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2012-02-09T09:33:00.001+11:00

MY SON'S SLEPT WHILE I WAS STABBED

By Farah Abdul Khaliq

One dark and misty night when my sons fell asleep,

The enemy entered the chambers of my protected home, and found me,

He had lurked around for some time now, to seize this opportunity

He saw that my sons had slept and decided my decree

That now was the moment to stab me

I screamed hoping my sons would hear,

For the cries of their ailing mother they could never bear,

I waited as did my enemy,

He waited because he wished to mock me,

"Where are your sons oh old lady"?

"Let me see their love for you let them prevent me"!

I had full faith in my sons’ power

And moreover their love for their mother

They had carried me from Madina to Sind,

On their shoulders I reached Andalus,

It was they who took me to al-Hind

They boasted my glory over the mothers of others

The Persian mothers envied me,

As they did the Roman mothers

No! By Allah my sons will try,

I am their mother they will hear their mothers cry!

The dagger of my blood dripped to the ground

I waited for them to hear this sound,

Now they will awaken, they heard my pain,

They will not let my blood spill in vain,

Alas every drop of my blood dropped, and my sons never came

Oh people imagine this mother’s pain

The enemy then laughed at me and left,

Now my heart truly wept,

I screamed with agony

But it wasn’t for me,

It was because my children would now be shade-free,

I was the shield that had them protected,

Now I that I left,

My sons’ bravery too will be neglected

I knew the dagger which slew me will be ornamented and sent their way,

And soon there will come a day,

They would be awaken free,

Of any memory, any longing for me,

So you see my sons it wasn’t my murder that scared me,

I was scared because as a mother I could see,

At the fall of her shade you will fall,

Into a state of complacency

I knew at the demise of the mother

The sons fall into vulnerability

My daughters would be oppressed and will call upon their brother,

But I’m afraid you will delay your response,

Because you may forget the memory of your mother.

First 10 Days of Dhul-Hijjah

2011-10-29T10:04:00.003+11:00

Assalamu 'Alaikum waRahmatullahi waBarakatuh

All Praise Belongs to Allah (swt), and May the Salah and Salam of Allah (swt) be upon our beloved Messenger (saw).

Dhul-Hijjah has approached so lets spend it in Ibadaat.

Inshaa Allah, Oct 27 will be the first day of the Hijri month of Dhul Hijjah

Below is a transcription of a lecture on how to benefit from the blessed days of Dhul-Hijjah by Umm 'Abdur-Rahman. May Allah reward the sister who transcribed the lecture.

"By the ten nights." [Al-Fajr 89:2]

The "ten nights" which Allah [subhana wa ta'ala] is swearing by here, are the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah. [1] Allah [subhana wa ta'ala] swears an oath by them, and swearing an oath by something is indicative of its importance and great benefit.

Ibn 'Abbas [radi Allahu 'anhu] narrated that Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] said: "There is no deed more precious in the sight of Allah, or greater in reward, than a good deed done during the ten days of Sacrifice." He was asked: "Not even jihad for the sake of Allah?" He said: "Not even jihad for the sake of Allah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with nothing." [2]

So, my sisters take note of the following:

Have the intention to spread this important information.

It is a great chance to collect uncountable hasanat . It is a great chance to renew your relation with Allah [subhana wa ta'ala]. Prepare now so you can start from the first night/day of the month [i.e. as soon as Dhul-Hijjah is announced]. You don't want to miss a moment of the best days in the sight of Allah [subhana wa ta'ala].

Since the Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] referred to the 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah as: "...no days better than these days in the sight of Allah." [3], the scholars have said that these are better than Ramadan. [4] Therefore, be very vigilant and don't waste these precious moments. Ask Allah to help you to benefit from this period of His special Grace.

Ask yourself these questions [non-rhetorical]:

Did you intend to benefit from these days?

What have you done to prepare for these 10 days?

Did you prepare a program?

What is your plan of action?

Here is a brief guide to help you to prepare for the best days of the year :

Read the Qur'an:

Plan to complete the reading of the Qur'an within this period.

If you read three juz a day, it can be accomplished. It is not difficult. Ask Allah to make it easy for you. We know reciting one letter is equal to ten hasanat . If you read three juz everyday, it translates to thousands of millions of hasanat.
Subhana'Allah! And this calculation is just based on the 1=10 ratio. These are special days of His Grace. Therefore, don't even think about how much Allah can/will increase & add it for you. You cannot fathom it. He is Kareem. He knows that you have ikhlas ; He will not count it as 1=10. He could raise it to 1=700 or even more. And this is what you can earn every day of these special days. Keep in mind that reciting the Qur'an is a good deed and Allah specially loves the good deeds done in these days: "And if He [subhana wa ta'ala] loves the good deeds, He will love the doer of those good deeds." [5] If Allah loves someone, He will not punish them. Remember this concept so that the deeds you do come from your heart [don't be like a machine]. Honour the rights of the Qur'an when reciting it.

Increase in Nawafil Prayers:

Increase your supererogatory prayers.
Ask yourself these questions and make sure that your heart gives you sincere answers:
Do you have an aim?
Do you really want to be closer to Allah?
Do you live with this craving?
Do you really love Allah and seek His closeness?
If, you want this, then know that Allah teaches you the means to gaining His qurb .
Allah says:

"Fall prostrate and draw near to Allah!" [Al-Alaq 96:19]

This is the way! Prostrate in sujud to Him [subhana wa ta'ala] and you will be closer to Him. The Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] said: "The closest that a person is to his Lord is when he is prostrating, so say a great deal of du'a then." [6] He [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] is commanding us to make a lot of du'a while in sujud. Are we obeying his order? Yes? We need to do more. For he [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] said to: "...make lots of du'a." Remember, the Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] loved us and he knew that we have a lot of needs from Allah. This is why he taught us the way to get those needs fulfilled. Therefore, if you have needs, then you cannot leave sujud. Any sajdah without khushu' & without du'a is a big khasara . Let us not be losers from now on bi-idhnillah.

When the Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] instructed us to do a lot of sujud, it means to perform a lot of salah . "With each sajdah for Allah, He will raise you a level with it. And cancel a sin with it." So, the more you increase in your sujud, the closer you are to being a winner.

Examples for increasing nawafil salah :

a] Salat Dhuha: Also known as al-Awwabeen, may be offered as 2, 4, 6 or 8 rak'at, prayed after the sun has risen and before the time for Dhuhr approaches. [7] "Al-Awwab' means one who is obedient, or one who turns to obedience. Bi-idhnillah, we want to show Allah that we are of those who are obedient.
b] 4 rak'at before and 4 after Dhuhr: "Whoever regularly performs four rak'at before Dhuhr and four after it, Allah will forbid him to the Fire." [8]
c] 4 rak'at before 'Asr - The Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] said: "May Allah have mercy on those who pray four rak'at before 'Asr prayer." [9] Bi-idhnillah, you stand to gain the mercy of Allah because of the du'a of Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam]. Do you want the mercy of Allah to reach you? Don't leave these 4 rak'at.
d] Tahhiyatul masjid: Greet the masjid with two rak'at: "If any one of you enters a mosque, he should pray two rak'at before sitting." [10]
e] Salat at-Tawbah: It could be any bad deed, any sin, you hear something bad , you see something bad, you feel your heart constricted because of something you have done and you didn't mean it, etc, you can erase it immediately with your prayer of repentance. Make a good wudhu' and offer two sincere rak'at of repentance. Ask Allah to forgive you. If it's from your heart, then know that Allah will cancel your sin.
g] Qiyam al-Layl: With this prayer, we hope that Allah will illuminate our graves; will bestow nur on our faces; will cancel our bad deeds, bi-idhnillah. Pray at least 2 rak'at. If you are able to follow the Sunnah, then pray all 11 rak'at .
Remember that in these special days and nights, Allah is sending His special mercy. Do you think that this special mercy will reach everybody? Do you think that it will reach the one who is in front of the TV watching a movie? Or listening to music? Or do you think it will reach the one who is making sujud, ruku', tilawah, making istighfar, etc.?

We have to show Allah that we want this special mercy. We need to make ourselves eligible for it.

Allah [subhana wa ta'ala] swears by the night . Therefore, take care of the nights. Don't be among the losers. Write this in bold and make it your motivational factor for the special days: "We won't be among the losers!" Remember: "Our Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, comes down to the lowest heaven every night when the last third of the night is left, and He says: 'Who will call upon Me, that I may answer him? Who will ask of Me, that I may give him? Who will ask Me for forgiveness, that I may forgive him?'." [11] And, now that it is winter, we get really long nights. So it's a good chance to maximise our hasanat. Don't forget while you are praying qiyam that Allah [subhana wa ta'ala] Loves this deed. Therefore, He [subhana wa ta'ala] loves the doer of this deed also.

If we were lazy before, we will be active and good from now on bi-idhnillah. We will not be among the losers. If these days and nights are a king who is distributing gifts of gold while announcing: "Come take these gold nuggets", wAllahi, you will find people standing in long queues and hordes to collect them. Subhana'Allah, Allah is spreading mercy during these days. He [subhana wa ta'ala] is accepting supplications. He [subhana wa ta'ala] is offering unimaginably wonderful blessings that we don't even know of. So will we not work to get in those lines to gather Allah's gifts?

Makes lots of Dhikr:

Do a lot of dhikr, especially in these days.

"There are no days greater in the sight of Allah..." [12]

So what did the Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] tell us to do in these days? That, we need to make the dhikr of tahlil, tahmid & takbir. [13] As soon as the announcement of Dhul-Hijjah is made, start your dhikr:

"Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, la ilaha ill-Allah, Wallahu Akbar. Walilahilhamd."

Many people mistakenly believe that you chant this only on the day of 'id. But, it is meant to be recited from the beginning of Dhul-Hijjah. Bukhari related that Ibn 'Umar & Abu Hurayrah said that they used to go out in the streets making loud takbir. They did not think that this was riya . They were busy with declaring the [signs of Allah. This practice has now become a forgotten Sunnah. Why do people feel shy to follow this Sunnah? These are the days of takbir, tahlil & tahmid with raised voices.

Therefore revive this Sunnah by doing audible tasbih during all of the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.

For women, when you are in your homes, raise your voices. You will remind your children, husbands, brothers, etc. Make it like a habit so that you will find yourself doing dhikr automatically. While walking, reclining, working, eating, just keep doing dhikr.
Send a lot of blessings and salam upon the Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] consistently. Just one hadith should be enough for the believer who loves Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam]. It is enough honour that when you send your salam to Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam], Allah returns his soul to him in order to answer you: "There is no one who sends salam upon me but Allah will restore to me my soul so that I may return his salam." [14] Therefore, send your darud & salam from your heart. Feel that special honour in doing that deed.

Istighfar:

All kinds of dhikr will make your relation with Allah stronger and stronger. How many Muslim's are there today? 1.5 billion? In one minute it is possible to gain 1.5 billion hasanat. Allahu Akbar! How generous is Allah [subhana wa ta'ala]. No one will give you like Allah [subhana wa ta'ala] gives. So how can you gain 1.5 million hasanat? By making istighfar for all Muslim's. The Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] is reported to have said that when a person seeks forgiveness for all believers, Allah will write for him a hasanat for every one of those believers. [15] Just say 'Astaghfirullah' for yourself and for all the believers, from your heart. Allah [subhana wa ta'ala] is forgiving & generous.

On the Day of Judgement, when you will see your book, you will find the record of your sins in it & you will feel regret. But, Subhana'Allah, you will find between these sins, Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah. Bi-idhnillah, Allah, the Karim will cancel those sins that have istighfar beside them, around them, after them.

Luqman taught his sons to make istighfar. He said: "Oh my sons, istighfirullaha qaidun, istighfirullah qaimum, istghfirullaha raqibun [make istighfar when you are standing, sitting, reclining]. For the mercy of Allah is descending."

Indeed, rahamat are falling down like rain. So try to be under those rahamat. Look at it this way - there are seasons of mercy during which Allah sends down abundant mercy [like during Ramadan, like the days of Dhul-Hijjah, etc.]. Allah is always generous because that is one of His [subhana wa ta'ala] Attributes, but He says that He gives more during certain periods. Allah is Rahim always, but He says He has more mercy during a certain period. These days are like those special-rate promotions or sale season. Therefore, don't leave or ignore this sale. Go and ask for more. Keep saying 'astaghfirullah', 'astaghfirullah', astaghfirullah', keep insisting on it till Allah forgives you. Start from the beginning of Dhul-Hijjah.

"...nor will He punish them while they seek (Allah's) forgiveness." [Al-Anfal 8:33]

We are informed that there is no punishment from Allah [subhana wa ta'ala a] on the yastaghfirun . Allah relieves all problems with istighfar. Those who are persistent in istighfar in their lives, disasters and calamities will be repelled from them. Mercy is like a cloud on the head of the mustaghfirin . How do we know this?

"Why seek you not the forgiveness of Allah, that you may receive mercy?" [An-Naml 27:46]
Allah is telling us to make istighfar to gain His mercy. Let your istighfar ascend to Him and His mercy will descend upon you.

Fasting:

Fast as much as you can during these blessed days. If you can fast all of these days, then do so. Even in any regular day, Allah has promised a great reward for the one who fasts: "Whoever fasts one day for the sake of Allah, Allah will keep his face seventy years distance away from the Fire because of it." [16] So what about these special days for which it is said: "There is no deed more precious in the sight of Allah, or greater in reward, than a good deed done during the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah." Allah loves the good deeds in these days. Allah loves siyam. Put these two beloved things together. You are the doer of the things Allah loves. He [subhana wa ta'ala] will Love you, bi-idhnillah.

Any 'ibadah, be it salah, dhikr, Qur'an, that is done during some periods of time and with them, are also periods of non action. Can you do any of them from Fajr till Maghrib continuously? Which 'ibadah will you be able to do non-stop? Siyam! From Fajr till Maghrib during the best days, you will be able to be in a continuous state of worship. So please my sisters [& brothers], grab this chance eagerly. Also don't forget you have if Allah wills, at least one du'a guaranteed with each siyam - at the time of breaking the fast. So that is nine opportune moments during this period.

Regarding fasting on the day of 'Arafah, the Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] said: "Fasting the day of 'Arafah, I hope, will expiate the sins of the year before it and the year to come..." [17] So how does this happen? Does this mean that we can fast on that day and for the rest of the year we can do whatever we want of bad deeds? No! It implies that Allah [subhana wa ta'ala] will help us to abstain from sins. And, if you commit a sin by mistake, He [subhana wa ta'ala] will cancel it due to His promise.

Charity:

Spending for the sake of Allah!
Only Allah knows how many trials & calamities have been pushed away from us, our family and loved ones as a result of our sadaqah. Allah knows how many times relief and ease has come to us due to the sadaqah we gave. Therefore, give in the way of Allah, as much as you can. Don't leave any raised hands return empty. Show Allah that you love Him by spending from that which you love. Show Allah [subhana wa ta'ala] that all these things mean nothing besides gaining His ridha .
Don't look and remind yourself of what you have already spent in the past. If Allah wills, He [subhana wa ta'ala] has accepted and written it for you. Now, think of how you can outdo that sadaqah during these days. Spend from what you love and Allah will love you.

Preserve the Ties of Kinship:

Preserve the ties of kinship for: "No one who severs the ties of kinship will enter Paradise." [18] If it is difficult for you to call or meet every relative, then send them a message. But write with your heart and with the right intention. There is a man who connects with all of his near and far relatives. It is almost like a mission for him for the sake of Allah. He [subhana wa ta'ala] loves this 'ibadah. Even those who are far away, he calls and connects them to the rest of the family and brings them all together. And subhana'Allaah, Allah has given him a lot of wealth and with such ease and has made his life easy, and as a result of his deeds. The Prophet [sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam] promised this reward for the one who connects and maintains kinship: "Whoever would like his rizq to be increased and his life to be extended, should uphold the ties of kinship." [19]
These were just a few of the wonderful things we can do during the forthcoming best days of Dhul-Hijjah. Therefore, if we want Allah's help with these deeds and our schedule for them, we need to do a lot of tawbah. The Salaf as-Salih used to say that they would feel prevented from qiyam al-layl due to their sins. They knew that when they want to do 'ibadah and they are unable to do it, it is due sins. So, what do we need to do? A lot of istighfar with tawbah, real Tawbah! Ask Allah for help.

Make the du'a:
"O Allah, help me to remember You, to give You thanks, and to perform Your worship in the best manner." [20]

Footnotes:
[1] Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn az-Zubayr, Mujahid and others of the earlier and later generations said that this refers to the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. Ibn Kathir said: "This is the correct opinion." [Tafsir ibn Kathir, 8/413]
[2] Al-Bukhari, 2/457
[3] Ahmad, 7/224 - Ahmad Shakir stated that it is sahih
[4] The verses [Al-Fajr 89:1-2] and various hadith indicate that these 10 days are better than all the other days of the year, with no exceptions, not even the last ten days of Ramadan. But the last ten nights of Ramadan are better, because they include Layl al-Qadr ["the Night of Power"], which is better than a thousand months. Thus the various reports may be reconciled. [See: Tafsir ibn Kathir, 5/412]
[5] Shaykh Muhammad bin Salih al-'Uthaymin
[6] Muslim, 482
[7] Muslim, 1238
[8] At-Tirmidhi, 428 - classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih al-Nasa'i
[9] At-Tirmidhi, 395 - classed as hasan by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami 3493
[10] Al-Bukhari & Muslim
[11] Al-Bukhari, 1094 and Muslim, 758
[12] Ahmad, 7/224
[13] Tahlil ["La ilaha ill-Allah"], Tahmid ["Alhamdulillah"] and Takbir ["Allahu Akbar"]. See: Ahmad, 7/224
[14] Abu Dawud, 2041 - classed as hasan by al-Albani
[15] Classed as hasan by al Albani
[16] Muslim, 2/808
[17] Muslim, 1976
[18] Sahih Muslim
[19] Al-Bukhari, 5986 and Muslim, 2557
[20] Sahih Abu Dawud, 1/284

Allah subhanahu wa'tala says (interpretation of the meaning):

"Verily, those who say: 'Our Lord is Allah (Alone),' and then they stand firm, on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): 'Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised!'" [41:30]

Jazakumullahu Khayran!

