90% about the food! I love it! Here's some pics:
A little blurry: me, Abs, my dad

My mum and her grandson

I hope all my brothers & sisters in Islam, all around the globe, had a wonderful Eid Al-Adha, especially those @ Hajj Pilgrimage- may Allah protect them. Amin.
~Peace y'all!

Survey Time!

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Fauzia
2. Forz
3. Ezy (known by family & relos)


THREE 'PHYSICAL' THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. My eyes (apparently long eyelashes are "in", LOL, mine are real & my son has the same :P)
2. My feet
3. My face-shape.

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DONT LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Stomach (awful stretchmarks from pregnancy)
2. My hair (i love thick hair, but i've never had them)
3. My whole weight gain....yuk!

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Indonesian
2. Indonesian
3. And, uh.......Indonesian.

THREE THINGS YOU CANT STAND:
1. Racist pigs.
2. Husbands mistreating their wives.
3. Muslims misbehaving. Therefore, portraying Islam as a "terrorist" way of life.

THREE THINGS THAT SCARES YOU:
1. Being inflicted by the punishments of the Hereafter.
2. My son being hurt
3. Losing my family and the people I care about.

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SHOWS:
1. Charmed
2. Smallville
3. Grey's Anatomy

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE JAPANESE ANIMES:
1. Dragonball Z
2. Yu Gi Oh!
3. I only have time for those two.

THREE OF YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONGS:
1. Elevator Love - Guy Sebastian
2. The Root Of All Evil - Dream Theater
3. My Love - Justin Timberlake (I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SONG!).

THREE MOVIES YOU CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN:
1. Lord of The Rings Trilogy.
2. Bring It On.
3. You Got Served (MAAAAD dance moves!).

THREE MOVIES YOU WOULD LIKE TO WATCH:
1. Happy Feet - watched it, and it's MAAAADD, funny.
2. Superman Returns.
3. Angel & Demons (when it comes out).

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. My Islam.
2. My family.
3. Internet...hahhaha.

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. Black trouser
2. Khaki long sleeve top, with red & white stripes down the sleeves.
3. pair of everyday earrings & necklace, and my wedding ring.

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. Strong Iman
2. Fun
3. Romance. (The Prophet Muhammad was also a Romantic, true!)


THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE GENDER THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. God-fearing faith
2. Gentleman personality, sense of humour.
3. Do things to please his wife, for the sake of Allah.

THREE BAD HABITS:
1. A little clumsy
2. I tend to burp aloud
3. Sometimes I get a little gassy......better out than in! :P


THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Playing drums, guitar, the sims/the urbz
2. Reading
3. Making my son laugh.

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Eat Thai food @ Taste of Thai
2. Meet up with my beautiful friends and have a good chat over tea/coffee/lunch (yeh, same here Naf.)
3. Eat. I'm starving.

THREE CAREERS YOURE CONSIDERING OR CURRENTLY PURSUING:
1. A Mother (my 1st career for lfe)
2. Nursing
3. I've always desired to be in a band, performing (yeh I know, it'll never happen).

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Malaysia
2. Indonesia
3. Italy/Spain.


THREE KIDS NAMES YOU LIKE:
1. AbdurRahman (of course)
2. Khadijah
3. 'Umar.

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Go Hajj
2. Go on a road trip (to anywhere)
3. Have more than 1 child.

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL (or guy):
1. Always make sure that I look attractive before hubby gets home from work
2. Some decent jewellry. Just a little, not bling bling
3. For those who wear Hijabs: gotta at least spend 15 minutes putting on my Hijab; make sure it's not crooked, no creases, not see-through, covers my bosoms, blah blah blah.

PEOPLE YOU TAG TO DO THE SURVEY:
Anybody! Naf & Gema have already done it, finally it was my turn.

~Peace y'all!

Broadcast Yourself!

Hey there!

Guess what I did! I put my boy's video on YouTube! ahuahauh! Yehhhh..........I wanted to test it out and upload one of my videos of AbdurRahman in there. Of course, I'm not an expert at uploading videos on the internet. When you watch it there's a bit of a delay, you'll know what I mean.

Can't beleive I actually put a video of my boy on YouTube! LOL! Watch it here:


I feel a little wierd in hearing my own voice. You can hear the conversations very clearly when I'm talking with my parents in my language. eeeek! >_<

Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it though :)

~Peace.

I Walk Beside You.

There's a story in your eyes
I can see the hurt behind your smile
For every sign I recognize
Another one escapes me

Let me know what plagues your mind
Let me be the one to know your best
Be the one to hold you up
When you feel like you're sinking

Tell me once again
What's beneath the pain you're feeling
Don't abandon me
Or think you can't be saved

I walk beside you
Wherever you are
Whatever it takes
No matter how far

Through all that may come
And all that may go
I walk beside you
I walk beside you

Summon up your ghosts for me
Rest your tired thoughts upon my hands
Step inside this sacred place
When all your dreams seem broken

Resonate inside this temple
Let me be the one who understands
Be the one to carry you
When you can walk no further

When everything is wrong
When hopelessness surrounds you
The sun will rise again
The tide you swim against will carry you back home
So don't give up
Don't give in

I walk beside you.

[Dream Theater fans, you know where this is from].

~Peace.

The Lone Ranger..................Is Me.

Just for the record: one by one everyone is vanishing off to another country. I'm starting to get the feeling of loneliness. I wonder when I'll get to visit my family in Indo; of course I want to make a stop for Hajj first- my first destination before anywhere else in the world. Sometimes I feel so lonely that I could cry. My folks just live 10 minutes away, but I can't go over there everyday, can't go out everyday. I've learned that when you're living with the in-laws it's not good to make day-trips and go out everyday, or else the mother-in-law will talk and blab.....and blab some more.

I need to patch things up with my Creator. I have sins that need forgiving. We all have sins, I know that. But I will be accountable for MY sins and nobody else's. This is probably why things aren't going so well. There is a hadith/saying from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that "our sins are delaying our Rizq (sustenance)". Which is true and understandable.

Last wednesday I forgot to see my aunty and cousins off to Indo, not because I forgot they were going- get this: because I FORGOT THAT IT WAS WEDNESDAY!! They're gonna think that I decided NOT to go to the airport to see them off. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH MY MIND?!?! Has that ever happened?? And I didn't get to see off my other aunty, who was going to Hajj, because they had to leave the house @ 5am and they were boarding @ 8.30am. I couldn't go because it meant I had to go to the airport around 6am, there was nobody to take me........oh, how I wanted to cry! I had no other choice but to call her and her husband a safe journey there and back (God Willing). Still, I felt bad for not being there. And now, it'll be my parents' turn to take off to Indo on the 31st December (God Willing). LET'S HOPE I WON'T FORGET THAT!! After that, the only people that I can count are: my brother, my other brother and his wife, my other aunty (my mum's cousin), and my hubby. Not to mention that my son's birthday is coming up on the 3rd January; only I won't call it a birthday party, I'll call it a "Thanksgiving", to thank Allah Almighty for letting my son live to see his 1st year. If we end up having that gathering for him my heart won't be in it, 'cuz most of my family won't be here. But I'll keep a chin up just for the little guy.

