Ramadhan Day 8

Enjoy Your Life - The art of interacting with people… as deducted from a study of the Prophet Salalahu Alayhi wa Salaam’s life.

-A product of more than twenty years of research

By Sheikh Dr. Muhammad ‘Abd Al-Rahaman Al-‘Arifi




Do not cry over spilt milk

Some people believe that the traits they have been nurtured on, which they are recognised by and which have left a certain impression about them on the minds of others can never be changed. They surrender to this thought, just as a person would surrender to the fact that he cannot change his height or skin colour.

On the other hand, an intelligent person thinks that to change one’s nature can perhaps be easier than changing his clothes. Our nature is not like spilt milk that cannot be scooped up again. Rather, we are always in control of it and there are certain ways in which we can alter it, and even the way we think!

Ibn Hazm mentions in his work Tawq al-Hamamah a tale of a famous Spanish businessman: There was competition between him and four other businessmen and as a result, they disliked him. They were therefore determined to aggravate him. One morning, he left his house to go to his workplace, wearing a white shirt and turban. One of the four businessmen met him on the way. He greeted the Spanish businesman, looked at his turban and said, “How beautiful this yellow turban is!”

The businessman said, “Are you blind? This turban is white!”

He replied, “No, it is yellow! It is yellow, but it looks good.”

The businessman left him and moved on until he met the second of them. He greeted him, then looked at his turban and said, “You look handsome today! Your clothes look fine! Especially this green turban!

” The businessman said, “Actually, the turban is white.”

“No, it is green,” he insisted.

He replied, “It is white! Go away from me!”

The businessman walked on, talking to himself, and every now and then looking at the flank of his turban to make sure that it was indeed white. He reached his shop and opened up the lock. Meanwhile, there came to him the third of the four businessmen and said, “How beautiful this morning is! And especially your clothes, they look fine! And your beautiful blue turban only adds to your good looks!”

The businessman looked at his turban to ascertain its colour, then rubbed his eyes and said, “Dear brother! My turban is white!”

“No, it is blue. But the important thing is that it looks good, so don’t worry!” the man said, and left, as the businessman began to yell after him saying, “The turban is white!” as he looked at his turban to ascertain its colour once again.

He sat in his shop for a while and couldn’t take his eyes off his turban. Meanwhile, the fourth person came and said, “Greetings! MashaAllah! From where did you buy this red turban?”

The businessman shouted, “My turban is blue!”

He replied, “No, it is red.”

The businessman said, “No, it is green! Actually, no, it is white! No, it is blue, or black!” He then laughed out loud, then screamed, then began to cry and then started to jump up and down!

Ibn Hazm said, ‘Thereafter, I would see him in the streets of Spain. He had gone mad and children would pelt stones at him.’

If these four people, by using their skills, were able to change not only the nature of the person but also his mind, then how about the tried and tested skills that are supported by revelation which a person can put into practice in order to become closer to Allah?

Put into practice whatever good skills you come across and you will be happy.

If you say to me, “I cannot.” I would say to you, “At least try!” If you say to me, “I don’t know how.” I would say, “Yes, you do!”

The Prophet (May Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) said, “Knowledge is only gained through learning, and clemency is only gained through perseverance.”

A point of view...
The hero is the one who goes beyond his ability to improve his skills, until he becomes able to improve, and perhaps even alter, the skills of others.


To be continued.......

Ramadhan Day 3

I forgot all about blogging yesterday. Didn't get the chance either as I was @ my mum's place. I didn't fast yesterday. I was worried that my supply would decrease if I fasted everyday. I intended to wake up for sahur this morning, and I did. But the thing was, Khadijah woke up @ 4am to have a feed. Man....she feeds for a minimum of 1 hour! She can go for a further 30 minutes sometimes. And so my intention in fasting today wasn't fulfilled. Hopefully tomorrow.

InshaAllah.

~Peace!

Ramadhan Day 1

RAMADHAN MUBARAK dear brothers & sisters!

how was your first day? Alhamdulillah I made it through the first day.

I awoke this morning @4am, initially to the sound of Khadijah sucking on her fingers - she went back to sleep. Even though I'm breastfeeding her, I still wanted to try & fast on the first......and so I did. I prayed tahajjud first and then had my sahur: 2 pieces of margarine & vegemite toast, small bowl of oats, glass of milk & white tea and 3 dates.

Throughout the day I tried not to worry whether she was getting enough breastmilk.....but I stuck to my intention, Allah will provide.

I'm not going to fast EVERYDAY. I'll see how I go in fasting every 2nd or 3rd day. Here's a little to read and ponder on:

"When Ramadhan begins, the gates of Paradise are opened." [Bukhari]

~Peace.

Vent

I NEED to get this out of my system: my son sometimes sleeps in my MIL's (mother in law) bed. After being sound asleep for about 1 hour I hear him crying in her room - usually it's because of a tummy ache or sore legs from running around too much. In this case it was the latter. After attempts in consoling him she finds that he's wet the bed.