Wassalaamu 'Alaikum waRahmathullahi waBarakaathuhu.

A Hadith A Day: Ramadhan Series

2011-08-24T10:42:00.002+10:00

The Aim and Goal of the Prophet’s i’tikaaf was to seek Laylat ul-Qadr

Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (radi Allahu anhu) said: The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) observed i’tikaaf during the first ten days of Ramadan, then he observed i’tikaaf during the middle ten days in a small tent at the door of which was a reed mat. He took the mat in his hand and lifted it. Then he put his head out and spoke to the people, and they came close to him. He (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “I observed i’tikaaf during the first ten days seeking this night (Laylat ul-Qadr), then I observed i’tikaaf during the middle ten days. Then someone came and said to me that it is in the last ten days, so whoever among you wishes to observe i’tikaaf let him do so.” So the people observed i’tikaaf with him.

[Sahih Muslim]

Commentary:

We learn a number of things from this Hadith and they are as follows:

1. That the basic goal of the i’tikaaf of the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was to seek Laylat ul-Qadr and to prepare to spend that night in worship. That is because of the great virtue of that night of which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “The Night of Al?Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him in a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months).” [Al-Qadr 97:3]

2. The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) strove to seek that night before he was told when it is. So he started with the first ten days, then he observed it during the middle ten, then he continued to observe i’tikaaf during the last ten days, when he was told that it is in the last ten days. This is the utmost effort to seek Laylat ul-Qadr.

3. The Sahaaba (radi Allahu anhum) followed the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam), because they started i’tikaaf and continued with him until the end of the month, because they were so keen to follow his example.

4. The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was compassionate towards his companions and showed mercy to them, because he knew that i’tikaaf was difficult for them. So he gave them the choice between staying with him or of leaving, and said: “…so whoever among you wishes to observe i’tikaaf let him do so.”

There are other aims of i’tikaaf as well, including the following:

1. Being alone with Allah and cutting oneself off from people if possible, so that one may focus completely on Allah.

2. Renewing oneself spiritual by focusing totally on Allah.

3. Cutting oneself off completely in order to worship Allah with prayer, du’aa’ (supplication), dhikr (remembrance) and reading Qur’aan.

4. Protecting one’s fast from everything that may affect it of whims and desires.

5. Reducing permissible worldly pleasures and refraining from many of them even though one is able to enjoy them.

And Allah knows best!

2011-08-05T13:48:00.007+10:00

Interested in any of these? Enquire here or on ebay.com.au; my ebay ID: 1islam. Thanx!

Wa-Thak'ker (And Remind)

2011-05-31T09:06:00.002+10:00

Weekly reminders that I receive in my email. Just thought it'll be a useful reminder for you too.

Salaams.

In Islam everything is given its proper time and place. There is time for laughter, time for anger, time for happiness and time for crying.

The strangest expression for us at the moment is crying. But crying is an expression that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) did many times, so it could never be strange. And we have to cry like the Prophet cried.
The great man was sinless. He was forgiven for all his sins; past, present and future and still would cry so much. Now let's look at ourselves, who don't have the safety the Prophet had, who sin so much like mountains, who are so short with our obedience to Allah - when was the last time you cried?
When was the last time you cried from the fear of Allah? Unfortunately we cry from a sad movie, lost a portion of this dunya or something trivial.

Crying (for the right reasons) is encouraged in Islam. We find it in the Qur'an in Surat Maryam. After mentioning Maryam's story and so many prophets - Easa, Zackariah, Ibrahim etc. He wraps it all up with a common trait: "Whenever the Signs of (Allah) Most Gracious were rehearsed to them, they would fall down in prostration adoration and crying in tears."

Things that made Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cry and should make us cry:

Recitation of the Qur'an

Remembering the two great things - hellfire and paradise

Making du'a (supplication)

Fear and love for the 'Ummah

Sake of the da'wah

Day of Judgement

Being thankful to Allah.

All the above stem from being conscious of and fearing Allah.

We should all make that a goals of ours and ask Allah to make us emotionally attached to him where we can cry in private from his remembrance. It's about sincerity and effort and, Allah willing, He will gift us that precious moment.

~Peace.

Seeking Your Provisions (Rizq)

2011-05-30T11:21:00.001+10:00

At any Muslim family gathering, a favourite topic (amongst the men at least) is how best to go about accumulating more wealth. When in attendance at such gatherings, I have often been advised, which stocks and shares to invest in or which riba (interest) based mortgages to enter into. Ironically, those advising me to commit flagrant transgressions against Allah (swt) in an attempt to become more wealthy, were Muslims!

Islam teaches us that a man should go and earn his living, and this is a noble act in the eyes of Allah (swt). Most of us have several responsibilities, be they to our parents, our children, or both. There are always bills to pay.

Rizq

We know through the forewarning of Allah (swt) that we must use only allowed (halal) means in the pursuit of wealth. Why then do some Muslims persist in pursuing their wealth through prohibited (haram) means? Much can be attributed to man’s weakness, and desire for immediate gratification and comfort, which lead to his short sightedness. In turn much of this weakness is attributable to a weakness in understanding certain concepts from Islam, and the widely misunderstood concept of rizq.

How many times have we come across a Muslim man who does not go to pray jumuah salat on Friday although it is an obligation on him. His argument is “if I go to jumuah, , I may not be seen as a hard worker so I may loose my job. If I loose my job, I will not be able to provide for my family.” So his misunderstanding about the source of his provisions has lead him to disobey Allah (swt) by missing jumuah prayers.

Rizq is from Allah
Allah (swt) said:

“Say: ‘Truly my Lord enlarges the provision (rizq) for whom He will of His slaves, and (also) restricts (it) for him, and whatever you spend of anything (in Allah’s cause), He will replace it. And He is the best of providers’” [TMQ Saba: 39].

It is part of the aqeedah (belief) of a Muslim that his sustenance and wealth (his rizq) is given to him by Allah (swt). One of Allah’s names is Ar-Razzaq or The Provider. Rizq includes everything provided by way of provision or nurture, including both monetary wealth, food and any sustenance. The references to rain, and fruit in some ayahs of Qur’an that talk about rizq, demonstrate that the concept of rizq is more general than gold, silver or money alone, but encompasses all provision.

Rizq is fixed

Another crucial point to understanding rizq is that it is fixed in its amount. That is the rizq for each and every human has already been decreed by Allah (swt).

Ibn Mas’ud narrated that Allah’s Messenger (saw) said to his wife Umm Habiba: “Verily you have asked Allah about the duration of life already set, and the steps you would take, and the sustenance the share of which is fixed. Nothing will take place before its due time, and nothing will be deferred beyond when it is due.” [Muslim].

These two concepts from the Islamic aqeedah (belief) mark a believer as being distinctive from the kuffar. The belief that his wealth is provided by Allah is in conflict with the widely held belief that it is the individual through his own efforts or job who provides rizq for himself. Secondly this allocation is fixed and unchangeable despite our efforts to increase it. This is also a distinct view. Together they provide a variety of unique effects.

Muslims believe in rizq because it is contained in the miraculous text of the Qur’an and explained in the sunnah of Allah’s Messenger, as well as it being something we can appreciate by studying the reality around us. Some confusion may arise when attempting to understand its application in everyday life, after all a hot shot financial analyst surrounded by all the trappings of 21st century life has so much wealth because of his work and his pay cheque, as compared to a lowly farmer in the developing world and his humble surroundings. Actually it is perfectly demonstrable that the difference in rizq is beyond the control of man and is the work of divine providence.

What we control

It is easily understood that there is a sphere in which men have been granted control by Allah (swt) i.e. our words and our chosen actions. It is also self evident that there is a sphere which is beyond the influence of man, and which Allah as the Master of creation controls all - the weather, if a flipped coin lands heads or tail - so called ‘luck’, and generally everything man has no control over.

People often confuse the circumstances by which we attain our rizq with the actual of cause of rizq. If these circumstances such as our profession were the true causes of rizq then they should not fail in producing a particular amount of rizq, but it can clearly be seen that they do not guarantee the rizq. These circumstances may exist but the individual for some reason doesn’t gain the expected income. On the other hand someone may be uneducated, unemployed and poor but becomes a millionaire overnight for some reason such as winning a competition, inheriting wealth, etc. If circumstances such as status, education and profession were determining factors of rizq then this would not be the case.

An employee might work for a whole month but he is prevented from his expected income due to settling a previous debt, or spending money on those whose maintenance he is obliged to provide, or by paying taxes. In such a situation, the circumstance which brings the provision (i.e. the employee's work), the rizq was not obtained since he did not get his wages. On the other hand, there might be someone in his house in tower hamlets, to whom the postman brings the news that so and so relative of his in America has died, leaving him as the sole inheritor, and that all of his wealth will pass into his hands. This rizq came to him even though he didn’t imagine it ever becoming so wealthy.

Wealth can come to us in many ways and leave us in many ways. One may inherit wealth, or find it - like hidden treasure in a pirate story or a ten pound note on the street. One may be made redundant, or be given a raise, robbed of all one’s wealth by a highwayman or conned by a grifter. These are only a few scenarios from a long list of possibilities that happen to people every day, some unable to gain the income they worked for and others obtaining wealth without working for it. Therefore the circumstances in which rizq is obtained are as a rule, conditions of rizq and not its causes.

Simply put, it is not within our control to choose how wealthy we are, otherwise we could all will ourselves to be millionaires and own properties in Mayfair. This does not mean we go to the extreme of leaving our work and obligation to ourselves and our family as this would be disobeying the laws of Allah (swt). Rather we do the best actions we can (as providence usually favours the prepared), but with the firm belief that provision is from Allah (swt) alone. The Prophet (saw) advised a man, “Tie the camel and trust in Allah”.

This teaches us that we need to look after the means within our control but must continuously trust in Allah (swt). Islam doesn’t promote fatalism or laziness, it was narrated that Umar bin Al-Khattab (ra) passed by some people, who were known as readers of the Qur’an. He saw them sitting and bending their heads, and asked who they were. He was told: "They are those who depend (al-mutawwakiloon) upon Allah (SWT)." Umar replied: "No, they are the eaters who eat the people’s properties. Do you want me to describe those who really depend upon Allah (al-mutawwakiloon) are?" He was answered in the affirmative, and then he said: "He is the person who throws the seeds in the earth and depends on His Lord The Almighty, The Exalted (‘azza wa jalla)."

In difficult times

A Muslim must always rely upon Allah (swt), this belief gives the believer the strength to overcome difficulties. Someone with the correct understanding that his provision is from Allah (swt), will trust fully in Allah (swt) to provide for him especially when times are difficult.

Allah (swt) said: “Allah increases the provision (rizq) for whom he wills, and straitens (it from whom He wills), and they rejoice in the life of the world, whereas the life of this world as compared with the hereafter is but a brief passing enjoyment” [TMQ Ar-Ra’d: 26].

So if times are difficult the true believer sees it as a test from Allah (swt), and it is He (swt) who will provide what is due. We take heed in what the ayah states that the life of this world “…is but a brief passing enjoyment.”

Confronted with difficult times, another may be tempted in desperation to resort to prohibited (haram) means such as stealing, fraud or taking out an interest bearing loan. There is no such temptation for the steadfast believer who understands that his rizq is from Allah (swt) and he just needs to go out and try his best to earn it in a permitted (halal) way.

The prohibited choices are many, stocks and shares in PLC companies, prohibited mortgages to become landlords or other usurious means, many of which Muslims have delved into, to their great loss.

One failure is the failure to understand their rizq comes from Allah (swt) alone. In believing they have increased their allotment through their choice they are actually deceived, because the only matter they controlled was their choice to do something forbidden and hateful in the eyes of Allah (swt) or not. We should realise that the rizq allotted by Allah (swt) for us will come to us whether we undertake haram or halal actions to obtain it, it is our loss if we follow the path towards jahannam (hell fire) chasing after wealth which has been predestined for us. The great scholar Nu’man ibn Thabit, otherwise known as Abu Hanifah explained this point when he asked a thief why he is stealing from his own rizq i.e. stealing to obtain something which he would come to him anyway.

Value of wealth

One final quality of the believer who has understood rizq in its correct context, is the small value he places upon his wealth, or rather the value he places upon it is of a different type. He knows it is a burden, he knows his provision is fixed and that Allah (swt) will provide for him so there is no need to fear in spending his wealth freely in a righteous manner, as these deeds will benefit him in the hereafter whereas the material wealth he accumulates and the items he has bought with them and covets will not.

A pure understanding, well thought out and free from doubt, of key notions like rizq, the value of deeds and the insignificance of this dunya (wordly life), causes a believer to be freed from the struggle to accumulate wealth to purchase the next best thing and places his focus upon actions instead. It will also produce an individual who sticks to the shariah rules when obtaining wealth and someone who is characterised with generosity, actively seeking useful ways to spend or invest his wealth which will benefit him through earning Allah’s pleasure. Compare this to the struggle of most people to save for a faster car, a bigger house, or the finest fashions.

“Verily Allah provides sustenance to whom He wills.” [TMQ al-Imran: 37]

The Duties of Brotherhood In Islam

2011-05-27T10:16:00.002+10:00

"Surely the believers are but brothers. So set things right between your two brothers, and be aware of God- perhaps you will obtain mercy". (Quran 49:10)

Man is lonely today, as he never was. You live in a crowded world; you are tied into an intricate network of social links and bonds; like a tiny atom, you are whirling around in the company of a multitude of others like you, acting and interacting with each other; yet, you are 'lonely'. 'Loneliness' is one of those 'gifts' which modern secularist and technological civilisation has bestowed upon you. For your bonds, however numerous have been drained of warmth; your links, however sophisticated, have turned mechanical; the entire network of your social relationships has become an abstract mosaic, devoid of life and intensity. And with what consequences - alienation, personality disturbance, emotional distress, a high crime rate and empty lives.

Unless the human bonds are again infused with affection and the warmth of love and brotherhood, man will never be able to taste the rich joys and pleasures of living together. It is this blessing of love and brotherhood which is one of the greatest sources of sustenance and nourishment for man- spiritually, morally, intellectually, socially and even physically. The 'lonely' man- a product of our age- is wandering in search of bonds which will not snap like dry twigs and leave him in the lurch.

One of the greatest blessings of Islam is it's admirable success in creating strong, warm, rich and durable bonds of love and brotherhood between man and man. It has done so on the basis of faith in one God, tawhid; but it has also inspired man to follow a pattern of behaviour which will sustain and strengthen mutual brotherhood.

Therefore, let us familarise ourselves with the contract of brotherhood. A contract that is a bond between two persons, like the contract of marriage between two spouses. For just as marriage gives rise to certain duties which must be fulfilled when it is entered into, so does the contract of brotherhood confer upon your brother a certain right touching your property, your person, your tongue and your heart-by way of forgiveness, prayer, sincerity, loyalty, relief and considerateness. In all, according to Al-Ghazalli's treatise on, 'The duties of brotherhood', comprises of eight duties, these being the material assistance duty, personal aid duty, duties of holding one's tongue, speaking out, forgiveness, prayer, loyalty and sincerity and informality.

Over the coming weeks inshAllah our weekly bulletin will cover the eight duties of brotherhood beginning with the first duty of material assistence.

The Prophet SAW said, "None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself"' (An-Nawawi's Fourty Hadith)

One of the most important teachings of Islam is brotherhood for the sake of Allah. It is with this intention of infusing love and brotherhood that we present the following treatise, "The Duties of Brotherhood in Islam," written by Imam al-Ghazzali (R). The treatise comes from the second quarter of Ihya'. Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Shafi'i al-Ghazzali (R) was born in 1058 at Tus in Persia, and lived till 1111 C.E. This was the time when the Abbasid Caliphate was falling. The Seljuk Turks in the North and the Fatimids in the South began to play leading roles. There was also a great deal of antagonism between all these factions. It was during this critical period that he wrote Ihya' ulum al-din.

It was the custom of early Muslims following the example of the Prophet (S: May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions (RA: may Allah be pleased with them), to commit themselves to a "contract" of brotherhood with fellow Muslims. Commenting on this "contract" al-Ghazzali wrote, "Know that the contract of brotherhood is a bond between two persons, like the contract of marriage between two spouses. For just as marriage gives rise to certain duties which must be fulfilled when it is entered into, so does the contract of brotherhood confer upon your brother a certain right touching your property, your person, your tongue and your heart - by way of forgiveness, prayer, sincerity, loyalty, relief and considerateness."

According to Imam al-Ghazzali (R) there are eight duties of brotherhood in Islam.

The first duty is the material one. Muhammad (S) said, "Two brothers are likened to a pair of hands, one of which washes the other." That means the two are like one person. In thus sharing one's property with one's brother there are three degrees -- (i) the lowest degree is where he places his brother on the same footing as his servant, attending to his needs from his surplus. To oblige him to ask is the ultimate shortcoming in brotherly duty; (ii) at the second degree he places his brother on the same footing as himself. He shares his property equally with him; (iii) at the third degree he prefers his brother to himself and sets his need before his own. This is the degree of the siddiq. Self-sacrifice is one of the fruits of this degree. If any of these stages are not present, then the contract of brotherhood is not yet concluded.