Blogging is fantastic! I feel a little better getting all that off my chest. It took the load off. *sigh*
Good night.

~Peace.

Okay. It's been a long time since i last blogged. I can't type to the best of my ability because my hands are allergic to ANY dishwashing detergant; which causes one of my fingers to peel off, possibly Eczema. Right now my middle finger on my left hand is affected. It's got some ointment on it so I can't let that one finger type. Subhanallah, I feel hopeless just because one finger is unable to function properly. Imagine being immobilised, unable to do anything.

Alright, so I've finished watching the 8th and final season of Charmed. Which means there's not gonna be anymore of Charmed! *booohoooo!!* My hubby's friend gets all these tv shows downloaded off the internet, it's a good thing that he does so I get to watch them..yay for that! You have NO IDEA how much of a Charmed fanatic I am. I love the notion of all these magical powers and stuff- no, I'm not abandoning my Islamic belief for witchcraft, HELL NO! Astaghfirullah. I just love a little sci-fi in tv shows, for example: Charmed, Roswell, Medium, and....the list goes on.

The point is, I LOVE CHARMED. And recently I saw on tv that their FINALLY gonna show season 8 & here I couldn't decide whether or not to borrow my hubby's friend's season 8 Charmed dvd's. But alas, I didn't want to waste my chances. I could either waste 22 weeks to know what happens in the end OR I can watch the dvd's and enjoy the final season within a couple of days- I finished watching the final season in 2 days.
IT WAS AWESOME!! Typically, it was a happy ending: Piper and Leo grow old together, both Phoebe & Paige get married and have children. All three sisters have 3 children each: Piper has 2 boys & a girl, Paige has 1 boy & 2 girls (twins), and Phoebe has 3 girls- which i guess her kids are to continue the legacy of the 'Charmed Ones'.
Awww....how awesome. In the last episode we get to see Piper's boys all grown up; I'd have to say they are quite gorgeous! woOOOOOoH!!

Aight, enough of that. I'm still anticipating whether I should purchase 'Roswell Season 3' on eBay, since Robbie's friend doesn't have it. I can 'Buy It Now' on Ebay for $37.95 plus $9.00 for postage. Sometimes the price is higher if the format is bidding. There's NO WAY I'm purchasing the boxsets in the dvd shops! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THEY COST??? Around $70.00. I may like to watch them but I'm not stupid to waste my moolah in spending that much for a tv show! So I'm keeping a watch for it on ebay.

The end of the year is nearing its end. I can't believe it's gone by too fast. InshaAllah my son will be 1 year of age next month - but he doesn't have any teeth yet, LOL!! InshaAllah they'll start growing, 'cuz I see it in his gums that they're on their way, huheuehuehe. He's the 2nd reason I wake up to everyday. Sometimes, I feel sad for many reasons. I'm still living with the in-laws and I feel like i'm restricted in being myself in this house, because I don't have my privacy. Hubby & I are saving up for a home, it's impossible to stay here if we want to have a family.
Our son is growing up so fast. I'm praying to Allah, everyday, constantly, asking Him to find us a separate home to live in - if it is His Will. God Willing.

My aunty and her kids departed to Indonesia last night. And you know what? I FORGOT ALL ABOUT IT!! My hubby & I forgot to see them off last night! It just occurred to me 5 minutes ago. I'm gonna have to call my mum tonight, she's probably wondering why I didn't go last night. Oh dear, I feel REALLY, REALLY, terrible! Her & my mum are sisters and her husband and my hubby's father are brothers - talk about a tangle web! So, my hubby and I have the same cousins, hehhehe! Which is an excellent thing to have.

After Ramadhan ended we planned to go out and have Pancakes On The Rocks - ever heard of that place? There's one @ The Rocks and another one @ Northmead, we ended up going to Northmead, which isn't better than the one @ The Rocks.

I remember my first time going to the Pancakes On The Rocks (@ the City). It's easy to remember it 'cuz it was on my wedding night. I went in there with my white wedding dress! I'm not kidding! I didn't feel embarassed. I was cool with it.
After our reception we headed out to the City, with the photographers, to take some wedding photos. It was just Robbie & I and Robbie's friend to drive us around. I remembered it was around 1am that we finished taking the photos. The real cool thing about taking pictures @ the City, after your wedding, is that you get to park @ the unparkable spots and not get a ticket when the coppers see you. People just drive by and give you the 'thumbs up', even Cops, cool!

Well, I entered the Pancakes restaurant and the limelight was on me. LOL! DeR! I was the only one there wearing a wedding dress! While we were waiting for our food a waitress complimented me, hiehiehihee. I felt like a princess at that moment....LOL!
Funny, eh? That's one of my most memorable moments.

Faaar out, I got off-track there. So, looking at the menus, it took them AAAGES to decide what they're having. I swear, Robbie's cousins are somewhat crazy in their humour; when I compare them to how I act with my cousins, let's say that we act more human than they do.
Crazy people, but i love them. So here are some pix:
The boys: AbdurRahman, Robbie, Adam, Arif, & Hanafi

The Girlz: Rina, Michelle, Afni, Katherine & Me

Ready to murder the pancakes!

My little family (Rob's not so good with camera flashes)

This was my Blueberry Haven...mmMm!

Adam, full throttle

Subhanallah! So full! Next time we'll S H A R E pancakes!

I reckon that's about it for now.

~Peace y'all.

Can't Think Of A Title.

Hello there, readers. What have you been up to?
I.........am........extra tired after all the necessary shopping i've been doing. But I had a blast! Got to drive my beloved car! Not long to go until I can drive the car with my son in it! Yaaaayy!!

Doesn't it bug you when mostly EVERYONE is going overseas to attend a wedding and you're stuck here, missing out on seeing your family again, missing out on the food, missing out on the wedding of your close cousin, and missing out on the food?? Doesn't bug you? WELL, IT BUGS THE HELL OUT OF ME!

Both of my parents are going, all of my cousins are going, both of my mum's sisters are going (one is going for Hajj and the other going to Indonesia), and some of us have to stay here because we're just not going, because we're pregnant (no, not me), and because we've got babies to look after (yep, that's me).

This January has many birthdays to look forward to: my son on the 3rd, my hubby on the 5th, my mum's on the 21st, and my little cousin (not so little anymore) on the 26th. But also on the 6th of January my cousin in West Sumatra, Indonesia, inshaAllah is getting hitched and having her wedding over there. That's where mostly everyone is going. The last time that I was @ Indo was in 2002. Yes, I think that's correct. We were there for our uncles' weddings; each one a week apart. We had a ball- from what I remembered. And hopefully, I'll get to visit my family in Indo again. This time with just the 3 of us :)

Hmm......Oh! Have you ever watched this comedian, named David Armand, miming to the song Torn by Natalie Imbruglia?