It took me awhile to get him into the bathroom. I'd imagine he was uncomfortable covered in urine. The most FRUSTRATING thing was trying to take the wet clothes off him AND hearing her saying: "That's what happens when's out and runs around too much.....wakes up at night crying...". I felt like telling her: "DON'T blame my family for wanting to spend quality time with him on the one day that they get to! I want to make my parents happy too! What are you gonna do...? BAN him from running around too much?!" I swear....I wanted to say it then and there....but it was late and we're all buggered. Plus my husband was due to fly to Brisbane for his work the next day, for 3 days. I didn't want to add unnecessary baggage and stress to everyone.

Usually, when Robbie (my husband) is working, my son & I spend the Sunday at my mum's place. And the Saturday's we (Robbie, Abdurrahman & myself) also go to my mum's for lunch/dinner. But ever since Khadijah's discharge from hospital, Rob's being extra cautious - he wouldn't let her out of the house unless she had a doctor's appointment or whatnot.

So, on Sunday mornings I take my son to my mum's - which is only a 10-minute drive - and he'll stay there for the day so my parents can be happy and take him wherever they want or wherever he wants. I can see their (my parents' & my son's) happiness eminating from their faces when they drop him off later in the evenings. And if my MIL was gonna ruin that for them and/or me then she's gonna hear from me!

I feel alot better now........i'm gonna try and sleep this off.

Wherever you are, I hope you're having a better time than I am right now.

~Peace.

As The Week Goes By....

Why does the week seem so frikkin' long?!

I find my days pretty laid back even with two kids to look after - 4yr old boy & a 4month-old girl. Thank God they're both behaved kids (so far!). Each day is pretty much the same but with surprises installed! At the end of every day I find my lower back kills, my neck sore & my left shoulder aching - but I wasn't doing much!

Perhaps I need a break.......*sigh*

I'm REALLY relieved that my 4-month-old is already sleeping through night and wakes up around 6am. She's been doing that for about a month now. I've just put her down in her cot and I'm DYING to get my sleep! Everytime I drift off I hear her stirring about and swinging her head from side to side.

Must get my sleep. Night!

~Peace.

I'M BACK, BABY!

That's right! Actually I just popped out my second baby on the Friday, 26th March, 2010.



Ta - da!



Thank you all so much =)



I loved EVERY bit of the pregnancy- thank God there were no complications during the pregnancy and birth.



We named her Khadijah. Everytime I say that name and envision her face a giant smile just appears on my face. Like this --> =D



I don't actually know the meaning of "Khadijah" but I know this: In the history of Islam, there are four (4) great women who stood out above the rest and came to be known 'The Four Greatest Women In Islam'. They are: Maryam, Khadijah, Fatimah & Aasiyah. Maryam, mother of Prophet Isa (Jesus); Khadijah, Prophet Muhammad's first wife; Fatimah, Prophet Muhammad's daughter; Aasiyah, the Pharaoh's wife and the woman who found and looked after Prophet Musa (Moses).



I've always loved the name 'Khadijah'. I even promised myself that if Allah gave me a daughter I'd name her Khadijah. And so He did and the name was stuck on her right away.



At just 3 weeks of age, my baby girl was hospitalised for 6 days after having a fever. One Friday afternoon, after being admitted into the ward from the emergency, I held her in my arms. When suddenly I noticed she had stopped breathing. Her lips were pale, blue. My mum was there with me and she saw it too. She called the nurses while I tried everything I could to wake Khadijah up. She wouldn't budge. This lasted for about 30 seconds. At last the nurses came and did the MET (Medical Emergency Team) call. I put her back in the cot as they bagged her and tried to get some oxygen in her lungs. Alhamdulillah, Allah Almighty brang her back to me. Right there, I COULD NOT believe my 3-week-old baby just had an Apnoea.

They were doing so many tests to find out where the virus came from. She even had a LP (Lumbar Puncture) done to find out if it was meningitis. Alhamdulillah that was ruled out! Mum & I were waiting outside......and that's when I broke down. I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. Thank God mum was there with me to comfort me and keep my spirits up. I couldn't think of anything but ask Allah to help us and give us patience & also to restore Khadijah's health. Not long after, I was so relieved to see my husband arrive. In between tears, I explained to him what the doctors were doing. We hugged and comforted each other.

That Friday night, she was transferred from Canterbury Hospital to Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick. In the Emergency, she had another apnoea while I was holding her, again. Only this time I was drifting in and out of sleep & Robbie noticed what was happening. Nurses nearby were called immediately. That one night seemed like years.

Afterwards she was transferred to ICU, where she stayed for about 3 days. Turned out she had Rotavirus and Noravirus - found in her stool. She was given oxygen to facilitate her breathing through a bubbly CPAP & also she couldn't breastfeed with me so she was given my breastmilk through a NasoGastric Tube. Alhamdulillah she got better and only needed standard nasal prongs for the oxygen and she was breastfeeding with me more. Eventually she was moved to the wards and things were starting to look up. She didn't need any extra oxygen to help her breathe. And finally, she was given the all-clear to be discharged.

Since being discharged from hospital, I would ALWAYS check if she was still breathing. After experiencing what I been through, I couldn't help it.

Well, thought I'd catch you up on what's being happening. How's that for a comeback?

I hope to keep blogging and keeping in touch.

~Peace!