A man came to Ibrahim ibn-Adham (R) as the latter was leaving for Jerusalem, and said, "I wish to be your traveling companion." [1]

Ibrahim: "On condition that I have more right to your goods than you yourself."

-- "No."

-- "I admire your sincerity," replied Ibrahim ibn-Adham (R).

He would only take those as his companions who were in harmony with him.

Ali (RA) said, "Twenty dirhams I give to my brother in God are dearer to me than one hundred I give in alms to the needy." Muhammad (S) said, "Each time two people are in company together, the dearer to God is he who is kinder to his companion." Ali ibn-Husayn ibn-Ali (R) said to a man, "Does one of you put your hand in the pocket or purse of his brother and take what he needs without his permission?"

--"No."

-- "Then you are not brothers,” was his reply.

Abu Sulayman al-Darani (R) used to say, "If I owned the whole world to put in the mouth of a brother of mine I would still deem it too little for him." [2]

The second duty is to render personal aid in the satisfaction of needs, attending to them without waiting to be asked, and giving them priority over personal needs. Jafar ibn-Muhammad (R) said, "I make haste to satisfy the needs of my enemies, lest I reject them and they do without me." If this be the attitude towards enemies, how then towards friends? A Muslim in those days would see to the maintenance of his brother's wife and children for forty years after his brother's death, attending to their needs, visiting them daily, and providing for them from his wealth so that they missed only the father's person; in deed, they were treated as not even by their father in his life time.

Maymun ibn-Mihran (R) said, "If you reap no benefit from a man's friendship, his enmity will not hurt you." Al-Hassan (RA) used to say, "Our brothers are dearer to us than our families and our children, because our families remind us of this world while our brothers remind us of the Other." Ata (R) said, "Seek out your brothers after three occasions. If they are sick, visit them. If they are busy, help them. If they have forgotten, remind them."

Ibn-Abbas (RA) was asked, "Who is dearest of men to you?"

--"One who sits in my company,” he replied.

He also said, "If someone sits in my company three times without having need of me, I learn where he is placed in the world."

The third duty concerns the tongue, which should be silent, and at other times speak out. As for silence, the tongue should not mention a brother's faults in his absence or presence. Rather one should feign ignorance. He should not contradict his brother when he talks, nor dispute nor argue with him. He should keep silent about the secrets his brother confides in him, and on no account divulge them to a third party - not even to the closest friends of his brother; keep silent from criticism of his dear ones, his family and his children; also from relating other people's criticism of him. However, he should not hide any praise he may hear. Concealment here would mean envy. Muhammad (S) said, "Seek refuge with God from the bad neighbor who sees some good and conceals it, sees some bad and reveals it."

As for mentioning his misdeeds and faults, this is slander and unlawful. Two things should turn one away from it. First, examine his own condition and if he finds there one blameworthy thing then he should be tolerant of what he sees in his brother. Second, he cannot find a blame-less person.

Ibn -al Mubarak (R) said, "The believer tries to find excuses for others, while the hypocrite looks out for mistakes." Muhammad (S) said, "God has forbidden a believer to temper with the blood, property or honor of another, or to hold a bad suspicion of him." Concealing faults, feigning ignorance of them and overlooking them --this is the mark of religious people. Muhammad (S) said, "If a man veils his brother's shame, God will veil him in this world and the Other."

Silence includes abstaining from dispute and contradiction whatever his brother talks about. Ibn-Abbas (RA) said, "Do not dispute with the fool, for he will hurt you; nor with the mild man, for he will dislike you." Al-Hassan (RA) said, "Do not buy the enmity of one man for the love of a thousand men."

The fourth duty is to use the tongue to speak out. He should use the tongue to express affection for his brother. Muhammad (S) said, "If one of you loves his brother, let him know it." Umar (RA) said, "There are three ways of showing sincere brotherly love: give him the greeting "Salam" when you first meet him, make him comfortable, and call him by his favorite names." Still fundamental is that he communicates to him the praise of anyone who praises him, showing his pleasure, for to hide such praise would be pure envy. Ali (RA) said, "He who does not praise his brother for his good intention will not praise him for his good deed."

Muhammad (S) said, "The Muslim is brother to the Muslim. He does not wrong him, does not forsake him, and does not betray him." He also said, "Abu Hirr! Be a good neighbor to your neighbor and you will be a Muslim. Be a good fellow to your companion and you will be a Mu'min." Note the distinction between the excellence of Iman and the excellence of Islam.

The duty to use the tongue also embraces instruction and advice. If one teaches and instructs his brother and yet he does not act in accordance with the knowledge conveyed, then one is obliged to advise. Imam al-Shafi'i (R) said, "To admonish your brother in private is to advise him and improve him. But to admonish him publicly is to disgrace and shame him." Dhul-Nun (R) said, "In fellowship with God, only concord. In fellowship with men, only sincere advice. With the self, only opposition. With Shaytan, only enmity."

The fifth duty is forgiveness of mistakes and failings. The failings of a friend must be one of two kinds -- either in his religion or in his duty (to you). In the case of religion, when he commits an offence and persists in it, he must be advised kindly. If he remains obstinate at this point, there seems to be a divergence in opinion among the Sahabas and Tabi'ins (R). Abu Dharr (RA) said, "If your brother turns his back on his duty, hate him as you used to love him." This course he considered to be dictated by love for Allah's sake and hate for Allah's sake.

Ibrahim al-Nakha'i (R) said, "Do not break off from your brother and do not shun him on account of a sin he has committed, for he may commit it today but give it up tomorrow."

Fellowship is a bond of flesh, like the bond of blood-kinship, and it is not permissible to shun a kinsman on account of his offence. Brotherhood in religion is firmer than brotherhood in kinship. Al-Hassan (RA) used to say, "How many a brother was not born of your mother." Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (R) said, "The affection of a day is a link. That of a month is kinship. That of a year is a blood-tie. If anyone cuts it, God will cut him off." [2]

As for his error in brotherly duty (to you), by which he causes alienation, he should be forgiven and shown patience. It has been said that one should seek seventy excuses for one's brother's misdeed, and if his heart will accept none of them he should turn the blame upon himself, saying to his heart, "How hard you are! Your brother pleads seventy excuses, yet you will not accept him. You are the one at fault, not your brother."

Whenever his brother apologizes to him, he should accept his excuse -- be he lying or telling the truth. Muhammad (S) said, "If a man's brother apologizes to him and he does not accept his excuse, he incurs a sin like that of a tax-collector." He also said, "The believer is quick to anger, quick to be content." Umar (RA) said, "Let not your love become attachment, nor your hate become destruction." That is, do not perish yourself by wishing your fellow's destruction.

The sixth duty is to pray for one's brother, during his life and after his death. He should pray for him as he prays for himself, making no distinction at all between them. For in reality his prayer for his brother is a prayer for himself. Muhammad (S) said, "Whenever a man prays for his brother in secret, the angel says, And to you the same." According to a tradition: a man's prayer for his brother, in secret, is not rejected. Abu Darda (RA) used to say, "I pray for seventy of my brothers during my prostration, naming them by their names."

It is related that Muhammad (S) said, "The dead man in his grave is like one ship-wrecked, completely dependent for everything. He waits for a prayer from a son or brother or relative." Truly, lights like mountains enter the tombs of the dead from the prayer of the living.

The seventh duty is loyalty and sincerity. The meaning of loyalty is steadfastness in love and maintaining it to the death with one's brother, and after his death with his children and his fellows. The prophet (S) said, "Among the seven whom Allah keeps in His shadow are also two men who love each other for His sake, constant whether together or apart." Someone said, "A little loyalty after death is better than much during a lifetime." Allah said, "Tell My servants to say what is kindlier. Surely, Shaytan sets them in variance." (Al-Qur'an 17:53). Lasting affection is that which is for Allah's sake.

Part of loyalty is not to let the relationship with the brother degenerate into humiliation. One of the early believers counseled his son, "My son, take no man for your fellow unless he draws near you when you need him and is not jealous of you when you can manage without him. When his station is exalted he should not lord it over you." Loyalty includes not listening to gossip about one's friend, not befriending his enemy either. Imam al-Shafi'i (R) said, "If your friend obeys your enemy, they share in enmity towards you."

The eighth duty is relief from discomfort and inconvenience. One should not discomfort one's brother with things that are awkward for him, he should not ask him for help with money or influence. No, the sole objective of his love should be God, being blessed by his brother's prayer, enjoying his company, receiving assistance from him in his religion, drawing close to God through attending to his rights and bearing his provision.

Someone said, "He who demands of his brothers what they do not demand, wrongs them. He who demands of them the same as they demand, wearies them. He who makes no demands is their benefactor."

Complete relief means wiping out discomfort until the brother feels no more embarrassment (from you) than from himself. Al-Junayed (R) said, "If two became brothers for God's sake, and one of them is uncomfortable or embarrassed with his fellow, there must be a fault in one of them." A'isha (RA) said, "The believer is brother to the believer. He does not plunder him, nor does he embarrass him."

There are three kinds of people: a man from whose fellowship one can benefit; a man one can be of benefit to, and by whom one will not be hurt, though one cannot benefit from him; and a man whom one cannot benefit and by whom one will be hurt, namely the fool or man of evil character. The third type one should avoid. As for the second, one should not shun him, for one will benefit in the Other World by his intercession and prayers, and by one's reward for attending to him.

One of the Companions (RA) said, "Allah has cursed those who cause discomfort." Relief and lack of fuss is only complete when one considers oneself beneath his brothers and thinks highly of them, but poorly of him. When he considers them better than himself, he is actually better than they! Perfection lies seeing the greater merit in the brother. A brother should never be belittled. The Prophet (S) said, "The believer can do no worse than belittle his brother."

The completion of comfort and freedom from embarrassment includes consulting one's brothers in all his plans, and in accepting their suggestions. None of his secrets should be hidden from them.

May we all benefit from these noble teachings of Islam.
Annotations:

[1]. Ibrahim ibn Adham (R) was born in Balkh (in present-day Afghanistan) in a princely family, who renounced his kingdom to live a life of complete asceticism. He died around 165 AH. He was a disciple of the Imam Abu Hanifah (R).

[2]. Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (R), the son of Imam Baqir (R), was a contemporary of Imam Abu Hanifah (R).

~Peace.

The Quest for Tranquility in Marital Life, part 2.

2011-05-25T11:33:00.004+10:00

Meaning of Companionship (as-Suhbah)

RasoolAllah (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) taught us that the husband should be reasonable in exacting the rights. For example, the wife is obliged to seek permission before she goes out but this does not mean the husband should prevent her when there is no reason for doing so. Regarding women going to the mosques it has been narrated by Salim bin ‘Abdullah from his father that the Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) said: “If the wife of any one of you asks permission (to go to the mosque) do not forbid her.” [Reported by Muslim]

Companionship means the husband deals with his wife in a kind and tolerant manner and not in a domineering way. He should not see it as undermining his honour and dignity if his wife disagreed or got angry about something. ‘Aaisha (ra) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) said; “‘I know whether you are angry or pleased.’ I said, ‘How do you know that Oh Messenger of Allah?’ He (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) said, ‘When you are pleased, you say, ‘Yes, by the Lord of Muhammad,’ but when you are angry, you say, ‘No, by the Lord of Abraham!’ I said, ‘Yes, I do not leave, except your name.’” [Reported by Muslim]

In addition, it has been narrated that the Prophet of Allah (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) came into Aaisha’s (ra) room and put his hand on Aaisha’s (ra) knee and whispered something in her ear. She placed her hand over his hand trying to push him away. Umm Mubashhar who was with her at the time said; “How could you do this to Allah’s Messenger?” The Messenger (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) laughed and said; “Leave her; she does this and much worse!” [Reported by al-Bukhari in at-Tarikh]

Companionship means that husbands and wives should help each other in their responsibilities. Just because the wife is responsible for doing the housework does not mean the husband should not help out. Aaisha (ra) describes the behaviour of RasoolAllah (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) when he was in the house – she says; “RasoolAllah (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) used to be in the service (mihnah i.e. khidmah) of his family; and when it was time for prayer, he would go out to pray.” [Reported by al-Bukhari]

Despite being the ruler of Madinah, at home he led a very humble life. Aaisha said; “He acted like other men; he would mend his clothes, milk his goat and serve himself.” [Reported by al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad].

Furthermore, RasoolAllah (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) never lost his temper, even if there was too much salt in the food. Abu Hurairah narrated that; ‘RasoolAllah (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) never criticised the food, if he liked it he ate it and if not he left it’ [Reported by Muslim]

Companionship also means overlooking mistakes or defects that one may not like in ones wife or vice versa. RasoolAllah (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Let not a believing man hate a believing woman. If he dislikes a character in her, he would be pleased with her other characters.” [Reported by Muslim]

Therefore, the husband should not pick on every little thing and continuously find faults. Rather he should be prepared to forget them by remembering the good qualities his wife has.

Companionship means closeness and intimacy and not an estranged relationship where the spouses rarely talk to each other unless something needs to be done. If one reflects on the nature of married life one can appreciate its importance. So for example, during the day a wife would naturally build up and accumulate many issues that she wants to discuss with her husband. So when the husband comes home she wants, for want of a better word, to ‘download’ all the stresses and difficulties and share them with him. But if the husband comes home and turns on the TV and ignores her then this can be very frustrating for her. That is why if we look to RasoolAllah (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) we see that it was his practise after Isha to spend a part of the evening chatting (samr) with his wives. RasoolAllah (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) also used to joke with his wives. He (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Everything in which there is no dhikr (remembrance) of Allah is nonsense, negligence and futile except four things: that a man should joke with his wife…” [Reported by an-Nasa`i].

So here RasoolAllah did not consider joking with his wives a useless activity.

Companionship means romance, fondness and affection. Listen to Aaisha (ra), the mother of the believers, when she said: “I would drink when I was menstruating, then I would hand it (the vessel) to the Messenger (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) and he would put his mouth where mine had been, and drink, and I would eat flesh from a bone when I was menstruating, then hand it over to the Apostle (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) and he would put his mouth where mine had been.” [Reported by Muslim in Kitab al-Hayd]

As for his wives they also felt about him in the same way. Ahmad narrated in his Musnad on the authority of Kareemah bin Hummaam that she said to Aaisha: O mother of the believers! What do you say regarding the use of Henna? She replied; “My beloved (habeebi i.e. referring to RasoolAllah (salAllahu alaihi wasallam)) used to like it!”

Chatting with Aaisha (ra)…

As mentioned previously, the Prophet (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) used to chat in the evening with his wives. One such evening he told Aaisha (ra) the following beautiful story of eleven women who met in the days of ignorance (jahilliyah) and promised to tell each other the truth about their husbands. The types of husbands described in this story can give us wonderful examples as to the type of qualities a husband should seek or avoid. The first five have reprehensible qualities whilst the rest all have laudable qualities.

Wife number one begins by saying; “My husband is like a bony camel’s meat at the top of a rough mountain. Neither is it easy to reach, nor meaty to desire acquiring.” What she means here is that he husband is unapproachable and not welcoming. When she tries to speak to him he does not listen as if she is not there and when she does manage to get heard he has nothing good to say to her. So the wife feels there’s no point, since the effort is not worth it! Hence, he is described like the useless ‘bony camel’s meat at the top of a rough mountain’ which is frankly not worth the trouble.

Wife number two’s husband is so full of defects that she doesn’t know where to start, so in fact she doesn’t! She said; “If I start I fear I will not be able to stop.” Some scholars commented on this by saying the second wife violated her agreement because she had promised to recount all the defects and she did not do that. Anyway, perhaps she felt it was a pointless and time-consuming exercise as the defects were innumerable.

Wife number three says the following about her husband; “If I utter a word, I shall surely be divorced. And if I remain silent, I will be suspended.” In other words we are dealing with a husband who is trigger happy with the divorce button. She lives in a state of constant fear that for smallest thing she may be divorced. That is why in another narration she said; “I am always in such a state as if I am under a sharp sword. I do not know when my affair will come to an end.” She finds herself in an impossible situation. She can’t speak otherwise she fears being divorced but on the other hand if she remains silent she faces the prospect of living in a state where she is neither married nor divorced i.e. in limbo or ‘suspended’ as she puts it. Her husband never complements her, brings her gifts or other such token gesture. Rather he thinks just by giving her food and clothing he has done his duty!

Wife number four describes a husband who is selfish and only thinks about himself. She says; “As for my husband, when he eats he devours everything; when he drinks, he does not leave anything. When he sleeps, he sleeps in his own sheet. He does not even touch me, so that he can know the disturbance in my mind.” So when the food is laid he doesn’t ask his wife to join him and at night he sleeps alone not caring about what she is thinking or feeling.

Wife number five starts by saying; “My husband is extremely helpless and stupid.” And you can see why she describes him this way as she continues, “He would either cut your head, break one of your limbs, or do both to you”. In other words he is a man who severely beats his wife, something which is deplored in Islam unless it was light and for the purpose of discipline when the wife refuses to discharge her marital responsibilities.

Now we come to the next set of husbands who all have good qualities which every husband should aspire to have.

Wife number six extols the praises of her husband with words that are almost poetic! She says; “My husband is like the night of Tihamah (Makkah and its surroundings) – neither hot nor cold. In his company there is neither fear nor boredom” i.e. here is a husband who is approachable and fun to be with unlike the first husband mentioned above. His company is never boring and she feels completely at ease in his presence.

Wife number seven describes a husband who is confident and strong outside in public but gentle at home – not like those husbands who are gentle outside but feared at home. She says; “My husband, when he enters he acts like a (sleepy) leopard; and when he leaves he acts like a lion.”