Well......you're missing out! He's mimed the song on his own, but this time Natalie comes in halfway through the song and eventually mimes along with him. I reckon the best part is when he mimes to the words in the song: "...There's just so many things..." Watch his face! You've just gotta watch it!


See y'all!

~Peace.

Dreamweaver.

..........So, here I am waiting for another episode of Charmed to load up on youtube. You know how I was excited to FINALY watch 1st & 2nd episodes of Charmed Season 8? Well, since that day I've been reminded of one episode of Charmed where Prue was killed by a demon, called Shax. Just by looking at the demon (even though he's fictitious) I know that I'd turn on my heels and run like mad!

Aaaaanyway, even though I've watched these episodes on T.V. I couldn't remember how Piper, Pheobe, and Paige formed the Charmed Ones, again. And so I've decided to start from there. The episode when Prue died, dagnammit, it was sooOoOO emotional toward the end; even I had to cry watching it the second time around. No, I'm not one of those who like watching romantic movies and start crying at them. If there's a moment in a moment in an episode, which somehow can happen to me, then I'd replay the scene in my head, as if it were happening to me, and start the waterworks. Nahhh, no dramas, just a tear or two down the cheek, that's all.

Speaking of devastation. Ever had a dream/nightmare that you've woken up from and cried, cried 'till your body shook? I've had that dream. Well, I interpreted it as a nightmare because it happened to someone who is of the most utmost importance to me. This wasn't recent though. It happened while I was pregnant with Abdurrahman. I vaguely remember it, now that I try to recall. But in the nightmare, I dreamt that a group of people were being held hostage inside a building. And one of them happened to be an important person in my family (I will not say who). All I remember now is; one of the bad guys shot that person dead, and in my sleep I cried while I witnessed the nightmare. I woke up, suddenly crying and shaking, I realised who they shot; and cried some more. I tried putting my head back down underneath the pillow and going back to sleep. Somehow my crying woke my husband up. He was baffled as to why I was crying so heavily; I simply replied with a: "...I had a bad, bad dream...". And with that he comforted me as I tried to sleep again. It was hard to forget about it.

I couldn't.

That wasn't the first time of dreaming someone getting shot. The first time I dreamt someone being shot was me. I remember the scenery so vividly. I was standing in a phone booth outside the streets of my parents' house. I remember looking to my left and seeing someone; their hand outstreched, ready to pull the trigger. They pulled it. I remember lying on the ground feeling the warmth of the wound on the right side of my chest- astonishingly I wasn't panicking, stressed out or anything. Oddly, I didn't react realistically to that dream, didn't cry or anything! Wiiiieerddd dude!

Wow. One story leads to another eh? How strange is that. Anyway, I think the videos are way beyond uploaded! I might as well stay up because Subh is in an hour's time, might as well go all the way. Be safe and have safe dreams readers.

~Peace.

Charmed, I'm Sure.

WHAT UP PEOPLEZ!!

I'm so exxxxciiited! Know why? I'VE FOUND EPISODE 1 OF CHARMED SEASON 8!! WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!! I don't care it it's nearly 12am, i'm still watching it. I found the first episode (called: "Still Charmed & Kicking") on Youtube and it has 5 parts to it..........wanna watch all 5 parts before I sleep......talk about fanatic! aaaahh!!

And also, I wanted to watch Season 3 of Lost, Episode 1 on youtube. But I had no luck in finding it. I was gonna get my hubby to download it off Torrent (or something) but he's lost in Lost. And this morning I was chatting to Gemz (currently living in Spain, Seville) and she has watched ALL SIX episodes! I was like: "how the heck did you that?!" I tried typing what she typed in the search field, again no luck.

Well, i'm off to watch the first episode of Still Charmed & Kicking- it beats paying $40 on a boxed set.

See ya!

~Peace.

Can't Get More Frustrated Than This.

It's such a pain to do the shopping when you haven't prayed Maghrib yet, and 'Isha is 30-45 minutes away.......arrghh!

Well, that's how I felt tonight. Robz & I had dinner @ Bankstown Centro, we had left our son with Robz' mum because it was cold and not to mention the weather! whoaaa! Subhanallah, it was massively windy mate!

It's wierd when we're halfway through our shopping needs and my mind's somewhere else and my shopping spirit's gone, my legs felt like jello and to make things worse: my jacket sleeves have three buttons in a row and they got stuck in the shelves while I was reaching for a Heinz jar....and then.....*crack*! Yeh, you've probably guessed it. Somehow it fell out of my hands, fell onto the floor, cracked and splattered on the floor. Alhamdulillah, it wasn't a big show; me & my hubby were the only one's in that aisle. Subhanallah.....at that moment I felt my blood pressure drop to the floor! I looked @ Robbie and wondered out loud "Do I have to tell someone?" If I did, I was willing to clean up and pay for it. I felt really bad.
Do you reckon cameras pick up on those sort of stuff? *sigh* Oh well. Oh! Forgot to mention that it happened @ Woolworths.

Aight, Toys 'R' Us are having a sale and we headed there next. I had my eye on this Quicksmart Fold-Away Stroller while I was flipping pages in the catalogue and thought:'hmm.....that'll be a good thing to have in future situations' and so we
purchased it.

Plus, S-26 Progress 2 was on sale for $16.99, usually it's $20; and Huggies wipes, a 240 pack for $9.99- I thought 'Hell yeh! Imma get me some o' that!' But when we got there (it was like 8.30pm and the stock's probably finished anyway) both of those were all finised! BLAST YOU! I had my heart set on those items....then Toys 'R' Us broke my heart. I've fallen in love with the stroller right away after we put Abdurrahman in it- he looked so snug in it, hehehhe. Can't wait to take it for test drive or something.

I'm catching up on the Roswell series which used to be on Optus' Fox 8 back in the day. I got up to Season 2, the 2nd last episode where Alex is killed (apparently killed by Tess, supposedly Max's future wife). And so Deals Direct had a sale on the boxed sets of Roswell Season 1 & 2; so I bought Season 2. Now that I've finally caught up with the show, I'm waiting for the 3rd Season. Luckily I saw a few on eBay, my darling ebay. I'm an eBay junkie, hadn't you realised that??!! LOL!
Roswell Season 3

Another show I really love to watch is Charmed. They've aired Season 8 (the final season of Charmed) in the U.S. already and I'm wondering when we'll get it in Aussie t.v. I reaaaallyyyy hope they air it here. Man, what would I do without ebay??
I searched for Charmed Season 8 and there was only ONE DVD in the whole site! Plus, it's not even in good condition, this is what the seller said about it: "Hi there, the first episode pretty much plays all the way through with a few pauses in it, but then it gets to the second episode and wont play. They sent me a second disc, but it did the exact same thing. The other episodes are fine and I didn't feel I missed too much. Hope that helps. thanks for the interest. Regards block784"
Charmed Season 8
Bummer....guess I'll wait for the next one that comes along.

I guess that's it for now, my legs are dying for a rest. Nothing more to report, Adios!

~Peace.

Word Vomit.