Wife number eight has a funny way of describing her husband; “As for my husband, his touch is like that of a rabbit” i.e. she means he is gentle and kind!

Wife number nine and ten both have husbands whose qualities are similar and hence I have grouped them together, i.e. they are generous hosts. Wife number ten says of her husband, “He owns camels that are numerous in their sitting places, and few in the grazing areas. When they hear the sound of the lute, they become certain of their death”. I.e. her husband keeps camels near the house and when they hear the lute playing they know they will be slaughtered.

Now we come to wife number eleven, the last of the wives, who is named in the hadith as Umm Zara’. She describes her husband, Abu Zara’, in the following way; “My husband was Abu Zara’ – and what would you know about Abu Zara’! He made my ears heavy with jewellery, filled my upper arms with flesh (fed me well after my previous state of hunger), and honoured me until my soul was gratified. He took me from among a people with very few sheep and tight living, and placed me among a people who had horses, camels, cows. In his house, I spoke without being rebuffed, slept until late-morning and drank my fill.’ As we can see, Abu Zara’ was a generous man who treated Umm Zara’ immeasurably well and clearly he was the best out of the eleven husbands.

But there is a sad twist to this story. After many years of happy marriage Abu Zara’ divorces Umm Zara’ in favour of a younger woman. But even though Umm Zara’ remarries and is treated well by her second husband, she still laments the loss of Abu Zara’. It is at this point that RasoolAllah turns to Aaisha (ra) saying: “O Aaisha! I am to you like Abu Zara’ was to Umm Zara’ – except that Abu Zara’ divorced (her), and I will not divorce you.” Here, RasoolAllah (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) reminds Aaisha of his favours to her which is better than even Abu Zara’ whose divorced wife still felt his loss. Aaisha knew this very well and so it is no surprise that she responded, “O Allah’s Messenger! You are better to me than Abu Zara’ was to Umm Zara’”. [Reported Bukhari, Muslim, an-Nasa`i, at-Tabarani and at-Tirmidhi in his Shama`il with variant wording]

Conclusion

Although this article only focuses on the marital life between spouses there are a whole host of other problems Muslims in Britain and the West face in their social life such as issues of courtship, marriage, divorce, custody, in-law relationships, maintenance and more besides. Increasingly Muslims are being pushed to resolving these problems by adopting western liberal values. Therefore, we need to be alert to the destructive influence of western concepts and criteria in our lives and begin to study the Islamic solutions on the basis of the Islamic criteria.

Finally, marital life is not just about tranquillity in this life. Our fate in the Akhira also depends on us following Allah’s (subhanahu wa ta’aala) commands and prohibitions regarding this issue. Therefore we must seek to ensure we comply with the rules of Islam in order to achieve tranquillity and satisfaction in this life and in the Akhira to save ourselves from the Hellfire and attain everlasting tranquillity in Paradise.

Kamal Abu Zahra

It's Been A Long Week

2011-01-24T00:54:00.002+11:00

I'm sorry I haven't been updating lately.

My father-in-law passed away on 19/01/2011 - the week just goes by SO slowly...
His health hasn't been very good for a long time. He leaves behind a wife and a son. I haven't known my father in law very long, only 5 years and a bit. In all the time that i've known him he's been nothing but very kind and thoughtful to me.

Let me give you a bit of background story.

He had his first stroke in 2000 and was left paralysed on his left side. He had renal failure which required him to undergo Dialysis - which he did for the past 8 years. Recently, for a few months now, the pressure sores on his bottom worsened - his GP and his specialist renal Doctor pushed to get him admitted into hospital to get the sores treated.

My son, 5 years of age, was sad to learn that his grandpa had to go into hospital again. We don't know it but somehow kids just know when things are gonna go downhill - they just don't know how to convey it. He was transferred to the wards on Friday afternoon. Saturday came, then Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. My mother in law and my husband didn't leave the hospital until 9pm on Tuesday night, to make sure he was alright. Otherwise, they would've slept there overnight.

The thing I'm saddened by is that my son wanted to sleep in his grandpa's bed just hours before we learned of his death. Had I known that I wouldn't have yelled at him to come and sleep in his own bed. SubhanAllah, kids just know!

Wednesday 19.01.2011 3am: I heard the phone ringing...I was half-asleep until I heard my mother-in-law yelling at my husband to
answer the phone because she knew it was bad news from the hospital. After waking abruptly, my husband answered the phone: "hello.." "...how's my dad?" "...he's passed away.............." "ok." It took us a while to let it sink in. We were all in shock.

Within 12 hours he was washed, prayed upon, and buried. It was a quick process but one of the longest day in my life. Did I mention how long this week felt?

I lost my grandfather in 2008 and it left me feeling down. So down that I failed one of my Uni exams the following day.

I don't know how my husband is feeling exactly at the moment or what he's going through because I haven't lost a parent yet - but I will have to go through the same thing that he's going right now one day.

My job as a wife, his best friend, and soul mate, right now is to help him get through this. Support him. To let him know he isn't going through this alone.

If you're going through the same thing or similar, be there for them....no matter what.

~Peace.

The Quest for Tranquility in Marital Life - Part 1 of 2

2010-12-30T07:40:00.003+11:00

*I'd like to share this from an email I received. Enjoy and be enlightened.*

When the wedding celebrations are over and husband and wife settle down in their new lives many find it is not what they hoped for or expected. As the euphoria and novelty runs out and gives way to routine and normality, the marriage relationship becomes strained as both spouses struggle to get through life. Constant arguments, bickering and unhappiness pervades the atmosphere with little or no hope of a resolution. This problem in the marital life is so widely felt that we would scarcely find a person who does not know of a close family member or relative who is not in this predicament.

Whilst it is inevitable that not every marriage will succeed or be without its fair share of problems, the marital discord and misery we see today cannot simply be attributed to the incompatibility which can sometimes occur between two people. Rather a deeper study into the widespread problems and misery we witness will reveal that it is due to a lack of the correct criteria and thoughts – this is the cause of disharmony and the lack of tranquillity between spouses.

If one were to dissect the criteria and thoughts being used by Muslims living in the UK and generally in the West one would find that generally speaking they are caught between two reference points. Do they follow the customs and traditions of their elders in marriage and marital affairs or do they embrace western values? The older generation has by and large stuck to tradition; but the younger generation growing up in the UK is increasingly rejecting tradition in favour of a more western lifestyle.

As a result we find a whole range of different, and at times contradictory, criteria being used to regulate married life. On one side of the spectrum we have the traditional culture imported from ‘back home’ whether that is from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Africa or the Middle East. Here we see the prevalence of the criteria of ‘sharam’ and ‘izza’ (shame and dignity). These have their roots in Islam but over time they have lost their Islamic character and have become subject to people’s whims and desires. This is why we see the inconsistent and oppressive nature of their application. For instance, zina is and should be viewed as a loathsome kabeerah (great) sin; however we often see that if a man commits it then it can be forgiven and quietly ignored as just something that young men do. However if a woman was found guilty of committing this then she would be ostracised and rejected because she has brought dishonour and scandal to the family. Therefore the true understanding of the sin of zina has been lost in the blur and haze of tradition and a contradictory application is being used.

A similar contradiction from traditional values is the view that a young girl mixing with foreign (ajnabi) men is unacceptable. But on the other hand no shame is felt when the same girl is forced to marry a man without her consent and approval or even sometimes against her will.

On the other hand we have what can only be described as ‘half-way’ marriages where the concepts and criteria are a jumble of traditional and western values but adopted according to the capitalist criteria of benefit and individual freedom. For example, in such marriages it is not acceptable that the wife would flirt with other men but it is acceptable for her to mix with men, being uncovered and showing her beauty. We also find men carrying the western concept of ‘not settling down when young’ and delaying their marriage until they’ve ‘had a good time’. And once in their late twenties or early thirties they will do their social and religious duty in an almost ritual trip to Pakistan or Bangladesh to get married. Also we now see the western style of courtship which means finding out if one is compatible or not by dating or ‘getting to know each other’. Hence, the ubiquitous demand of ‘friendship leading to marriage’ often found in the marriage sections of Asian newspapers and magazines.

Western Marriages; out of the frying pan and into the fire
The West offers individual freedom as the progressive basis of life, and for many Muslims in the West this has become the preferred basis for marriage over tradition. By individual freedom what’s meant is that an individual is completely free in how he or she lives his or her life. So for example it would be perfectly acceptable on this basis for a man and a woman to cohabit together without a contract of marriage just as it is acceptable for two gay men to get married. Muslims should be aware of the dangers that come with adopting freedom as a criterion and should not allow themselves to be duped into thinking freedom and benefit can ever lead to a superior life. Rather, turning to freedom by rejecting tradition is like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. How can the West claim to offer the alternative when its criteria of individual freedom and benefit which by establishing sensual gratification as the paramount concern has led to the misery of millions of people? If we take a quick look at the West’s record we find that in their societies the top five problems in the social and marital life are:
Mistrust and Adultery – 70% of American wives commit adultery within 5 years of marriage.
Divorce – one in three end up in divorce.
Rape – 167 women are raped every day in the UK.
Wife battery – a battery incident occurs every 18 seconds in the America.
Child molestation and paedophilia – in Britain a quarter of a million people are known paedophiles!.

These are the fruits of freedom and these should not be considered surprising but in fact are an inevitable occurrence since a solution proposed by man’s limited mind will never be able to address the intricacies of human life and its requirements. Therefore, we need to refer to the Creator (subhanahu wa ta’aala), Who is All-Aware of His (subhanahu wa ta’aala) creation and how it is that humanity should regulate their lives.

Should not He Who has created know? And He is the Most Kind and Courteous (to His slaves) All-Aware (of everything). [TMQ Mulk:14]

Rejecting Tradition on the Correct Basis
As for taking tradition as our criteria this can never be accepted, as our only criteria is the Revelation of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’aala) and this excludes what our forefathers followed unless it was from what Allah (subhanahu wa ta’aala) and His Messenger (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) brought. In the following ayah, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’aala) tells us the basis of acceptance or rejection of tradition:

And when it is said to them: “Come to what Allah has revealed and unto the Messenger (Muhammad [SalAllahu alaihi wasallam]).” They say: “Enough for us is that which we found our fathers following,” even though their fathers had no knowledge whatsoever and no guidance!’ [TMQ Al-Maidah:104]

The reason it is wrong to follow the forefathers is that they did not follow the Revelation and nor were they guided by Allah’s (subhanahu wa ta’aala) Guidance. So when we reject those areas of tradition, which contradict Islam we should not reject them because they contradict the capitalist concepts of individual freedom and benefit but because they go against what Allah (subhanahu wa ta’aala) has revealed. In other words, just as it is wrong to accept Western love marriages on the basis of freedom and benefit it is equally wrong to reject forced marriages on the basis of the individual freedom and benefit. The reason both should be rejected is that they are contrary to Allah’s (subhanahu wa ta’aala) Revelation and not because they affirm or violate freedom and benefit. Thus, the only criteria a Muslim can follow is the criteria of Halal and Haram and nothing else.

Marriage: what’s it all about?
The current generation either view marriage as a burden, or a custom and a social duty. They do not understand it is a solution that organises the male-female relationship so as to bring about mutual tranquillity. In fact many are turning to western values because they find the oppressive elements of tradition unpalatable without realising that Islam has a unique solution that befits man’s nature. In Islam marriage is about companionship (suhbah) and not the regimental and strict regime that exists in traditional marriage or the tenuous ‘partnership’ for sex that we find in the West, which is easily dispensed with when the partners get tired or bored.

Allah ‘Azza Wa Jall informs us of the Hikmah of marriage;

And among His Signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them (li-taskunoo ilayha), and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect. [TMQ Ar-Rum: 21]

In this ayah, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’aala) makes the wife the source of Sakeenah i.e. repose and tranquillity as we can see from the usage of the verb sakana. It is from this same word that we derive the term sakan (dwelling) where people find repose, ease and security when they go home from the toil and tension of outside life. Similarly, married life is a source of tranquillity from the strains and stresses of life and not the other way round.

The concept of rights & responsibilities
The West cite empty slogans of friendship and equality as the basis of marital life but the truth is that what exists is a clash between spouses because there are no defined roles due to the belief in individual freedom. Islam on the other hand did not just talk about companionship but has shown how to realise it by clarifying the rights and responsibilities that spouses have over each other such that they complement each other and bring about mutual fulfilment:

Allah (subhanahu wa ta’aala) says;

“And they (women) have rights (over their husbands) similar (to those of their husbands) over them, in reasonable terms.” [TMQ Al- Baqarah: 228]

Ibn ‘Abbas used to say, “Indeed I spruce myself up for my wife and she adorns herself for me, and I love that I should redeem all the rights I have over my wife, so that she should redeem all the rights she has over me.” [Reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musannaf]

Islam clearly outlined the role and the rights of both partners in the marriage. The man is the head of the household and therefore he has the final say in matters. He is responsible for providing the maintenance and residence for his family. The wife’s responsibility is to obey the husband in matters relating to the marital life, tend to the housework and not go out without the permission of her husband.

These rights and responsibilities are not unknown but the key concept we need to understand is how these rights and responsibilities are discharged. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’aala) informs us:

“And live with them honourably”. [TMQ An-Nisa: 19]

He (subhanahu wa ta’aala) has commanded spouses to spend their life together (mu’aasharah) in an honourable and fitting manner (bil-ma’roof). What this means is that they live in an atmosphere of care and benevolence. That is why the Messenger (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) said;

«إن من أكمل المؤمنين إيمانا أحسنهم خلقاً وألطفهم بأهله“Indeed, the one most complete in Iman and best in morals is the one who is the kindest to his wives.” [Reported by Ibn Hibban]

In other words, the rights and responsibilities should be discharged in an atmosphere of companionship. To give us an example of what companionship (suhbah) means on a day to day level let us take a glimpse at the life of Muhammad (salAllahu alaihi wasallam), as he says in his own words:

“The best amongst you is the one who is best to his wives and I am best to my wives” [Reported by Ibn Hibban]

~Peace.

Mother Mary in Islam

2010-12-26T14:20:00.000+11:00

Mother Mary in Islam

A Reminder....

2010-10-03T09:49:00.001+11:00

I got this sent to my email which proves to be a useful reminder.

In this day and age mankind has become controlled by his emotions.

It's good to harness your emotions to benefit yourself and the rest of the community. Such as love, caring, fear, hope etc.

But some emotions (such as anger) if left to run wild can have devastating repercussions.

Read this pearl of wisdom from our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) narrated by Abu Huraira: Muhammad (SAW) said "The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger." (Bukhari)

So how do you control your anger? The Prophet (SAW) also gave us the solution:

Seek Allah’s protection from the cursed devil: Saying A’3othu billAhi min aShatana Rajeem.

Change position: When one of you becomes angry while standing, he should sit down. If the anger leaves him, well and good; otherwise he should lie down.

Perform Wudu: Anger comes from the devil, the devil was created of fire, and fire is extinguished only with water; so when one of you becomes angry, he should perform ablution.

EID MUBARAK!

2010-09-20T10:38:00.002+10:00

I know it's a little late to post about Eid...but hey....what the heck!

I want to leave you a reminder.

Post Ramadan:

You need to start your post Ramadan planning from NOW.

The scholars agree that the signs of an accepted Ramadan is that your steadfast in action after Ramadan ends. As the prophet Mohammad (SAW) said: "the most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are consistent even if they're small" (Bukhari and Muslim).

So choose a worship that you were blessed with doing in Ramadan, for example attending Fajr at the mosque, reading the Quran daily, or praying at least two Rakah during the night, and commit to doing it as a minimum every single day of the year.

As Allah says “Verily, those who say: "Our Lord is Allah (Alone)," and then they stand firm, on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): "Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised! (30) "We have been your friends in the life of this world and are (so) in the Hereafter. Therein you shall have (all) that your inner-selves desire, and therein you shall have (all) for which you ask. (31) "An entertainment from (Allah), the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (41;32)

Ramadhan Day 22

2010-09-01T13:21:00.000+10:00

We are now entering the last 10 days of Ramadan and we should be all focused on seeking Laylatul Qadr.

Laylatul Qadr (the Night of Power) is described in the Quran as, "better than a thousand months" (97:3). Any action done on this night such as reciting the Quran, remembering Allah, etc. is better than acting for one thousand months.

Although we’ve increased our worship to Allah so far this month, now we’re entering the final stretch and it’s imperative that our worship level is at the highest it’s ever been. As `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to strive more in worship during Ramadan than he strove in any other time of the year; and he would devote himself more (in the worship of Allah) in the last ten nights of Ramadan than he strove in earlier part of the month. .

So if you haven’t already planned your last ten days and have the sincerity and determination to free yourself from the hellfire, here are a few reminders to include in your schedule:

- Concentrate more on prayers and worship on the last ten nights of Ramadan than the first twenty nights.
- Persuade your family members to keep themselves awake for prayer and worship in the last ten nights of Ramadan.
- I`tikaf: It was a practice of the Prophet (PBUH) to spend the last ten days and nights of Ramadan in the masjid for seclusion to increase in worship.

- Make long, sincere and deep Duas, especially this one: - Aisha, (May Allah be pleased with her), said: I asked the Messenger of Allah: 'O Messenger of Allah, if I know what night is the night of Qadr, what should I say during it?' He said: 'Say: O Allah, You are pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.' "(Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and Tirmidhi).
The transliteration of this Dua is "Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbul 'afwa fa'fu 'annee"

- Get your sins wiped out: Abu Huraira narrated that the Messenger said: Whoever stands (in prayer) in Laylatul Qadr while nourishing his faith with self-evaluation, expecting reward from Allah, will have all of his previous sins forgiven. [Bukhari and Muslim).

- Be Generous: Al-Nawawi says: "Generosity and open-handedness are strongly encouraged in Ramadan, especially during the last ten nights. By doing so, we emulate the example of Allah's Messenger (PBUH) as well as that of our Pious Predecessors..."

Let's encourage each other to not waste any time and work hard these last ten days. Insha'Allah we see the fruits of our labour and are joyous on the Day of Judgement, happily forever abiding in Paradise.

Ramadhan Day 8

2010-08-18T15:15:00.002+10:00

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

2010-08-13T10:09:00.002+10:00

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

2010-08-11T15:49:00.001+10:00

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

2010-08-09T00:32:00.003+10:00

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....

2010-08-04T22:32:00.002+10:00

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!

2010-08-01T16:32:00.003+10:00

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!

A Little Update....

2009-05-22T16:32:00.002+10:00

Hey folks! How've you been?!

It's been a good day today.....God is Great!

Since my grandfather's death, November last year, my grandmother has been staying with my aunties & uncles back in Indonesia........now she's here! I can only thank my Creator for her safe arrival this morning :D Of course, she didn't come alone. She came with my aunty, my cousin, my other cousing & her 2 kids.

It was an emotional reunion (since our grandfather's death) for all of us. Just as I hugged her i teared up, remembering her grief; subhanAllah she's so strong. You could see in her eyes she's still grieving.....

I'm looking forward to seeing her again tomorrow. 'Till next time folks.

~Peace.

An Extra Year of Life - Allah Is Great!!

2009-02-20T22:48:00.003+11:00

Sup ya'll!

'Tis my birthday on this beautiful Friday. And it'll be a memorable one - cuz it's my first birthday without my grandfather.

SO MUCH has happened. I've moved back in with my in-laws after my FILs 2nd stroke in September '08 - his wife needs our help. Which means that our house is being rented out. If you're wondering how I feel about our house being rented out, well here it is: all i can say is 'alhamdulillah for everything' but digging deep down inside of me, i'm saddened. Everytime I drive pass there, I stare at it whistfully - praying to Allah to let us live there again, one day.

Among other things; Robbie's made me quit Uni - which means goodbye Nursing, my dream. I failed my subjects last semester, that's why i'm no longer attending uni. I regret not finishing uni before getting married. If you're heading into a marriage right now and have got Uni on the line - unifinished - I suggest you get Uni out of the way and graduate before you jump into marriage, so you can solely concentrate on marriage. I feel like he's reaped me of knowledge altogether, I hate feeling like that.

Which is why I enrolled into a Shari'ah course with Sydney Islamic College. If he's no longer permitting me to study Nursing then I don't want the same thing to happen with Islamic knowledge. I have this urge to study. Studying more of my Islam is what i'm starving for now. Inshallah I can't wait to start the classes.

How was my birthday you ask? I couldn't have asked Allah for a better present than an extra year/chance of life to spend with my family & friends....oh and of course food!

~Peace.

To Allah We Belong & To Allah We Return.

2008-11-16T20:46:00.003+11:00

It's been 1 week since my grandfather died.

It was one of the most hardest things......that filtered through my ears and into my thoughts. Approximately he died around 4pm Indonesian time - which is 8pm AEST. But I received the call from my mum @ 8.30pm.

I can never forget that night. I was waiting for my parents to drop off Abdurrahman after spending the sunday together. Mum said she'd drop him off around 8:00-8:30pm, but it was nearing 8:30pm and I had a gut feeling that something was wrong. The phone rang and I had an instinct to pick it up. Usually when it's just Robbie & I at home and the phone rings, we get indecisive on who should answer it. But it was different that night. I had the instinct to grab the phone as soon as it rang. It was my mum on the other line. That feeling came again - telling me that she was going to tell me dreadful news.

*Phone rings at 8:30pm on Sunday 9.11.08*
Me: "Hello."
Mum: "Hello, assalaamu'alaikum."
Me: "Wa'alaikumussalaam."

Silence....

Mum: "Ezy..."
Me: "Iya..."(yes)
Mum *on the verge of tears*: "Buya meninggal zy..."(Buya passed away).
Me: "Apa??"(What??).
Mum: "Buya meninggal."
Me: "Meninggal?? Kapan?!" (Passed away?? When?!).
Mum: "Barusan tadi.."(Just then).
*at this point I was sobbing and in disbelief*
And then Mum asked to speak to Robbie.

When he hung up the phone I was still on the couch crying. I was in shock (as you would be) and decided to go to Mum's place.

When I got there the first thing I did as soon as I passed the front door was hug my mum. We were all there gathered, reading 'Yaa-siin' from the Qur'an.

I went home at 11:30pm and placed my weary head on the pillow. Alhamdulillah, I awoke the next morning. But only to find that Buya's death wasn't a dream (plus, I had my stupid exam) but a reality I have to face for the rest of my life.

To Allah we belong and to Allah we shall return.

It's All About Bella & Edward.......

2008-10-10T18:42:00.003+11:00

The Cullens

From L-R (i think):Emmet, Rosalie, Esme, Edward, Carlisle, Alice & Jasper.

From the author Stephenie Meyer comes a brilliant saga: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse & Breaking Dawn. I LOVE THESE BOOKS!!

My cousin was going on and on about this author's books and how she thinks that i'd get hooked into reading them too (the same way she got me into reading Virginia Andrew's books). Turns out she was right!! I LOVE IT! THEY'RE AWESOME! I'd love to have some of that vampire lovin'......rreeoowww!

I started reading Twilight toward the end of Ramadhan (due to some monthly "visitors" - ladies, you know what i'm talking about) and finished it in 4-5 days. After Eid I started reading New Moon and finished it 3 days ago and now on to reading Eclipse. I tell ya, it's getting intense!

If you've got some time to kill and you're bothered, start getting into them!

~Peace.

On the 12th day of Ramadhan ........

2008-09-12T00:58:00.002+10:00

and we've received our biggest test of our lives.

Last Friday, my FIL was admitted to Bankstown Hospital's ED after having a VERY LOW blood pressure (systole around 65) during dialysis. He wasn't responding to anybody calling his name. He had a CT scan revealing that he's had a stroke (again). His last stroke occured 6 years ago, which definitely shocked the family. This time around it affected his speech; but who knows, Allah might return his ability to talk.

In that moment, we gathered around to hear what the Doctor's findings were. The Dr. seemed too eager to give up and said "there's nothing left we can do for him except to let him die with dignity" - my MIL strongly rejected this suggestion and pushed for the Dr's to try and keep him alive. Eventually he was moved to ICU, on life support for 5 days. We took each day as it came and prayed to Allah Almighty to give him one more chance of life, if it His Will. They took him off life support on Wednesday 10am-ish and ALHAMDULILLAH he's able to breathe on his own, even now.

Alhamdulillah they've moved him into a ward last night. Just seeing him out of ICU makes me a little teary. Last Friday, I could NOT hold my tears back. For Robbie and his mum, it's the second stroke episode they've had to deal with. It was my first experience in having someone close to me having their 2nd stroke - of course it shocked me.

The mood's lightened up a little knowing that Allah has given him another chance with us.......but until how long......Allah knows best.

So, if you're reading this please include Masli Mansjur in your prayers and ask Allah Almighty to extend his life, if it is His Will. If it is not, then we are at His Mercy. Aamiin.

~Peace.

Tomorrow is........

2008-08-21T19:02:00.002+10:00

The last day of our Clinical Practicum.........YAAAAAAAAAAAY! We were all counting down to it.

Overall, this surgical-orthopaedic ward is excellent. I loved it. I wouldn't mind working in there as a new graduate. There were around 3-4 RNs that I really enjoyed working with. There was one RN who would take extra long break - a bludger. My colleague agreed with me on that when she was working with that RN today.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I'm sure it'll be a breeze - like it is for every morning shift.

~Peace.

Clinical Placement Day 1

2008-08-11T16:42:00.002+10:00

Well.........it was a pleasant start to the day but I arrived just in time with the Facilitator still standing in the main entrance with a group of students.

'Twas a hektik start to the day with an awakening for Sahur @ 5am (i've got 4 more fasting days to do before Ramadhan begins in September '08). Afterwards, had to pray, get dressed, get Robbie's shirts ready, made Robbie's lunch, packed Abdurrahman's stuff to stay @ his Ummi's house while i'm out on clinical, and lastly a visit to the toilet before actually heading off. It takes 30 minutes to get there.....and I left the house @ 6:40am.

As soon as I got there it took a while for me to find free parking on the streets, alhamdulillah finally found one and raced to the main entrance to catch the group. I've never run so hard that I fell and skinned my knee and tore my trouser a little; even now it still stings.

Overall, got placed in a surgical-orthopaedic ward. We can't do any medications on the first day. The only things we could do was do the observations (checking blood pressure, pulse, temperature, respiration rate), showers, make beds & BSLs (checking blood sugar levels). Alhamdulillah, I was teamed up with an excellent RN; she explained everything and anything that I had questions about. Definitely tomorrow will be 10x more hektik with LOADS of patients to shower in the morning..........personally I'd prefer to work the AM shift than the PM shift. With the PM shift the afternoon drags on as you anticipate to go home.

We'll see how tomorrow goes. I'll keep you posted.

~Peace.

I'm Avatar Obsessed!

2008-07-20T11:13:00.003+10:00

Who watches or follows Avatar: The Last Airbender? Ever since I heard it about I've always wondered what it's about. Well, while I was in Indonesia and there are HEAPS of shops that sell (cheap, copied or real) dvd's of any sorts; movies, tv series, you name it and they have it.

So, I decided I wanted to get into watching the Avatar and I bought 1 dvd which had all 3 complete seasons of Avatar............turns out it wasn't complete after all - just found this out last week. Not a big deal though, because I only spent Rp.5,000 on it which is like AUD63cents.

I went to THIS TORRENT WEBSITE to look and download the rest of Avatar Book 3. I was reading some comments and discovered that I could WATCH IT ONLINE HERE!! It's awesome!! Ever since that discovery I want to finish watching it before uni starts!

Oh by the way, GO HEREto download some EXCELLENT quality movies.

'Till next time,

~Peace.

In Prostration.............I PASSED!!

2008-07-15T11:35:00.002+10:00

ALLAHU AKBAR!! (ALLAH IS GREAT!!)

Passed both of my subjects: Nursing Context 5 - 63 & Bugs and Drugs - 50....just passed that one!! I am SOOOOO glad I don't have to do NC5 again - HATED it with a passion!!

Now I can continue my time off uni with less things to worry about - phew!

Have a good one peepz, inshaAllah!

~Peace.

Freeeezing!!

2008-07-12T00:19:00.002+10:00

HEY, WAT UP?? Got some updates for ya:

Got us a kitten. Found her in front of my cousin's house. Asked around and nobody owned her; so instead of leaving her in the streets waiting for cars to run her over, we took her home. I leave her free around the backyard when i'm home, but put her in the garage with her food, bed & kitty litter while we're out or at night. I did leave her loose at the backyard for 2 days and 2 nights but then had to rethink the idea when she snooped out the side gate and came to the front door "meoowing" until I let her in. Back in the garage she goes!

........here's a video of Abdurrahman singing his first single:

~Peace.

Four Things About Me‏

2008-06-03T17:52:00.003+10:00

Four Places I Go To Over And Over:
My house
Mum's house
In-law's house
Grocery shops

Four Of My Favourite Foods:
Sate Padang
Mie Ayam pangsit
Bakso
Mum's cooking

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now
With bubs & hubby
With relos in Indo
Out in the city
@ home

Four Places I Have Lived:
Ernest st (lakemba)
Willeroo st (lakemba)
wangee rd (lakemba)
and, greenacre.

Four TV Shows I Watch:
CSI
Grey's anatomy
Lost
Smallville
Desperate Housewives
House
Hell's Kitchen
How I Met Your Mother
Supernatural
...........couldnt' narrow it down to 4, too many!!

Some Hilarious Pics...

2008-05-06T07:25:00.007+10:00

We were over @ our cousin's house one night and decided we explore her laptop webcam. Here are the results:

Latest videos uploaded on Youtube

2008-04-24T12:19:00.003+10:00

NO PORK AT ALL!!

2008-04-20T22:37:00.001+10:00

Updates....

2008-04-10T11:01:00.002+10:00

Alhamdulillah, we've finally occupied our house; meaning we've slept, lived in it. It feels soOoOOoOO LIBERATING!! If we kept asking Robbie's dad for permission to move into the house he'll keep saying "no". For the mean time if he's asking where Robbie or Abdurrahman is, his wife will just simply reply "he's sleeping" or "he hasn't woken up yet". Alhamdulillah it's all simple really. Since Robbie starts work @ 12noon, he goes by his parents' house in the morning and then Abdurrahman & I go by around 10am (Abs sleeps in sometimes, so I have to wait for him to wake up). And after work, Robbie swings by his parents' house, to see his dad, before coming home. Allah has built a path for us to make it all work. As long as we're not upsetting my FIL's feelings.
Thinking of continuing work through my nursing agency, to help with our financial status; a little extra mulah doesn't hurt, right? Quite nervous to work again, especially leaving my son behind.
It feels SO GOOD to have ur own places, doesn't it!??! Subhanallah, i'm over the moon! Usually when i'm cleaning the house I like to turn up the stereo to a good lecture, qur'an, or a little music. It feels awesome to do that in the comfort of your own home!
Allahu Akbar. Allah is Great!

~Peace.

2008-03-30T18:38:00.003+11:00

STILL haven't moved into our house yet...............

My brother left for Indonesia last Thursday to pick up his wife and bring her here. Was on the way to the airport to see him off but didn't make it 'cuz of the frikkin' traffic; and it was time for him to board the plane.....so I bid him farewell through phone (hopefully not for the last time). Anticipating their return inshaAllah.

My nephew had his 1st bday three Sundays ago and my little cousin had his 1st bday today. Had a family/friend gathering @ Bicentennial Park.

3 years and counting (inshaAllah)

2008-03-14T12:23:00.002+11:00

Yesterday t'was the day of our (Robbie & I) 3rd year anniversary. Forgot to post it yesterday so i'm making time to post it today. Three years!! Who would've thought we'd be married for this long, let alone me. Quite a roller-coaster ride too, might I add.

At uni at the moment emailing some journal articles to my hotmail for a research proposal we (me & a partner from class) have to get done in 10 days............well, the first part of it anyhow. You can say this whole thing is picking my brain.

In short, HAPPY BELATED 3-YEAR ANNIVERSARY habib! I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far ;) hehehehe..............hehhee.

~Peace.

Nobody Told Me....

2008-03-05T00:51:00.000+11:00

That moving would be so much work!! I mean, I expected alot.........but not THIS MUCH! From Monday it's been delivery after delivery.

Monday: had the Locksmith to change the locks on all the doors & had the fridge and microwave delivered. Tuesday: had Abdurrahman's bed set delivered early in the morning & the lounge suite delivered as well as the coffee table. Today, Wednesday: we'll be awaiting for the roller shutter guys to come and give us a quote. Saturday morning we'll have new carpets installed, inshallah.

What I've observed: the bigger your house; the more you spend. And vice versa. Alhamdulillah, our house is standard........but still it's pulling mulah out of our a****. Pardon my French. Especially when you're not working & just studying, I feel poor sometimes. Our plan is to stay on the budget for a few months and spend wisely. Aldi, all the way!!

This is the busiest week I've had since I can remember. SoOoo tired. Take care people.

~Peace.

It's Official!

2008-03-01T09:43:00.003+11:00

Alhamdulillah! We've got the keys to the house!! My MIL picked it up from the agent yesterday.

And Abdurrahman started Day Care yesterday also. Honestly, I was soooooOOooOOo nervous for him; didn't know how he was going to handle it. This place is run by Muslims and they have programs to teach kids educational things to help them get into private Islamic schools such as Malik Fahd and others. Alhamdulillah, he handled it quite well. He was a little clingy when we entered; following me to put away his bag and everywhere. Finally after I gave him his car to play with I got him to sit at a table nearby where there were puzzles to do and other kids were sitting down too. I thought this was the cue for me to leave; because I had a class that day and was running a wee bit late. Thank God he didn't see me leave.

Now that we've got the keys, there's loads of work to do. Oh btw, there's a good site to download PSP games if you're intrested or you know anybody who has a PSP. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE PSP GAMES

INSHALLAH............

2008-02-25T11:01:00.009+11:00

There'll be no more delays in moving into our new house. T'was delayed for a week because the tennants weren't able to find a new place on their own so the agent had to help 'em out; which caused a little bit of a drama. Nevertheless, inshallah we'll get the by this Friday and start cleaning the place during the weekend and .........inshaAllah.......start moving in by next week.

I'm excited.

Our own house.

My kitchen.

My lounge room.

I can walk around the house with undies or no undies!

Oh yeah, I never got around to post some photos of my brother's wedding here. But here a few:
My family

The parents

My other sis-in-law & her son

My man in his cream suit

Muhammad & his wife and also with my cousin + her kids

~Peace.

'Tis The Day I Turn 24.......

2008-02-20T12:18:00.000+11:00

All praises due to Allah Almighty! I've been alive for 24 years now..........if you wanna get technical, I don't turn 24 until 5pm or 6pm.

My biggest bet is that my mum, brother, & some cousins will come over with a cake that my mum made or something. They've done that since Abdurrahman was born. Alhamdulillah i've shared 3 birthdays with my son & hubby and inshallah there'll be more in the future.

Well, I don't know what else to put in here except: It's my birthday :D

Have a pleasant day........Allah-Willing I will :)

~Peace.