Ahh..Criminal Minds, I love watching crime shows- especially CSI, can't wait for Season 3. I can't describe in words how awesome of a show it is. Sometimes I find myself speechless when I try to express my opinions; I need to attend intelligent discussions of certain issues or lectures- I need to go back to Uni man! I've been deprived of intellectual discussions!

Blogging, for me, is a tough thing if I don't fully concentrate on what I want to convey- it's much like writing poetry. Yuh-huh, I used to write poems. I can't do anything else while i'm blogging; I can't watch t.v, can't do anything the same time while i'm blogging- or else I won't put 100% effort into it. Like, right now. I'm watching Criminal Minds as i'm doing this; and it sucks because my mind drifts off into 2 shades of thoughts.

......And 20 minutes later: T.V. is off, nothing else going on; NOW I can concentrate on this blog, hmm...it's like studying.

At the moment, I don't know where to start. There's so many things swirling in my mind, don't know where to begin. I'll start on the things that's been bringing me down lately.

I'm not living on my own at the moment, as I might have mentioned in previous posts, living with the in-laws. It's not a brilliant idea when two families live at the same home. Crikey! It's a circus sometimes. There are some moments during the day where I like to be alone for a moment. I admit it. I like my own company sometimes; there's nothing wrong in being alone at least once a day to think about what you've done for the day or what you've done in your life.

Now that my mother-in-law's back from Indonesia it's back to spending the whole day in my room. Yep, I rarely go outside to the lounge room. I only come out of my room if I need to do these things: cooking, feeding my son, use the bathroom, washing the clothes and hanging them outside, going out for a walk. Call me a basketcase if you like, I don't care, I have my reasons to stay in my room all day when I don't get the house to myself. I pray to Allah Almighty that within one year, from now, all that is going to change. Allah willing, I will have a space for my own family, I won't have to share anything with anyone, except my family.

It has not been confirmed yet, but, we're planning to knock down this house that we're living in and build a duplex; so Robbie's parents live in one and Robbie, Abdurrahman & I in the other. That's the best option that we can go with. It's veerryyyy hard being married to an only child; especially with Robbie's father being sick- constantly asking for him. And imagine if we lived far away from his parents, it's gonna be hard for Robbie and his folks- so alhamdulillah we've resorted to the duplex idea. And this time, InshaAllah, it will happen. I want this to happen SO BAD as much as the next person. But I won't get my hopes up too much; something bad might happen, I won't get my personal feelings in the way. I have to constantly ask Allah Almighty to shower me with patience for as long as it takes; indeed Allah loves those who are patient.

The next thing that's been bringing me down lately is Uni and driving. Why driving? I'll tell you why. I HAVEN'T BEEN ALLOWED TO DRIVE FOR ALMOST 1 YEAR!! Now that's driving me INSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANE!!! Can you imgaine that?? You've got your full license, love to drive and never get sick of it, you love driving to your folks' house just to have a chat with them and see how your brothers (or sisters) are doing- but you've been deprived of that for a year. ONE YEAR! That's the most time I've spent NOT driving. It pisses me right off at times. But I remind myself to stay patient to seek Allah's pleasure and rewards. But the brighter side to that is this: inshaAllah I will be allowed to drive, with my son in the car, when he's 1 year old, which is on the 3rd of January 2007. That's not long to go, right? It's only a month and a half away! WeeEEeE!! InshaAllah i'll be reunited with my car *sigh*. I hope that I get to take my son to the medical center to ge this 12 months immunisation injection.

The next downfall is Uni. At the end of 2005 I deferred my studies for 12 months. Appparently they discontinued my studies simply because I didn't pay my student union fees. HOW GAY IS THAT??!! Now I have to apply though UAC again!! FAR OUT! !@#$%^&...!!! AAARRGGHH!! It's making me think who Abdurrahman's gonna stay with for a couple of hours, 'cuz with going to uni for part-time is only a 2-days-a-week attendance....I think. But we'll see what happens when I get the word from UAC. INSHALLAH I CAN RE-ENROL AND CONTINUE WITH MY COURSE!!

Ok...on a much brighter note. I can see that my son is about to grow his first set of teeth, at the front. I can see a little white line in the middle of his gums...hehehehhehehe, alhamdulillah, praise Allah. He's becoming more active now, leaving him alone in a room for more than 5 minutes without any sort of entertainment makes a mission impossible. Inshallah he'll be 1 year of age on the 3rd January 2007.

I haven't posted pictures in a long while; I might just do that in this post.
Abdurrahman with his singlet on his head
The little man popping out of his cot
Bath time @ Ummi & Buya's house
Eating watermelon
My "work station", haha!

Aight, until next time folks!

~Peace.

Hey Baby

I LOVE BABIES! Has that been obvious in my posts? hahuhaua! My hubby saw this video on break.com and told me that I would laugh my socks off.....and so I did, check it out:
Now tell me, WHO WOULDN'T laugh at that?! haahaha!! I laughed so much and so loud that I startled my son. I saw this other one: This sleepy baby is trying to stay sitting up and eventually gives up:


So, did you manage to contain your laughter?? DIDN'T THINK SO, HAHA!

Now that I've gotten the videos over and done with, I wanted to blog about what happened to me today.

Since it rained today and I did the washing, beforehand I was thinking how I was going to get all those clothes dried. Decided to drop the laundry load @ a Lakemba Dry cleaning on Wangee Rd- where most of life has been spent. I had to go to that Dry cleaning place anyway because I forgot to pick up my other laundry load, which I dropped off yesterday. Got the laundry done and had to get some stuff to make Butter Chicken (whOO yum!). An hour later, picked up the laundry and headed off to KFC @ Punchbowl, Canterbury Rd, to buy some HotRods Burger Meal for Robbie & I. Keep in mind that I wasn't driving the best car in the world: Toyota Camry 1990 model- bought 2nd hand with already high Kms, and alot of money spent to keep the car running, and previously $300 to fix the radiator.

So I put the keys in the ignition and the car stays silent. I kept still for a moment and was trying to figure what's going on. After 3 tries in turning the car on I gave up and called Robbie. I can tell he wasn't expecting anything to happen with the car, 'cuz it was previously fixed, supposedly.
So he finally came and rescued me (hahaha) with his car and with Abdurrahman in the back seat without the baby seat- cuz it was in the camry.

After long minutes in trying to fix the car, we just headed home and left the camry @ KFC, LOL! Later on, Robbie went with the next door neighbour to KFC, to try and fix the damned car, but to no avail. He came back home and called Towing. Twenty minutes later I see the camry dragged behind the truck as it tried to reverse the camry into the driveway..................you know, at that moment I was thinking: FINALLY that bomb of a car has broken down. *sigh*

My son fell asleep while having dinner today, hehehe! Allah is great, it's amazing to watch him grow little by little everyday.
Hey dudes & dudettes, I think that'll be all for this post. I'll find another time to come by.

~Peace.

Thoughts In Random Order.

Who has seen The Grudge 2?? Come on, hands up, I wanna know your honest opinion about that stinking movie.Hands down, The Grudge kicked butt because it was original, although it was a remake, straight to the point.My next door neighbour has all these copied movies in stock (yeh i know, pirated, blah blah blah).