2008-02-17T23:23:00.000+11:00

It's heart-breaking to see your children cry, for any reason. Or unless you MADE them cry.

Tonight, Robbie & I tried a maneouvre to help Abdurrahman sleep on his own instead of watching 'Cars' dvd until 11.30pm. We ALWAYS have to go to war when it comes to his bedtime. And so, we turned the lights off, left him standing in the cot crying and crying and crying on & off for a maximum of 25 minutes. That was so hard for either of us! We've never had to do it before because he wouldn't have any trouble going to sleep........until recently.

While we were lying side-by-side, staring into darkness, his cries feeding our ears; I was BEGGING Allah to help him go to sleep. Alhamdulillah it was answered.

On a lighter note, went bowling yesterday night for the first time in my life. And you know what? I got one strike! Yeehhhh!! We had 2 games and overall I hit 59 pins. I reckon that ain't bad for a beginner!

Time to sleep and hopefully wake again for 2mro.....inshallah. Take care.

~Peace.

Freedom Is 2 Weeks Away + Turning 24 (Inshallah)

2008-02-07T00:22:00.000+11:00

Long title, isn't it? Hey all!~ There are some things I need to keep you updated.

Hubby is visiting his sick aunt in Indonesia- at the moment in Jakarta having a blast without me. Well......it's only fair, 'cuz I did the same thing last month.
Alhamdulillah we've found a house around the Greenacre area..........and will be moving into it in two weeks- Allah-Willing.
I'm turning 24 in two weeks also; which is a big SMACK in the head!
Starting Uni soon; either at the end of February or beginning of March. I've gotta pick my classes on the 11th Feb...which is on Monday.

I am SOO PSYCHED about moving out!! Inshallah this is our chance to have our own little oasis. Except I HATE IT when other people (besides Robbie & I) are trying to have their input counted on what type of furniture we should have. We already know what we want - which is NOT A $10 000 ITALIAN FLASHY LOUNGE SUITE!!

When are these people going to get it through their heads?! I never had things the way I t liked them. For instance; when we were looking to hire a photographer for our wedding. They also offered me to wear free "last season" gowns at the wedding. I was like: "HELL NO! I'd rather wear the dress my mum made for me!" Then what did she do?? She kept insisting that I take on their free offer - because it was free - when she knew that I won't! I couldn't take her pestering anymore and walked out of there and cried while waiting by the car; whereby I had to give her a lift afterwards. WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS!!! And i'm not talking about my mother here.

I ask Allah to smooth this process, if it is meant to be ours.

Have patience.

~Peace.

Beauty Tips 4 Sisters

2008-01-15T14:18:00.000+11:00

My dear sisters in Islam, Assalamu Alaikum w.w. please take a look at this advice, so that you can stay attractive and beautiful for the rest of your life.

1- To beautify your eyes, lower your gaze towards strange men, thiswill make your eyes pure and shiny.

2- To beautify your face and make it shiny, keep doing wudu minimum five times a day.

3- To have attractive lips, always mention Allah and remember to speak the truth.

4- As for blush and rouge, "Modesty" (Haya') is one of the best brandsand it can be found in any of the Islamic centers.

5- To remove impurities from your face and body, use a soap called"Istighfaar".(seeking forgiveness of Allah) this soap will remove any bad deeds.

6- Now about your hair, if any of you has a problem of hair split ends, then I suggest "Islamic Hijab" which will protect your hair from damage.

7- As for jewelry, beautify your hands with humbleness and let your hands be generous and give charity to the poor.

8- To avoid heart disease, forgive people who hurt your feelings.

9- Your necklace should be a sign to pardon your fellow brothers and sisters.

If you follow these advices given to you by the Creator, you will have a beautiful and attractive inner and outer appearance.

~Peace.

A Little Jet-Lagged

2008-01-10T20:06:00.000+11:00

Hey~ How's it going? I got back from Indonesia on the 9/01/08, yesterday. Abdurrahman & I, my parents, my two brothers, my SIL and her baby, all went overseas for my brother's wedding. Alhamdulillah it was a great success and a lovely wedding. I'm very happy for my brother and his wife. I look at them and i'm reminded of my own self with my hubby when we were newlyweds. I left for Indonesia on the 23/12/07 plus a short stop-over @ Denpasar, Bali and arrived in Jakarta @ 11pm AEDT.

The Nikah was held on 28/12/07. They had two wedding ceremonies; on 29/12/07 @ our house in Bukittinggi and another one @ the bride's house on 30/12/07. Photos turned out awesome and i'll put some up here when I get the time.

Overall, Alhamdulillah my dad, abdurrahman & I arrived safely. But it's always a sad departure from your relatives, whom you only see once every 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 years.

Something's Fishy...

2007-12-09T21:11:00.000+11:00

I've been going through 'The Sims 2 withdrawal syndrome' - there's no such thing, I made it up cuz I AM SO ADDICTED TO THE GAME! Including the base game (The Sims 2), I've got the University & Nightlife expansion........which is awesome! But now, I can't seem to stop thinking about playing it!! That's how addictive it is!! Enough rambling on about fictitious lives and on with mine.

Robbie bought Abdurrahman a young fighting fish on Saturday, at a Burwood pet shop; which I used to be very familiar with because of my history of having 10 mice (not all at once but in total) as pets. From the beginning I've said "No" to the buy-Abdurrahman-a-fish-idea- men.....THEY DON'T LISTEN.......AAAAAARRRGH!! I always knew of the outcome if he bought the fish; which he did. The outcome was this: Abdurrahman picked up the small tank and threw it on the carpet, the water had seeped through the plastic tank and it also cracked so there was n
o way the leakage would stop. This happened today. I didn't realise it was the fish tank that fell when I heard a soft 'thud' on the carpet, until I walked into the living room. I did my best to hurry up and find the fish another home- and thank God it wasn't down the toilet.

Personally I don't like to have fishes as pets because I can't touch them & hold them. I like animals where I can cuddle, pat, touch, and play with. But today I sympathised with the poor fish. While I was moving him to the Capilano honey bucket I was begging to Allah to let him live.
Pretty fish with a blue tail. I think it's growing on me. Now it's on top of the washing machine where it's unreachable from the little terror a.k.a Abdurrahman.

~Peace.

2007-12-01T09:05:00.000+11:00

Alhamdulillah, picked up Robbie from the airport yesterday, but boy was it a pain to walk from one terminal to another! How am I supposed to know which terminal is which? I've never had to pick up someone from Domestic before, until now. But that's all good.

When Abdurrahman saw his dad again after 2 and a half weeks, his reaction wasn't what I expected. He didn't smile straight away, he just stared as if he's seen a ghost or something. Of course after that he didn't want to let go of his dad. It was good to see Robbie's smile again, although he looks just a LITTLE skinnier, and his face almost grew a beard. But underneath all that he's still the same ol' man I married 2 years ago, no surprise.

One of the things I look forward to do today is going to Nafeesa's wedding. I've never been to a Bengali wedding before. I don't want to miss out on it because she's been a loyal friend since high school and she came to my wedding. So it's only fair that I give her something in return, in whatever shape or form.

Right now, I'm heading out with Robbie & Abdurrahman to the shops. I need some shopping done and Robbie's tempted to buy him another toy which i'm going to object to.

~Peace.

To-Do List...

2007-11-30T08:20:00.000+11:00

Good morning!~ Subhanallah, what a beautiful day it is, the sun's beaming a smile. I've got a few things to do before picking up Robbie from the airport today.

Post something overseas
Find my brother a nice unexpensive suit, shirt & cufflinks
Do some grocery shopping
And pick up Robbie @ the airport.

I must say that I didn't mind not having my husband around a little while. But after time passes you start to miss your other half, you married folks know what I mean ;)

Off to have a shower with Abdurrahman.

~Peace.

2007-11-27T07:19:00.000+11:00

Hey there~!

Alhamdulillah i've finally finished my exams, yay!! And for both of the written ones, I was smiling like a Ceshire cat when I saw it was 120 Mulitple choice questions. I was going to jump up & down right then and there, 'cuz I wasn't prepared for short-answer questions kinda format. We also had a clinical exam, which was shocking!! We're only given 25 minutes. It sucked.

Well, anyway, one thing I forgot to mention is that my hubby's in Perth for work since the 13/11/07; or did I mention it already? It gets quiet without him...yehh I miss him. The upside to it is I don't have to cook AT ALL, and that's awesome! But I still cook a little bit for my son & I. Inshallah he'll be back this Friday arriving @ 10pm, because he wants attend Jum'ah prayers first.

Inshallah today's the day that i'll get my plane ticket......woohooo!~ I'm going over to my brother's house and we're gonna go together.......'cuz I don't have the cash on me right now, without Robbie.

My son's woken up.

~Peace.

Exams Are Just Beginning

2007-11-20T08:36:00.000+11:00

I've got my first written exam today, @ 2.45pm; i've to be there 15 minutes early.

Today is the funeral for the pious Pak Haris I mentioned in the above post. Inshallah he'll be buried @ Rookwood Cemetery. I can't go because of my stupid exam but I told my MIL to go instead, then she must be back @ 2pm so I can go spill my brains onto paper and hopefully, at least, get a Pass for it.

I AM SO NERVOUS!! After today's exam there's a practical exam for the same subject tomorrow.

My heart is racing just thinking about it. I mean, i'll be damned if I fail anything this semester; I just want to get this B Nursing over and done with so I could, inshallah, become a Registered Nurse and do Midwifery and then have more kids.......inshaAllah. I don't want to keep deferring everytime I fall pregnant; I ask Allah that it won't happen that way, if it is His Will. My last one is on the 26/11/07. Alhamdulillah I have 4 days to revise on the last exam.

Ok, i'm going to continue studying until 2pm. Muslim readers, PLEASE INCLUDE ME IN YOUR SUPPLICATIONS, PLEASE.

~Peace.

Death Comes Unannounced

2007-11-17T10:45:00.000+11:00

This is the inevitable event that has occurred to a pious man who is quite well-known around the Indonesian community, especially around Tempe Mosque. How did I come to know of this tragic news?

Well, I was skimming down my msn list and there were a couple of people who had typed "innalillaahi wainna ilaihi roji'un" next to their names. The aforementioned phrase is used or said when a muslim person has died. The phrase means: "everything comes from Allah and everything will go back to Allah".

And so I clicked on this sister's nickname and asked her "who died?", she replies "Pa' Haris". I was ABSOLUTELY stunned, because I knew this man since I was a child and his wife is the most loveliest, most humble person i've ever met; we're all quite close. I couldn't believe my eyes! I had her confirm it for me, still I was in disbelief and in shock. She said that he died last night, at home, when he was leaving for the mosque. She also said that he supposedly died of a asthma attack, he's had it for a while. The police were at his house last night, apparently they want an autopsy done. I'm not sure what Islamic law is on autopsy.

Nevertheless, I can't even begin to imagine what his wife is going through at the moment. I know for sure that i'd be equally devastated, maybe even more, if I lost my husband that way.

Death is not a bad thing. It is a reminder for all of us who are still alive and healthy. The sort of reminder that forces us to reflect that there are more important things than this world; for us Muslims, there is the Hereafter to think about. Once the Angel of Death comes for our soul, that's it, there's no more second chance.

I ask Allah Almighty to forgive Pak Haris and to give his wife ease after this hardship, let all his good deeds be his bodyguards in the grave, forgive us for our sins and let this be a lesson for us all....Aamiin.

~Peace.

Catch-Up

2007-11-15T23:13:00.000+11:00

I have been SO lazy with updating this blog. Now, i've decided to change the whole look. What do you think? I think it's time for a change! yay! Alot of stuff have happened since my last post; I think there are 3 main things:

My hubby's in Perth for a business trip for 2 weeks; that's the longest time he's been apart from Abdurrahman & I.
With all thanks to Allah, my brother's finally engaged! Allah-willing he'll be married by end of December 2007, in Indonesia.
Also, Allah-willing, Abdurrahman & I will be able to attend my brother's wedding. But my hubby won't be going though, he wants to sort out our plan to purchase a house.

Those are the 3 top things that i've been thinking about for the past week.

Alhamdulillah, the good news is i've already booked plane tickets for Robbie, Abs & I. But I was surprised when Robbie told me to cancel his ticket because he wont' be going with me & abs. I was a little sad & excited at the same time because i've NEVER gone overseas by myself; but I won't be anyway as i've booked the same flight as my parents & brothers...........but still, I'M EXCITED, WOOHOO!! Alhamdulillah.

Words are not enough to describe how happy I am for my dearest brother. He deserves this happiness after all he's been through. I hope to Allah that I won't miss his wedding, this is the special one because he's the last one to get married out of 3 of us. First was me, then my eldest brother, and now inshallah, will be his turn.

There WAS one girl he wanted to marry over here, but her dad didn't approve of him; which is unusual because to be honest, he's an all-rounder guy and I can't imagine anyone disapproving him to marry their daughters, of course he has flaws. Mind you, this girl was my close friend, friends since high school. I need to make it clear that my brother and this girl WERE NOT "going out" or "dating" or anything. They had feelings for each other and knew it, gradually they had the intention of marriage. And this went on for about 3 or 4 years; basically I got sick and tired of it and so did our family around us, because it was going nowhere. That's when I started to TOTALLY disapprove of the "relationship", if you wanna call it that. Soon afterwards our friendship started to disappear, but we're still friends to this day but not as close as before. I didn't care. I'd rather lose ties with her than with my brother.

Try to imagine your brother intending to marry your friend, and that intention is still there 4 years down the track, and nothing is happening! It's a -'i like you, you like me, let's get married, oh no your dad disapproves, but we'll wait and see what happens'- kind of thing.

Here's another thing to understand. In Islam, it's utterly important that both parents of both parties are happy with the intending marriage. If not, your marriage is guranteed to go wrong. Your parents' blessings is NEEDED for a happy marriage, because whether you like it or not your parents are involved too.

And so to make it short, after SOOOOO much contemplation and consideration my brother ended it with her. Of course it left her heart-broken but it was the right thing to do. And now that my brother's back from Indonesia, engaged, she found out and had the guts to call him, on Monday night, asking him to reconsider marrying his fiance!! When I was told about this I was PISSED OFF!! She knew no boundaries, no limits, NO NOTHING!! I've never disliked her more. I ask to Allah to make it easy for my brother and for him to marry the other girl, for him to be finally happy.

Whoa, I had no idea that I bottled up so much.

~Peace.

Ahh.......Daylight Saving

2007-10-28T12:00:00.000+11:00

........and what does my husband do?? He REWINDS the clock 1 HOUR when he's gotta be at work by 8am this morning. MEN!!! Honestly, I forgot it was daylight saving today. When I looked at the clock in my room it was 5.15am and then I heard the door bell ring; I thought: "Who the hell would come by at 5am in the morning?!" Then I realised it was already 7am, and at the door was a nurse who comes by to groom my father in law. I'm STILL baffled as to WHY my hubby rewinded the clock 1HOUR.

~Peace.

A Belated EID MUBARAK!

2007-10-18T15:30:00.000+10:00

So, how was your Eid eh? Mine? Busy as usual, as I had to host an open house whist the MIL is overseas; but then again it's a good thing 'cuz we've got the house to ourselves!!

Overall, I had fun alhamdulillah. I had the chance to spend some time at mum's place right after prayer because FIL had dialysis done @ Concord hospital.

I'm in skills class for NT6 at the moment......................the very reason I'm posting now, I'm bored!

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 25

2007-10-07T04:31:00.000+10:00

SubhanAllah, 5 days 'till Eid..............can't believe Ramadhan is ending, hope we'll meet again next year.

Starting from Monday (tomorrow), we're going to have the house to ourselves (cuz mother-in-law is going overseas for 3 weeks)...........yess!!!! But I have to host an open house after the Eid prayer because my MIL's relatives come over after prayers anyway.......*sigh*....I wanted to spend that day going to my parents' and seeing my family & friends there.....pffftt! This time I don't want to serve EVERYONE their food, i'll just set up tables with the food and drinks so everyone can serve themselves.................yeehhhhh, a much easier option.

Hubby & I are currently house-hunting, I pray to Allah that we get something out of that inshaAllah. See ya folks!

~Peace.

Ramadhan: Day 21; Ramadhan Stories 2

2007-10-03T23:17:00.000+10:00

Often when it comes to donating for the sake of Allah it can be hard. This next installment of the Ramadan Stories teaches us that by spending more in the path of Allah, we are not losing anything, but rather we gain more than we have spent!

A Thousand Camels

During the time when Umar (ra) was the Khalifah of the Muslims, there was a severe famine. All the people of Madinah were suffering due to the shortage of food. One day, a tremor in the ground was felt. It was found that a caravan made up of a thousand camels loaded with large stocks of food was arriving from Syria. Returning from successful business and trade, this caravan was owned by Uthman (ra). Upon its arrival, several merchants approached Uthman (ra) and offered to buy it all.

Uthman asked them what profit they would pay. "Five per cent," they said.

He answered that he could get higher profit than that.

They then increased their offer, and still Uthman answered that he could get an even higher profit.

The merchants continued to increase their offer until they argued that they did not know of any other merchants who would offer him more than what they had offered. Uthman then said to the merchants, "I know of one who repays a profit of more than seven hundred to a single dirham (Arabian currency)." He then recited the verse of the Noble Quran in which Allah (swt) mentioned this profit.

"The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whom He pleases. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower." [2:261]

O traders! Bear witness with me that I donate all this to the poor people of Madinah!" said Uthman (ra).