My hubby went by to fix their computer and he came back with The Grudge 2 in his hand. My jaw dropped to the floor and I remember saying to theeffect of "get outta here.." or "No way! He's got that??"

And so, we decided to watch it together. Before the movie even started I already had the blanket covering half my face.Robbie was like "Nuh-uh, can't cover up your face or we don't watch it." Fifteen minutes later, what happens? He falls asleep!

The downside to The Grudge 2 was the fact that they failed to stop the evil from the roots. In movies, when someone saysthe classic line: "This monster....it cannot be stopped, it's impossible!", 99% of the time they kill the bad guy. But that's not the case with The Grudge 2. The dead Jap chick ends up killing everyone who's cursed, even Sarah Michelle Gellar (SMG)got killed. I reckon the movie would be a little more interesting if SMG killed off the "evil spirits"- it'd be like Buffy all over again! hah!
The bottom line: the storyline's just ok, unsatisfied with the ending.For those of you who have watched it, am I wrong to let my mind wander to the possibilty that there maybe, just maybe,that there will be a movie called "The Grudge 3"? Gosh! *rolls eyes*

Today, thanks to God, my son is 10 month, omg! Somebody pinch me! *gasp* oh my....in 2 months time, inshaAllah, he'll be 1 year old! *screams in disbelief* aahh!! When we get to the age of 9-10 months, we tend to become little rascals and want to reach for everything and put it in our mouths. He hasn't got any teeth yet, which doesn't worry me because in average babies can grow their first tooth between 3-15 months. If my little boy doesn't grow his first tooth by the age of 15 months,THEN I'll be worried.

Earlier this week I received two things. The Dream Theater: Score dvd that I ordered @ jbhifionline.com.au AND my CasioBaby G watch....alright! SoOoOOoo excited that I wore the watch right away! ahuahua!

I'm quite excited about tomorrow. InshaAllah going to Tempe Mosque in the morning, for a Saturday School session,and then later on off to my aunty's house for Eid- she's having an open house.

*sigh*I'm tired and my limbs are aching and I have to move my son from my bed to his cot. Think I'll end it here.

~Peace out y'all!

THIS SUX!!

OH...MY.....GOD!!

BLOGGER.COM YOU ARE TO BLAME FOR THIS!! I HAD A PERFECTLY GOOD, INTELLIGENT, THOUGHT-PROVOKING POST AND WHAT HAPPENS? BLOGGER.COM LOSES IT AND ONLY PUBLISHES THE FRIKKIN' TITLE!!

I'M PISSED OFF! IT'S 12:39AM NOW AND I SHOULD BE UNDER THE BLANKET, IN MY BED RIGHT NOW. BUT NO, BLOODY BLOGGER.COM DECIDES TO SCREW UP MY NIGHT BY STUFFING UP IN "SUCCEEDING" PUBLISHING MY BLOG.

AARRGHHH!!! I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU BLOGGER!! (for the meantime).

P.S. hey Naf, how was that for an update?? LOL.

~Not so much peace................DAMN YOU BLOGGER!! EAT MY SHORTS!! GET BENT! (Insert offensive phrases here).

Eid Mubarak!!.......Ramadhan will be missed :(

Feels like I haven't been posting for yeeeeeeeeeeeeaaars! Well, as you all know (if you're Muslim) we celebrated the end of Ramadhan on Monday, 23rd October 2006.

Alhamdulillah it was an eventful day. It will be a special one to me because this is my son's first Eid with the family. And to think that Abdurrahman was still in my womb, this time last year, amazes me. Time flies too quickly, don't you think?

Since that my mother-in-law left for Indonesia 4 days before Eid, to visit her sick mother, I am left to be the host of the house for Eid - which I've never done before. Cooking is not a stranger to me, but cooking a LARGE quantity that can feed a whole village is a bit overwhelming. That's what I had to do. Thank God it was an easy Indonesian dish that I could do- called "Bakso" or "Meiso". Of course, my dear mother was the one who aided me with all of it, except that I did the cooking, she just provided me with the tools.....hehhehe :)

The night before Eid, I was packing it! Didn't get to iron 2 loads of clothes the other day, so the morning of Eid I had to rush to fold the clothes and stuff 'em in the closet, prepare the food, change Abdurrahman into his tuxedo (yeh, he looked so cute in it!). We had to wait for someone to come & look after Robbie's dad while we went to pray @ Marrickville, Addison Rd. Subhanallah, it was fantastic!

Usually Robbie and I could go visit our families' houses after prayer on Eid, but this year was about to change. Since I had to organize everything, we didn't have a chance to go out until 12.30pm that day because we had guests. So when it came to the last guest leaving to go to another house, we picked up and left quickly before anyone else came....hehehhe - but we had only until 2pm to get back home.

I'm watching The Da Vinci Code on dvd at the moment. So I can't really concertrate on recalling on Monday's events.

I'll get back to it next time, aight.

HAPPY EID, EID MUBARAK EVERYONE!!

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 27

Indeed our greatest fear during this month, is not that we may break our fast, but that Allah may not accept it. Even if we were to fast each day perfectly, it is only through His mercy will it ever be accepted.
May Allah accept our fast and efforts as this months end draws near.

500 Years of Worship
Angel Jibrail (as) told Rasulullah (peace be upon him) the follwing incident about a man in the past who worshipped Allah Ta'ala continuously for 500 years. He was granted a shelter on top of a mountain that was surrounded by salty water. However, Allah caused a stream of sweet water to flow through the mountain for that individual. The man would drink from this water and use it to make ablution. Allah Ta'ala also raised a pomegranate tree from which the man would eat one fruit every day.

One day, this person supplicated to Allah that, "Oh Allah, bring my death while I am in the state of prostration." Allah accepted this dua of his. Whenever Jibrail (as) came down to the Earth, he found this man prostrating to Allah. Jibrail (as) said that on the day of Judgement, Allah will tell the angels to take this individual to Paradise through His mercy. However, this man will insist that he should enter paradise through the good deeds that he had performed.

Then, Allah will tell the angels to compare his good deeds with the blessings that were given to him in the world. It will be seen that 500 years of his worship does not even equal to the gift of eye sight that was given to him by Allah. The angels will be asked to take him towards the hell fire. Then the man will plead, "Oh Allah! Enter me into Paradise only through Your mercy."
At that point, Allah said to the man "Oh my servant, who created you?"

"Oh Allah, You have created me." replied the worshipper

"Were you created because of the good deeds you have done or because of My mercy?"

"Because of Your mercy." replied the worshipper

"Who granted you the ability to worship for 500 years?"

"Oh the Almighty! You have granted me that ability."

"Who placed you on the mountain surrounded by the ocean? Who caused a stream of sweet water to flow in between the salty water? Who caused a pomegranate tree to grow for you? Who granted you death while in the state of prostration?"

"Oh the Sustainer of the Worlds! You have done all of these."

Then Allah will say, "All these have happened due to My mercy and you too will enter Paradise only through My Mercy."

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 26. (Possibly the Night of Power)

Tonight is portrayed to be one of the MOST IMPORTANT night during these last 10 days of Ramadhan. Yep, it's Laylatul Qadr. And i'm not wasting my night in blogging because I don't want to miss out on MASSIVE rewards from my Creator. So I'll just put in a story and end it there. Oh yeh, remember my Sony Ericsson W850i? I'm LOVING IT, YO! IT'S SOoooOOOoOOO AWESOME!! And i'm VERY, VERY, excited about Eid Al-Fitr on Monday 23rd October (inshallah). It'll be my son's first Eid celebration in his life - last year he was in the womb, hehehuehe.

Aight, I'll get to the story. When we sacrifice things for the sake of Allah, sometimes shaytan makes us question or regret that sacrifice. However, we should all understand that whatever you lose in this life for the sake of Allah, will be more than compensated for in Paradise, inshallah.

Indeed the most beautiful knowledge you can obtain, is the knowledge that your home in Paradise awaits you. May the peace and blessings be on the Prophet and his Sahaba who were guaranteed Paradise.

A Home For A Home In Paradise
Abdullah ibn Jahsh (ra) was among those who were the first to accept Islam. When the persecution of the Quraysh got severe, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) gave permission for his companions to emigrate to Madinah. Emigrating was not a new experience for Abdullah. He and some members of his immediate family had migrated before to Abyssinia. This time, however, his migration was on a far bigger scale. His family and relatives, men, women and children, migrated with him. In fact, his whole clan had become Muslims and accompanied him.

Abdullah's clan were not long gone when the alerted Quraysh leaders came out and made the rounds of the districts in Makkah to find out which Muslims had left and who had remained. Among these leaders were Abu Jahl and Utbah ibn Rabi'ah. Utbah looked at the houses of the Banu Jahsh through which the dusty winds were blowing.He banged on the doors and shouted: "The houses of the Banu Jahsh have become empty and are weeping for its occupants." Abdullah bin Jahsh had the most beautiful and expensive house. He sacrificed this house for the pleasure of Allah. Seeing it abandoned, Abu Jahl entered the house and took all its contents.

Later, when Abdullah ibn Jahsh heard what Abu Jahl had done to his house, he mentioned it to the Prophet (saw), who said: "Aren't you satisfied, O Abdullah, with what Allah has given you instead, a house in Paradise?"

"Yes, Messenger of Allah," replied Abdullah. From that moment he never had any regret for that house and became completely satisfied with the beautiful palaces that are awaiting for him in Paradise.

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 24.

Staying home on a cloudy day makes me feel soOO lazy. Which isn't a good feeling when i've got dozens of things to do. I just end up bumming around on the net, looking up ebay and stuff like that.

But Alhamdulillah yesterday I was pleased :) My Nokia 7600 was sold for $80.10, including post, and then I was thinking of upgrading phones with 3, I REALLY hate that stupid, worthless LG U8120. It's a frikkin' peice of crap! And so I've upgraded to the
SONY ERICSSON W850i. I've never been so pleased as much as I am with this one! I'M LOVIN' IT! ALHAMDULILLAH! I feel it'll take a lot for me to get bored with this phone- looks frikkin' hot! I cannot complain with what i've got....teehee!

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 21.

OH MYYY...GOD! One of the hottest day today! Before it got too hot, I went bra-shopping @ Birkenhead Point. Pretty good! It would've been better if it wasn't so hot or if we weren't fasting. But I didn't bring my little boy along, cuz it was boiling! So we left him with his granny. I couldn't wait to get home and see him. As soon as we got home, I saw him and dropped everything then I hugged him as tight as I could. I can't be away from my boy for toOoO long.

I feel so behind in my Qur'an reading! I feel so ashamed!

Every Ramadhan I read the Qur'an from the beginning, but this year I was already half-way through the book and felt like I'm cheating starting from the middle. So I went back to the beginning. The Qur'an is divided into 30 parts- in Arabic it's called "Juz' ". So in Ramadhan you can easily finish the Qur'an by reading 1 part each day. But since females have their menstruational cycle once a month, I couldn't fast OR read the Qur'an. Because in Islam when women are menstruating they are in a state of impurity- not that they are impure themselves, but it's the thing inside which gives us the excuse to not pray, fast, and read the Qur'an.

Anyway, it's Day 21 of Ramadhan and I should be up to Part 21 (Juz' 21) of the Qur'an or at least past it. Rather, I'm only up to the 4th Part- I should be reading more. Especially when the last 10 nights of Ramadhan have arrived. This one special night of Ramadhan, called "Laylatul Qadr", meaning "The Night of Power", falls on one of the odd nights- e.g. on the night of Day 21, 23, 25 & so on. Whatever good deeds we do during these last 10 nights of Ramadhan, for the sake of Allah's pleasure, we receive the reward that is better than a thousand months. That's why it is soOoO important.

I want to post a story about struggle. Turn on the tv, read the newspaper, the sight of Muslims sufferring around the whole world has become common news. Occupation of our Lands, the slaughter of millions of Muslims, the negative propaganda made to make Islam look 'evil'. The torment and atrocities that were thrown upon the Muslims in the past 100 years has never been seen in the history of Islam. However, despite these struggles the Muslims go through, we have still stuck to our Islam, and day by day our convitction only strengthens. This following hadith tells the story of how the Prophet advised his companions on the issue of staying patient.

Don't Complain, Be Patient.
Khabbaab ibn al-Aratt (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "We complained to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was reclining on his cloak in the shade of the Ka'bah. We said to him: "Why do you not ask Allaah to help us (grant us victory)? Why do you not pray to Allaah for us?" He said, "A man from the people before you would be placed in a hole dug for him, then they would bring a saw and cut his head in two, yet that would not make him renounce his faith. They would use an iron comb to drag the flesh and nerves from his bones, yet that would not make him renounce his faith. By Allaah, this matter will be completed (i.e. Islam will be perfected and will prevail) until a rider travelling from Sana' to Hadramawt will fear nobody but Allaah or the attack of a wolf on his sheep, but you are too impatient." Source: Sahih Bukhari.

The conditions of Muslims may go up and down but Islam will always remain on top. We should never lose hope even during the most difficult times as Allah is always in control. Surely, Allah helps those who are patient.

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 20

Haaaiii...yah! sup? Oh, nothing much bro..............anything new with you? *sigh* My word, it has been a hot day. Yesterday was hot, yeh? Went out for shopping, you know Thursday night shopping- good thing was we had Iftar in the food court- let me say, there was JAM-PACKED of Muslims....oh yeh! We had some Chinese and packed on food on our tiny plate of "self-serve". And yesterday was the FIRST TIME i've reunited with Gloria Jean's "Coco Loco".....phhwooaaahh, i was waiting a long time to taste it.