People would easily spend $2000 for a new television or shiny rims for their car. But at the same time, dropping a $20 note into a Masjid's donation box or giving to a needy brother or sister takes second thoughts (or doesnt even cross the mind at all). What we have to realise is that all our wealth comes from Allah, not from ourselves. And in order to become wealthier, we have to give in the way that Allah loves, always knowing that we will get in return something multiplied by what we had given. In addition to that, Allah also multiplies the rewards of good deeds by many times in Ramadan, so now is the best time to invest in your Akhirah (hereafter)!

~Peace.

Ramadhan Day 15 (ramadhan stories).

2007-09-27T05:04:00.000+10:00

A SCHOLAR IN CHINA

A Muslim scholar (Sheikh) was on a visit to China to give a series of lectures to the local Muslim community. One day, he was scheduled to give a lecture at a local hall and was about to take a taxi along with his companions to that location.

They got into the taxi and the Sheikh asked about how long it would take to get to the lecture hall. The taxi driver, through the translator, answered "Two hours."

The Sheikh immediately turned to his companions and said: "well, we can't sit in this taxi with the driver for two hours and not tell him about our religion. If we did that then we would be no different than any other non-Muslim or kaffir who uses this taxi. We are the people that Allah (SWT) chose to carry His message and honoured us to be Muslims. It is our duty to tell this person about Islam."

However, the driver was a native Chinese and didn't have a common language with the Sheikh. They had to communicate through a translator.

The Sheikh said to the translator: "Ask the man if he believes in any religion?"

Driver: "No, I don't believe in religion. I just get up in the morning, go to work and earn money. At the end of the day, I collect my money, go buy some food and drink for my family. What do I need religion for?"

Sheikh: "Ask this man if he has ever heard anything about Islam."

Driver: "Not much. I've seen a tape once and showed Muslims as violent people. I don't know much else."

Sheikh: "Ask him about computers. What does he think of computer?"

Driver: "I think the computer is an excellent invention. It is very useful and very sophisticated."

Sheikh: "Does he think that the computer could have invented itself or does he think that a human being invented it?"

Driver: "A human invented it, of course. It is not capable of inventing itself."

Sheikh: "Which one is more complicated the computer or the human being?"

Driver: "The human being is more complicated, of course."

Sheikh: "O.K., if the computer must have been invented by a human being, then it follows that a human being (which is more complicated) must also have a creator."

Driver: "O.K."

Sheikh: "In Islam, we believe that Allah is the creator of human beings and all other beings. Fine, now let's move on. Assume that you have never seen a computer before and never heard of it. If I brought a computer to you and gave it to you. Would you know what to do with it? Would you be able to use to its full potential?"

Driver: "No, I wouldn't."

Sheikh: "Now, if I gave you a manual for the computer, then you will be able to better use it? Correct?"

Driver: "Correct!"

Sheikh: "In Islam, we view Quran as the manual used by human beings to manage their lives. Without this manual, they will ruin themselves! Now, if this inventor of the computer assembled the machine and printed the manual, what would be the next step? He would need to train some engineers and others on how to spread the message about this machine. These people would, in turn, train others and others until everyone knows about the machine. In the example of Allah and Quran, the prophets of Allah play the role of the engineers. They learn the message and teach it to others so that the message will spread. Prophet Muhammad (saw) is the final messanger of Allah and he was ordered to take the message to all human beings."

By this time, the trip was coming to an end and they almost reached the lecture hall. But the Sheikh can see that there were tears coming out of the driver's eyes. The words of the Sheikh was having a significant effect on this driver.

Driver: "These ideas are very interesting to me. Do you mind spending 15 more minutes with me to tell me about this religion?"

The Sheikh agreed to spend those few minutes with this person and did. The man asked many questions and seemed genuine in his desire to learn more about this religion. At the end of these few minutes, the driver said: "I want to join this religion of yours. How do I do that?"

He was told that all he needs to do is say: "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad (saw) is his servant and messenger."

Clinical Placement

2007-09-16T10:12:00.000+10:00

Day 3 - 12/09/07

Well it has been several days since clinical is over, for the year, yes!! I'm trying to recollect my memory from last Wednesday.

As the week progressed I got more restless because I wanted the week to end so bad! I was sick of Liverpool Hospital and just get home. Wednesday was good, although I didn't see my friend on the ward; turned out she had 2 days off. Alhamdulillah I got teamed up with a somalian nurse, who is also Muslim. She was really good at her duties and didn't ignore me through the shift like some a**hole nurses do. The thing I remember vividly about Wednesday was the VERY FREQUENT trips to the pharmacy for our patients' medicine. I didn't mind it after that because I got to sit down for at least 10 minutes, which was the thought always on my mind.

Day 4 - 13/09/07 (Ramadhan Day 1)

Ramadhan has finally arrived; I was gonna miss the cafeteria food at the hospital; which wasn't all bad. This was my first time working in the ward while fasting. Alhamdulillah I did pretty good and didn't passout or anything of the sort. But it is VERY tiring. My hubby started his shift @ 12noon which was awesome, so he could take Abdurrahman to my mum's place for her to look after him. But the thing was I forgot to take out Abs' car seat to put it in Robbie's car >_<. At around 11am on my morning break I saw 2 missed calls from Robz and I called him back to apologize for not taking out the car seat; seriously, I was half asleep when I left for clinical that morning.

Day 5 - 14/09/07 (Ramadhan Day 2)

This was the final day of clinical for the year! yay! Afterwards, we've got two weeks off uni and then we come back for the final 5 weeks left. Some other people have clinical starting tomorrow after a good week off - those poor buggas! To sum it all up; alhamdulillah the facilitator gave me a satisfactory mark although she wasn't really good as our faclititator - i've had better and more enthusiastic. I hope I never see her again. Seriously, if I ever get her as a facilitator again, by Allah I will swap with someone else. That's how crap she was.

Ramadhan Day 3 - 15/09/07

I love Ramadhan!! Why? Because I don't have to cook until 5pm!! WoooHOoOoOOoOOoo!! I'm really loving it 'cuz then I can just focus on getting the other stuff done or start on my assignments. The whole day we went around looking for a Gazebo because the one in the backyard has been torned down by the strong wind. We came back with nothing.

Ramadhan Day 4 - today

Guess what. I can't pray or fast for the next 5-6 days >:(. I hate when that happens. But on the bright side it'll mean that I can fast on the last 10 days of Ramadhan, which will be an important time for this month. I haven't had the chance to fast in the last 10 days of Ramadhan for the past 3 years because my periods always come at that time. And finally, inshallah i'll have the chance now!
Today I was supposed to head to my parents' house in the morning but Robbie's got the sunday off work so we're heading up there around 11.00-ish and have Iftar at my aunty's house. It won't feel like an Iftar to me because i'm not fasting. Some of you my think it's a good thing that i'm not fasting, but for us it's a feeling like we're missing out on something grand.

How was that for a recollection of memory? That'll all folks!

~Peace.

Clinical Placement Week.

2007-09-11T23:00:00.000+10:00

Day 1: 10/09/07

Another week of clinical, only this time I wasn't looking forward to it. The group i'm in, we've got a crap facilitator - well, she's better than nothing. Not challenging enough i'd say. But other than that the first day was good, alhamdulillah!
Oh, I got placed in Liverpool this time - last time I SWAPPED to Liverpool from Sutherland. On Monday, there were just 3 of us girls placed in 1 West; it's a general medical-surgical ward, they have almost everything. Each 3 of us were teamed up with a nurse, or two. And subhanallah, I saw my friend, who started the nursing course with me at the same time, working in the same ward; and yep, you guessed it! I teamed up with her. It kind of felt wierd in a way because we were once on the same level and now she's an RN (Registered Nurse) and i'm STILL a student.

The skills I did on Monday were of the ordinary; which are showering patients, making beds, doing observation rounds, medications.

Day 2: 11/09/07

I was a wee bit late today, because i'd normally like to arrive 15 minutes before 7am or at least 10 minutes before to familiarise myself with the patients' medications and know what they're for when I give them. It bugs me so much when i'm late to something. I'm the sort of person who likes to punctual and not hold everything or everyone up. But as it always happens, you're gonna be late to at least one event in your life.

I did a foot ulcer dressing on both heels of the feet today. It looks like THIS PICTURE except on the heels. Yeh pretty common for diabetics. There's alot of patients in the ward with Chronic Renal Failure (CRF).
There's a lady with a really bad fungal infection on her leg; the smell of it stinks up half of the ward to the point where a fan is used to keep the smell away, but you can still smell it! Apparently she's had maggot therapy on that leg *shivers*

Ok, let's see what tomorrow brings.

~Peace.

Just uploaded a video off my phone....

2007-08-31T01:46:00.000+10:00

...it's somewhere in Youtube as well. Here it is:

Clinical Placement Week 2

2007-08-20T11:46:00.000+10:00

Day 1

Hey all~ Assalaamu'alaikum my brothers & sisters in Islam. Alot has happened within the past week. I've been bombarded with "unpaid work" - which is my placement @ Liverpool Hospital. If only they paid us for these two weeks..............but noooooo, it's entirely for experience *rolls eyes*.

Last week was Alhamdulillah a very good week in the wards. I got the feel of the daily routine of medication rounds and I got to do an Intramuscular (IM) injection on a patient...which was awesome!! It's been years since I've done some injection. All went smoothly until I re-capped the used syringe. Nicki (our facilitator) saw what I did and her eyes popped out of her sockets! Apparently I've forgotten the rule-of-thumb that YOU NEVER RE-CAP A USED SYRINGE. Nicki said to me "I did NOT just see you do that. I could fail you for that. You have just injected a patient and by re-capping the needle you could've pricked yourself!" Now I understood why she reacted the way she did. With that I learnt my biggest lesson; and I hope she won't fail me :(

As for today, I've taken the day off to look after Abdurrahman; he spiked a fever on Saturday night and it got worse on Sunday morning - which meant that he & I had to stay put and couldn't go to my mum's place on Sunday morning. Robbie took the day off work yesterday and together we took our baby to the emergency; just in case it was the horrible influenza virus.
After getting his temperature checked, the nurse gave him a medical iceblock to increase his electrolytes and asked us for him to urinate into the specimen jar. Robbie tried but to no avail. I tried the second time. After turning on the tap for a minute or two, my hand was in the way and got some of his urine on it, lol. So I grabbed the jar and he filled it up almost full. I was like "Oh, good boy! Yay!", I was never so excited about urine before!! Lol.

After all that the Doctor concluded that it wasn't a ear, throat OR a lung infection, and that it was viral *shrugs*. But he did tell us to look out for signs of rashes on his skin, and vomiting ALONG with the fever. We were in the emergency for 3 hours. I was so happy to see my parents at the emergency afterwards. Throughout yesterday his temp. was stable but it got higher to 40 degrees C overnight. And THAT'S WHY I'm @ home looking after him instead of going to my 2nd week of clinical. Inshallah i'll be able to go tomorrow, if Allah wills.

~Peace.

Clinical Placement Week 1

2007-08-20T11:08:00.000+10:00

Day 1-5 (Monday 13/08/07 - Friday 17/08/07)

At the moment i'm just so buggered with the internet, as it won't load pages although the wireless network is working and i'm connected.

I wanted to just put down some stuff here, about my clinical placement @ Liverpool Hospital, before I forget about it.

Before stepping out this morning, to leave for my first clinical placement in 4 years, I was quite apprehensive in how my son will cope with me gone for so long. You see, I've never left him for more than 3-4 hours, in today's case was 9.5 hours (0630-1600). I guess it's normal for mothers to worry about their child like that, especially with the first one.

However, I was SOOOOO excited to put on the uniform once again and head out to the real world, where others are in worse shape than I am. It only took me 15 minutes max. to get there and alhamdulillah I arrived on time. We were all waiting @ the main entrance for our facilitators to come and collect us and go through the usual checks and information (as per usual with clinical placements). There were 9 girls in my group but 1 person didn't turn up at all, which could turn out to be a negative thing on their behalf. Nevertheless, we proceeded.
I got placed in a complex Endocrine ward (AG 2 West) which included fields such as: gastrointestinal, aged care & mostly some diabetic patients. There others went to Renal and Respiratory wards.

The history of the patients that I was teamed up with had so many broad and diverse history. Honestly, I was shocked to see a young girl of 19 years in one of those rooms. I looked up @ the hand-over sheet to find that she was newly diagnosed with Diabetes. Subhanallah, our faith are tested at any time and any way that Allah wills. The other patients were pretty much elderly.

The first drama of the day happened while I watched 2 nurses helping a slightly immobile patient into a shower chair. Keep in mind that this patient is incontinent of urine AND faeces (i'm sure you know what that means). As soon as they got her (the patient) onto the chair, she urinated on the floor enough to make a fish pond! Oh well, stuff like that happens all the time in Nursing. All you can say is: "Oh no! She thinks she's on the toilet". Afterwards, having the nurse shower and dress her, she pooped out a little nugget just under the seat while the nurse and I were helping her into her chair! Oh boyy...they reminded me of my early days of clinical. We've got the morning shift for THE WHOLE 2 WEEKS, which means getting there BY 7am. By the end of the day, I couldn't really concentrate in debriefing with Nicki (our facilitator), 'cuz my feet were REALLY hurting - Nurses don't get to sit down for most of the shift - and plus I wanted to head straight home to my little boy.

Speaking of Abdurrahman; he's cheekier than ever now! Alhamdulillah he's able to copy our actions and say some words that I tought him such as: "Ma", "Diddi" (which is 'daddy'), "Om" (to call my brothers, which means 'uncle'), "Ummi" (grandma, to call my mum), "Buu" (grandpa, to call my dad), "Nene" (another grandma, to call my mother-in-law), "Kah" ('car'), "Bes" ('bus'), "Bye", "Uh-oh". Subhanallah, babies are so smart! Oh! He's also growing 6 more teeth simultaneously.

Ok, that'll be all for now. Got an early start from now on, until the end of next week :(

~Peace.

The Results Are In.....

2007-07-16T09:32:00.000+10:00

and .....ALLAHU AKBAR, I got a Pass and a Credit for my results!! Alhamdulillah!!

I was a nervous wreck, anticipating to see my results online............and then B A M! I saw those two beautiful words of "Pass" and a "Credit". I couldn't help but make the most sincere prostration to my Creator; I was SOOOO grateful that Allah has helped me gain those grades. And you know what I did afterwards? I danced around my room, picked up Abdurrahman out of his cot - of course he wasn't asleep - and swung us around and around until we both collapsed on the bed. THAT'S how happy and grateful I was.

Well, I wanted to share the news with anybody who's tuned in. And for those whose awaiting for uni exam results, I hope you kicked ass :)

Until next post......

~Peace.

18 Months and on.....

2007-07-12T12:32:00.000+10:00

...and it was time for my little man to get his 18 months Immunisation, after I postponed it for a week because he's just recovered from a horrible fever.

I was looking forward for him to be at this age; but now when I focus back, it's not much of a difference from last month. The injection was on his left thigh; although he had a delayed reaction he cried a little, as I expected. Pondering on his growth, as a person, from birth to this present day, astounds me even more. SubhanAllah he's grown soooooooooo fast for me to fathom. And before I know it he'll be 2 years old next January.

Anyway.........I'm at my aunty's house just to hang out and chill, because I rarely see them on a regular basis since I got married.

My friend NAFEESA is off to England tomorrow to get married to her fiance, and she's having her Nikah and Indian wedding over there too. I've decided to see her off at the airport tomorrow inshaAllah.

Aight, until next time habibs.

~Peace.

Snotty Season.....Literally.

2007-07-03T23:21:00.000+10:00

Tell me one person that DID NOT get the flu/cold/cough viruses during this month. Nup, I knew you couldn't.

Let's see, my little boy had just gone over his fever last Saturday; we were supposed to go to my mum's but couldn't because his temperature was still too high. Right after that, my throat started getting REAL croaky and felt that I was going to pass out at any moment.

Got a lot of visits from my family this past week because they wanted to see how Abdurrahman was doing. Oh, by the way, my little boy has turned 18 months today. I was feeling his gums for some new teeth coming and, alhamdulillah, I felt something sharp to the right of his two front-bottom teeth.
You see, he only as 4 teeth, on average he should have more but I'm not worried that; I'm just flippin' excited! Yay! He knows his got sharp teeth now, he always wants to bite my chin. Didn't think it would hurt that much, but to my dismay, it did.

Well anyway, I've been really down with the cough, flu, and sore throat; subhanallah it's a terrible thing to go through while looking after a sick baby. I'm trying not to complain because there are others out there in the world who are going through so many horrifying things, compared to a cough or a cold, and they deserve nothing to be going through so much pain. It's a test of faith.

I'm really sick of these Muslims, who call themselves "devout Muslims", and perform actions that are contradictory to the Islamic practice- blowing things up, hurting people -I'm sick of it! Allahu a'lam, Allah knows best who is telling the truth. I know for sure the media is screwing things around and making Islam look rotten in people's eyes.

On a not-so-serious note, I finished reading "Memoirs of A Geisha", finally. It took me quite a while; around 2-3 weeks. It's a pretty good read, very facinating. I love how Sayuri expresses herself almost poetically. When she describes a person's beauty It made me want to watch the movie more to see if the director did a good job @ picking the characters. After finishing the book, I looked through YouTube for the movie, and I found it! Yay! I watched it and was almost totally impressed of how good of a job well done those people did with making the film.

There are a few things though: 1) the book is always better than the movie. 2) Being taken away from their family - it is not how Chiyo and Satsu seperated from their parents. 3) Hatsumomo's not that pretty. 4) Michelle Yeoh was PERFECT to play the part of Mameha, very pretty in the movie. 5) The character Nobu had one arm missing in the book, in the movie he had two arms.
I'm really glad they kept the ending that way.