Since I had been breast-feeding my son for a good 8 months, I didn't think that by drinking Coco Loco would be good for me, so I stopped. And now that i've stopped nursing my son, bring on the caffeine and V!!! woOOHOOoo!
The down-side thing is I have to find some new bras! Far out, i've now noticed what breastfeeding does to your breasts- if I didn't love my son I wouldn't have breast-fed him so I could keep my twins looking "up-beat". haahhha! But no worries, i'll tuck away the nursing bras and hunt some good new bras to hook mine up again.

It's scary to feel time going by so fast. For example, when I look @ my son, I remember when I heard his first cry into this world. I look back @ videos I've taken of him when he just a week old, I tear up whenever I look at those videos. After looking back on his birth, I look at him now and I just get this overwhelming feeling, and just grab him and hug him so tight. Mummy loves you darling.

*wipes tears away* Anyway, alot of times when we're with our friends we like to joke around. This joking around is all well and good. However, when it comes to the point where someone is hurt intentionally or unintentionally, although they may not show it, this could lead to hatred and loss of respect.

The Prophet (saw) said:
"Do not argue with your brother, do not joke excessively with him, do not make a promise to him then break it."

The true Muslim is above all that, and inshallah in this month of Ramadan, we want to increase in becoming better Muslims and people. And Allah knows best.

Hold Your Tongue
Mahmud was a very pious man, but he was not very attractive looking. One day, he was walking along the road, minding his own business, when a lady came up to him, and started calling him names and abusing him. This lady kept saying all kinds of nasty things, and Mahmud just listened to her patiently. Finally, when she was finished calling him names and abusing him, Mahmud just greeted her, smiled, and said:

"And a nice day to you" and continued on his way.

Why did Mahmud behave this way?

It is because he knew that everything she said was just a reflection of her inner self.

If you use bad language or constantly slandering people, then you are just making obvious to everybody how far away you really are from Allah, since your words are in reality a reflection of your own inner self.

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 18 (skipped some)

*sigh* ohh gosh............missed out on a few days of post. I'm feeling kinda tired and my tummy's rumbling.....>_<. My Baby-G watch arrived the other day. Didn't know it was THAT chunky, LOL! I've never owned a Baby-G watch before. But after a couple of days, I'm deciding that I will sell my Casio Baby-G on ebay. In fact, I've already listed it. Along with my
Nokia 7600 and my Nokia 7370. If you're interested YOU CAN BID ON THEM :D. I'm over the 7370, I used to marvel @ it the first time it arrived - I suppose you do that to every new item you get. I'm plannig to sell those phones to get some sony ericsson, I don't know which one yet. InshaAllah, once I get the $$ I'll decide. And with the watch....i've found a cooler one, CHECK IT OUT, cheaper too.

Hey! Story time! Yay!

The Three Filters Test
During the golden Abbasid period, one of the scholars in Baghdad, the capital of Muslim caliphate at that time, was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem.

One day an acquaintance met the great scholar and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," the scholar replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called The Three Filters Test."

"Three Filters?"

"That's right," the scholar continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say.

That's why I call it The Three Filters Test.

The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said the scholar. "So you don't really know if it's true or not.

Now let's try the second filter, the filter of goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," the scholar continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of usefulness.

Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really."

"Well," concluded the scholar, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

"O ye who believe! Let not some men among you laugh at others: It may be that the (latter) are better than the (former)" ... (to end of Surah) Hujurat 49.12

"And spy not on each other behind their backs..." (to end of Surah) Hujurat 49.13

Praise be to Allah that we are Muslims...

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 15

What up yo! Arrived @ my mum's house this morning and saw a package for moi.....yeh......moi! It turns out to be this Dream Theater "Drumavarium" dvd that I purchased online @ mike portnoy's site. Most impressing thing is, I GOT HIS SIGNED AUTOGRAPHED ALONG WITH IT! How? He signed the package! pHwoaah! *dances* I've got his autograph.......hehheheh.....yay! Here, I'll show you: And, look here: Mate, I'm reeallly impressed. I showed my brother - he's also a big fan of DT too, actually my brothers are the ones who influenced me with the music - and he was like...."whoaa! really?? Cool!"

I think I might keep the bubble-wrapped package for keepsakes. Who knows it might be worth some big $$$ in the near future! hahah! What a joke.

I made Caramel Slice with Chocolate Topping today..mmMMM :D I wonder how it'll taste like. We're all gonna taste it for Iftar, can't wait!!

Hey, did you know that Hercules existed in the time of The Prophet? I didn't know. Here's a short story on how Islam reached one of the great emperors ruling during the time of the Prophet (saw). In this story, Abu Sufyan has not embraced Islam yet, and was still considered an enemy of the Muslims, however, it was after the Conquest of Mecca that Abu Sufyan embraced Islam.

Hercules and Islam

Arabia, during the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s), was a country without any central authority. It was a country far from the civilised nations of those days. At the time Prophet Muhammad (s) was spreading Islam; asking people to turn away from worshipping idols to worshipping Allah, the Almighty, the All-Knower, the Master. The Prophet sent letters of invitation to Kings and Rulers of various countries in the world, inviting them to embrace Islam. Many of the letters were met with a favourable response whilst others were rejected.

In many cases, the messengers of the Prophet were badly treated and abused. But the Prophet was not worried by these setbacks. He was inviting people to the right path and a few setbacks could not deter him from propagating Islam.

Abu Sufyan a leader of the tribe of Quraish and the arch enemy of the Prophet was in Constantinople on a business trip, when the Prophet's letter of invitation reached Hercules, the Byzantine emperor of Eastern Roman Empire. Hercules, at the time was in his court at Constantinople celebrating his victory over the Persians.

Hercules read the letter through an interpreter and then asked the people in his court, to find out if there was someone in the city, who knew the Prophet. Abu Sufyan with his companions was brought into the court.

The emperor asked Abu Sufyan, "What kind of family does Muhammad belong to?"

"Noble", replied Abu Sufyan

"Has there been a king in his family?" Hercules asked.

"No," said Abu Sufyan

"Are the people who have accepted his religion poor or rich?" Hercules questioned again.

"They are poor", replied Abu Sufyan.

Hercules was now becoming more and more interested and he went on asking questions.

His next question was, "Are his followers on the increase or decrease?"

"Increasing", Abu Sufyan replied shortly.

"Have you known him to tell lies"? asked Hercules.

"No", admitted Abu Sufyan.

"Does he ever go against his convents?", Hercules once again asked.

"Not so far. But we have to see whether he carries out the new agreement made between us and him", Abu Sufyan answered lengthily for a change.

"Have you ever fought him in wars?" Hercules questioned.

"Yes", answered Abu Sufyan

"What has been the result?" Hercules asked, getting more and more interested.

"Sometimes we have won, sometimes he", replied Abu Sufyan.

"What does he teach?" asked Hercules

"Worship One God, join no partners with Him, carry out your prayers, be chaste, speak the truth and keep union with your relatives", answered Abu Sufyan, even surprised at his own answer as it sounded like he was preaching Islam.

Hercules stood up and said, "If all you said is true, then I am sure that this Prophet's Kingdom will reach here where I am standing. I was certain that a Prophet was coming, but I didn't know that he would be born in Arabia. If I were to go there, I would embrace Islam and wash the Prophet's feet with my own hands."

This was the way in which the Prophet spread Islam.

He impressed them by his truthfulness, honesty, noble character and dedication in the service of Allah. He did not compel people to accept Islam under threat of waging wars, nor did he compel people to accept Islam by the force of the sword. He fought only in defence, and only when the enemies waged war on him.

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 14.

I love this special month..........when you think about it, Ramadhan is not that long. It's only consisted of three groups of 10 days each - now that's a short time! We'll miss you when you go away, Ramadhan. Please let us see you come back next year, Allah willing.

Hmm.....usually we go out on Saturdays, but today was an exception - cuz we're fasting and there's no reason to go out, because all those shopping malls have food everywhere, and we're not gonna eat anyway, what's the use. So I just slept in, after waking up @ 3.20am and slept @ 6am. I needed the sleep 'cuz I felt like a zombie....aaaarrrghh! Abdurrahman got a new walker today. He wasn't very keen to walk with it, everytime we'd move the walker with him in it, he'd sulk and cry - he just likes the musical thingies on it........cute!

Wanna read another story? Sure you do!

The Shepherd

Once upon a time, there lived in Basra an old man whose only occupation was caring for and loving his only son who was a handsome young man. The old man invested all his money on his son's education. The young man went away for a few years and acquired an education at a well known university under the great scholars of that age.

The day had arrived for the son to return from his studies and the old man waited at the door for his son. When the son came and met his father, the old man looked in his eyes and felt great disappointment.

"What have you learnt my son?" he asked
"I have learnt everything there was to be learnt, father"
"But have you learnt what cannot be taught?" asked the father "Go, my son and learn what cannot be taught"

The young man went back to his teacher and asked him to teach him what cannot be taught.

"Go away to the mountains with this four hundred sheep and come back when they are one thousand" said his teacher.

So the young man went to the mountains and became a shepherd. There for the first time he encountered a silence. He had no one to talk to. The sheep did not understand his language. In his desperation, he would talk to them but they would look back at him as if to say he was stupid. Slowly but surely he began to forget all his wordly knowledge, his ego, his pride and he became quiet like the sheep and great wisdom and humility came to him.

At the end of the two years when the number of sheep had grown to one thousand, he returned to his master and fell on his knees.

"Now you have learnt what cannot be taught" said the teacher.

Note: It's interesting to note that the Prophets of Allah (pbut) at some point in their lives, generally before becoming a Prophet, tended to sheep and other such animals.

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 13.

At last! InshaAllah i'm fasting today! About bloody time!

Usually, i'd be used to the feeling of fasting by now. But since I've only fasted 2 days out of 13, I sometimes forget that I'm fasting, and accidently taste my baby's food to check if it's still hot......oops! Yeh, that happens.

I got an email from this photo thing called dotphoto.com. They're having this contest where you submit a photo of your baby; and so I did. 1st prize is $500 American Express Gift Card, 2nd prize is an iPod Nano, 3rd prize is a $50 Best Buy Gift Card. So I thought, what the heck, and submitted this photo in:
By now, I've got loaaads of photos of him; but I never have the time to develop them- and even if I do, I can't. Because i'm not even allowed to drive - thanx to a certain someone. *ahem*

Hmm....what else is new? Oh yeh! Went shopping yesterday, right after Robbie came home from work. He wanted to have take-out for Iftar, but I'd already cooked for dinner. I cooked this indian-style chicken curry, with a little Indonesian twist, served with roti cane. In Indonesian it's called "Roti Jalo". So, take-out was out of the question; perhaps we'll have that next week. Anyway, went shopping and bought the important stuff and didn't waffle around 'cuz it was close to 6pm.

Have you tried those straw thingies called "Sip Ahhh!"?? In a box there's 10 standard-sized straws with small flavoured beads. They're awesome! I tried the one's with cookies & cream.....ooOoHHhHhHh......they're delicious!

I better stay away from food & drinks topics. Time for another story!

Wealth & Poverty

It was an usual meeting. The Prophet (saw) was in his place and his companions gathered around him to hear the words of wisdom and guidance. Suddenly a poor man in rags appeared, saluted the gathering:

"Assalamu 'alaikum" (Peace be on you)
and finding a vacant place, comfortably sat down.

The Prophet (saw) had taught them that all Muslims were brothers and in a gathering you should sit wherever you find a place, regardless of any status. Now, it so happened that this poor man was seated next to a very rich man. The rich man felt very disturbed and tried to collect the edges of his dress around himself, so that the poor man didn't touch them.

The Prophet (saw) observed this and addressing the rich man he said:
"Perhaps you are afraid that his poverty would affect you?"
"No, O Messenger of Allah," he said.

"Then perhaps you were apprehensive about some of your wealth flying away to him?"
"No, O Messenger of Allah."

"Or you feared that your clothes would become dirty if he touched them?"
"No, O Messenger of Allah."

"Then why did you draw yourself and your clothes away from him?"

The rich man said:
"I admit that was the most undesirable thing to do. It was an error and I confess my guilt. Now to make amends for it I will give away half of my wealth to this Muslim brother so that I may be forgiven."

Just as he said this, the poor man rose and said,
"O Prophet of Allah, I do not accept this offer."

People present were taken by surprise, they thought that the poor man was a fool, but then he explained:
"O Prophet of Allah, I refuse to accept this offer because I fear that I might then become arrogant and illtreat my Muslim brothers the way he did to me."

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 12.

Salaams all. I've got 2 stories for ya! It's about "The Athiest Teacher" & "The Man and The Cocoon".

The Athiest Teacher.

A young woman teacher, with obvious liberal tendecies, explains to her class of small children that she is an athiest. She asks her class if they're athiests too. Not really knowing what anthiesm is but wanting to be like their teacher, their hands explode into the air like fleshy fireworks. There is, however, one exception. A beautiful girl named Zainab has not gone along with the crowd. The teacher asks her why she has decided to be different. "Because I'm not an athiest."

Then, asks the teacher, "What are you?" "I'm a Muslim." The teacher is a little perturbed now, her face slightly red. She asks Zainab why she is a Muslim. "Well, I was brought up knowing and loving God. My mum is a Muslim, and my dad is a Muslim, so I am a Muslim."
The teacher is now angry. "That's no reason!" she says loudly, "What if your mum was a moron, and your dad was a moron, - what would you be then?"

She paused, and smiled. "Then..." says Zainab, "I'd be an athiest."


The Man and The Cocoon

A man found a cocoon of a butterly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would grow and expand to be able to support the body, which would eventually become smaller.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Allah's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If Allah allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never "fly"!

I asked for Strength...
And Allah gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom...
And Allah gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity...
And Allah gave me Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage...
And Allah gave me Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love...
And Allah gave me Troubled people to help.

I asked for Favours...
And Allah gave me Oppurtunities.

I recieved nothing I wanted...
And Allah gave me Everything I needed!

"So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!" [Surah 23: Ayah 14]

~Peace.