Personally, I wouldn't like to be a geisha if I had the choice. But being forced to become one? No, I would rather die. No offense or disrespect to those out there who think otherwise, but it's just my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVED the book dearly, couldn't put it down until I was nearing the end of it.

The one movie that i'm also excited about is Harry Potter and The Order of The Pheonix. I reckon it'll be AWESOME DUDE!!

Speaking of awesome, take a look at this person's blog who took a picture of my VAN. My brother found it on the internet and told me about it. No, we don't have that number plate anymore because the RTA thought it was "inappropriate" *rolls eyes*. It doesn't matter now anyway.

Until next time.....

~Peace.

There's Ease After Every Hardship.

2007-06-28T09:39:00.000+10:00

Assalaamu'alaikum wr.wb. to my Muslim readers, and Hey to the rest :)

Haven't bothered to daily or even weekly blog my happenings. Right now, at the moment, my son has a bad fever for the past 24hours, and if it continues to go on i'm takinghim to the doctor. His temperature has been high as 40.2 degrees C. So you can imagine how FREAKED OUT I was. A doctor HAS seen him during a house call last night, and he prescribed Bactrim and Demazin. He says that my baby has an infection.

If you saw how he looked last night, your mouth would've formed a really big "O" shape. My mother called, 2 nights ago, and I told her about Abdurrahman's state. She came over last night with my brother and just held Abdurrahman until she left.

Didn't sleep a wink last night! I was staying up all night placing a luke-warm face washer on his head to keep his temperature down. I couldn't fall asleep easily this time, usually I can. But then at 3am my body gave up and just shut down. The trip to sleepy land didn't last long though, I woke up at 5am and haven't gone back to sleep since.

Alhamdulillah, Abdurrahman's temperature has gone down to the 37.9 degrees C range. I'm so happy to see him act his curious self again. Seriously, I was dead worried that he wouldn't make it through the night. I prayed and cried and asked My Creator to restore my baby's health, if it is His Will.

I'm really grateful to Allah to see him laughing, smiling, playing, and dancing again.

Here he is watching Sesame Street:

~Wassalaamu'alaikum wr.wb

~Peace.

Oh, The Relief!

2007-06-15T22:44:00.000+10:00

Hey! How are my favourite people?!

Do I have any though? *shrugs*

I have finally completed a semester full of deadlines, pressure, expectations & snotty know-it-all first year Nursing students. Some people just don't know what they're in for if they think they'll fly through this course without sincere, hard work. Like I said, blardy snotty first year students (not all of them).

I now know the pressure that studying mums get when they go through balancing uni & family life, especially for those who've got more than 1 child. During the assignments fiasco I couldn't have my 17-month-old son in the room with me. I don't have any other rooms because I don't own a house and the room that I sleep is the only place where I can study. "OH ALLAH, PLEASE PROVIDE ME A HOUSE IN THIS WORLD, AND PROVIDE ME A PALACE IN JANNAH, AMIN."

Thanks to Allah, I felt good doing my first exam. Except for 2 questions that I KNOW I got wrong. What the heck is a "Reticular Formation" and "Spermatogonia"?! I know that it was something with the brain and the sperm. That's all! Alhamdulillah, there was a diagram of the heart we had to label. I was so grateful that I stayed up the night before, going into detail about the heart. I was like "WOOOHOOO!!! I see a heart diagram!!"

As for the 2nd exam, which was on last Thursday the 14/06/07. It was 100 multiple choice questions and 20 true-or-false questions. I LOVE those types of exams.

Now that I've done my exams I've got to think about more uni stuff. Like, what subjects to pick for next semester; yes, I'm planning to stay put with part-time studying - I've realised I work better that way with a child and all. Alhamdulillah, I'm happy with how I dealt with uni this semester; if I kick it up a notch next sem, inshallah I'll be at my best.

Well, that's just an update so far. Oh! A shout-out to Nafeesa: when are you available? 'Cuz I'd love to catch up @ a Cafe or anything. Let me know~

~Peace.

Boldness.

2007-06-03T11:56:00.000+10:00

I'm currently enjoying the tasty flavour of Heaven Chocolate truffles.....................yehh................i'm a choc-a-holic. I don't know what girl isn't one.

Guess what. I'VE SHAVEN MY HEAD, BOLD!

Nah....just kidding. I didn't go bold, but my now-17-month-old son has.

Oh lookie here, he's 17 months today, alhamdulillah!!

Anyway, Robbie & I were contemplating on shaving Abdurrahman's hair. I was like "Let's do it! We should've done it when he was a baby". And so we decided to go ahead with it. It was the right timing too, because we we're on our way to my mum's house and my brother's pretty good at cutting guys' hairs, with the shaver. Boy, was I excited!!!

When I told my mum she was like "Do it after the wedding, not now". There's an upcoming wedding inshallah, one of Robbie's relatives who's gottenn married in Indonesia and now having her 2nd wedding here. Me: "Mum, it'll be cool for the wedding, he's gonna look so HOT!". That's exactly how he looks now...lol.

Before shot
Now, compare it to this:
After shot

BIG change huh?!
This is what happened:
He's not scared, just apprehensive

And then:
Bad boy

That was the highlight of my Saturday. Hehehe. Until next time,

~Peace.

For those who are ready for marriage...

2007-05-28T14:14:00.000+10:00

here are some rules regarding seeking a suitable partner according to Islam. First, let's look at 'Readiness of Marriage':

knowing one's rights and obligations of an act is itself an obligation
knowing yourself well with the abilityto take the burden of responsibility (Mukallaf) is an implied requirement
for males, he must have the ability to provide and maintain his wife and family that would follow
for females, her ability to consent is sufficient readiness.

Okay, that was straight-forward. As I have promised my friend Nafeesa, who will be married in 2 months inshaAllah, I'll include some things to make a marriage contract. My husband & I are attending this Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) of Marriage @ the Al-Ghazzali center, and I thought this might help on the road to marriage.

Preparing the Marriage contract in Writing

a written contract is not obligatory but recommended.
conditions in a marriage agreement, which stipulates the acting on a prohibited matter make such conditions void, but the marriage valid.
matters which are a necessary responsibility of a party, but not stipulated in a contract, is still obligatory on that person. Not fulfilling such an obligation gives the right to the other party for divorce.
matters which are not stipulated under Shari'ah, but there is benefit in such a condition and if present in a contract must be obligatorily fulfilled. If no recourse is stipulated, for such a condition however, it canot be enforced through official means, e.g., an Islamic court or through recognised Leaders of a community.
it is permitted to give the right to one's wife to divorce herself without the involvement of the Islamic Court or authority, and is called Tafweed.
acceptance of Tafweed after entering into marriage is acceptable, as long as the husband agrees to this stipulation.
a woman may stipulate conditions of contract and Tafweed attached to it.
the written contract must be witnessed by at least two parties. It is best to make available the same copies of the contract each to the husband and the wife.

Ok, there you go. Hope that helps.

~Peace.

No Regrets.......

2007-05-08T23:57:00.001+10:00

But I wish these "Fiqh of Marriage" classes existed BEFORE I got married, it would've helped ALOT! Alhamdulillah :)

Robbie signed us up for a 10-week short course about "Fiqh of Marriage", provided by Al-Ghazzali. This class involves the study of the Personal Rights and Responsibilities, i.e., the Fiqh of Marriage. The Study Circle will cover Hanafi and Shafi'i Schools of Methodology. The content will include presentation on the laws and guidance pertaining to:
- Interpersonal interaction prior to marriage and during courtship

- Cultural misconceptions affecting Islamic Principles

- The Marriage Contract

- Rights and Responsibilities of husband and wife

- Consultation, the foundation of an Islamic Marriage

- Death of a partner

- Rules of Divorce, including the Australian Law

- Rights and Responsibilities of ex-husband and ex-wife.

The person who teaches it is Br. Afroz Ali. This guy's awesome! He's very well-known around the Muslim Village forums and quite intelligent too, mashallah. I must say, after just attending one session I felt different. You can say that I felt enlightened. There was a specific area of topic which I needed confirming, just for peace of mind. According to Shafi'i or Hanafi madhab (school of thought), a female is not allowed to wear fragranced perfume and adorn herself in public, because it'll attract the attention of non-muhrim men (men she can marry), whom she passes by. As soon as I found out about that I sticked to the rule. I didn't care who it was to tell to do otherwise, right up to this moment.

I remember a time when Robbie & I were just married, I'd say about 1 month. My mother-in-law would say something to the effect of: "put some lipstick on" or "put on some make-up". I responded with silence and only told Robbie that when sisters would go out, they're prohibited to adorn themselves and put on make-up, and perfumes with fragrance. And he didn't believe me until tonight's class. So for one, I'm glad he heard the ruling from the horse's mouth.

We got home @ 10pm. On the way home I was begging to Allah that Abdurrahman would be asleep when we'd arrive. Alhamdulillah he was. Until next time y'all...

~Peace.

One of many chances to thank Allah Almighty.

2007-05-01T10:21:00.001+10:00

ALL PRAISES DUE TO ALLAH!!!

I have just received good & wonderful news from my husband, whose being going on job interviews to get the job he's wanted for so long. At last, he has been offered the position of (?) Team Leader. He called me and I teared up a little while I was congratulating him, 'cuz this is what he wanted. Inshallah the pay will increase overtime and we'll be able to MOVE OUT AND GET A PLACE OF OUR OWN, INSHALLAH!! But that'll take 2-3 years I guess, I don't care, I put my trust in Allah and stay patient until we move out of here.

I just wanted to congratulate my darling Robbie; may Allah guide you through this new journey and make you steadfast in His religion. Amin.

~Wassalaamu'alaikum.

Fauzia Resurfaces.

2007-04-21T23:20:00.000+10:00

First and foremost, I want to congratulate my dearest friend Nafeesa on her engagement, and I hope that Allah Almighty sends down his Blessing and Mercy to her, her family, and her groom-to-be, on the day the knot will be tied :D

Seriously Naf, I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOU!! I'm already thinking about your wedding gift, LOL! Don't stress too much about the wedding details, well....I didn't anyway. Also depends on who's in charge with the organising. I wonder where you'll have your wedding reception and what you'll wear; I hope you'll be modestly dressed sis ;)That's definitely one of the good news i've heard this month.

Alot of burden lifted off my shoulders last Friday afternoon, after submitting 2 case studies that were due @ the same day and time. They were due @ 4pm and I arrived @ uni 5 minutes to 4pm.......parked the car just in front of the library and sprinted down to the Nursing headquarters. Mind you, I haven't sprinted like that in 3 years! After slipping them through the pigeon holes I had nothing else on my mind but to grab a spot to catch my legs. They were already weak and shaking like jelly! Which shows that I'm unfit, lol.

You know how excited you get when you've got a week off uni after assignments are over?? Well, that's how I feel right now! Temporarily free from studies....for the moment. I still have to do this online quiz before it ends on Monday morning.

Enough about stupid uni. Let me just recap some events - just minor events. Robbie & I took Abdurrahman to the Sydney Aquarium last Saturday and he enjoyed it, pretty much, cringing more like it. He's soOoOO cute when it comes to animals that scare him a little. He points to them and says "bah bah" from afar, but when he gets closer to them or they get closer and closer to him, he's blardy scared of them and holds on to me for dear life! That's how he was @ the Aquarium........well, not all throughout the Aquarium. He got pretty excited when he saw those baby penguins, I got excited too!I don't know why I thought the Aquarium would be boring when I was having a good time last Saturday. I guess this time I spent that moment with 2 special people. I can't wait to take him to the Zoo when he's big enough and not so scared of animals!

We also took him to the Easter Show on Wednesday, the last day it would be open. In my heart I REALLY, REALLY, didn't want to go. But would I stay home while my hubby & bubbago without me? I wouldn't feel right. Alhamdulillah, we had a wonderful time checkin' out the animals. Abz was still quite scared of the humungous cows and horses and the sheeps Mashallah! Never thought the horses would be that big! How on earth would I get on them? We didn't get on any rides 'cuz it wouldn't be fun if we didn't go on them together...who's gonna look after Abz while we're on the rides?! But we did watch this fasion show. At first I was like "Say, we're gonna watch a fashion parade, can you believe it?" I kept on giggling and saying how corny it was. But then the show began and my perception changed somehow. The clothes that were modelled were actually appealing to me....to me! Not only the clothes were appealing, if you know what I mean *wink, wink*. The were only 3 guy-models in the crew, the other girls were all sticks and needed food! There was this one guy-model who stood out from the rest: quite attractive, with a rugged-beard look. I had to lower my gaze after that first glance. We didn't stay for the whole show. Walked out because Robbie got bored and kept on nudging me to bail out. I didn't want to leave 'cuz I was starting to enjoy it - once in a lifetime experience. Eventually we left the show.

As for the showbags.......THEY'RE CRAP! Couldn't find anything that suited with Abdurrahman's needs - he's too young for those toys. Eventually, we got the Freddo and Hubba Bubba bags (2 for $10) and got Abz a huge Thomas the Tank Engine inflated baloon. At the end of the day I couldn't believe we spent 3 hours @ the Easter Show - my legs started to feel soggy and weak, and I offered to drive us home (that was a great choice).

Okay. Let's recep today's events. Finally my hubby gets his wisdom teeth removed, all 4 of them. We had to drive all the way to Fairfield to get it done because he didn't want to be awake during the surgery, so he went for a sedation. On the way there he was indecisive about which tooth will be removed and all I could respond was: "whatever youfeel is bugging you, take it out", I sounded like a broken record.

The procedure took 2.5 hours. After he was done they called my mobile to come & look in on him. When I saw his face I felt sorry for the poor bugga, LOL. Alhamdulillah he didn't feel any pain during the procedure and that it was finished. Far out, didn't realise until now how much mulah Dentists make PER DAY. While he's recovering he's only allowed to eat soups and cool drinks. Which is good for me, so I don't have to cook, yay! LOL. He's probably enjoying the special treatment that comes with the recovery...hehhe...spoiled. Think I'll leave it at that, for now.

Again, GONGRATULATIONS NAFEESA!!

~Peace y'all.

Gold Class..............for free.

2007-03-30T12:24:00.000+10:00

Hey y'all!

Hubby & I watched 'Mr. Bean's Holiday' last night...........for free! yay! IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOO FUNNY!! The gold class tickets were worth it though. Last time we blew those tickets by watching stupid Borat, aarggghh!!

This Bean movie is better than the last one- funnier! Alhamdulillah my hubby sometimes get some free tickets @ his work, that's if he does a good job, lol.

I've just recently been hooked on watching 'Heroes' on dvd- yep, I'm ahead of national tv. At the moment I'm up to episode 18, "Parasite". I wasn't really into it went it first came out on tv 'cuz I didn't have the time to watch it. But when my hubby said that his friend had episodes 1-16 on his external hard drive, I couldn't resist the temptation!
IT'S SUCH A GOOD SHOW! Although, it reminds me of X-Men. But it's all good!

Signing out.

~Peace.

2007-03-28T20:29:00.000+10:00

Is it me or do the days seem longer in non-daylight saving time? Last Sunday my hubby decided to take the day off work and just stay home and watch 'Heroes' all day. Productive eh?
And after all that bumming around we were amazed that it was still before 12pm.
But I like non-daylight saving time. A quicker time to pray Maghrib and I can spend alot of time during the day to do whatever I need to do.

I've become a computer-game freak since playing Need For Speed Carbon on my laptop. I even bought The Sims 2 PC on ebay. lol. I LOVE EBAY!

At the moment I'm trying to keep my son from randomly pressing buttons on the lappy while he's on my lap. Also waiting for my hubby to get back from Melbourne, for work stuff. He was only there for 2 days, previously he was there for work for 3 days. Of course, I miss him during those times. It's also an advantage 'cause I don't have to cook. hehehhehe! Not that I don't like cooking. I love it!

I've got to prepare for a tute & lab tomorrow. That's all for now, I guess.

Signing out.

~Peace.

Look up

2007-03-16T22:46:00.000+11:00

Hey guys, sup?

Just wanted to let you all know to check out that banner up the top.

It's a 3-day conference in Melbourne, regarding giving Da'wah by the examples of Prophet Muhammad and not by suicide bombing and whatnot.

Check it out!

~Peace.

2007-03-11T11:47:00.000+11:00

Never thought that my eldest brother would get married, let alone have a child. Well, now he's got both a wife AND a brand new son named Khalid Abdul Jabbar.

He was born on the 7th March 2007, @ 02:00 hours. I got the call from him around 5.30am that morning. Subhanallah, he sounded so at peace. I remember when I had Abdurrahman. An hour after he was out I kept repeating the sentence: "Oh my God, I have a son", over and over again to make it sound real to my ears. Both my husband & I were overwhelmed, especially me.

Alhamdulillah it was another happy moment for my big extended family. We were ALL there, all 22 of us, including little Khalid. 23 if you count my aunty's unborn baby, due sometime next month. Luckily my brother's wife had the room to herself (there were 2 beds in 1 room), so we were allowed to stay there. The last time, my cousin had her baby and it was too crowded for us all to be in there; so we filled the waiting room.

I had the previlige of bathing my first nephew, after he was brought home yesterday. I say that he's my 'first nephew' because I've had lots of other nieces & nephews from my cousins; and that's not REALLY a neice or nephew. This time it feels natural, like he's my child too. I warn you all that I get REALLY wierd and clucky when I'm around new babies. I act all funny & start speaking baby language. It's just so beautiful when newborns suckle on their mother's breast. I love it! Where do newborns get the knowledge of suckling & how do they know what to find when they want a feed? It's just amazing how Allah Almighty creates us all.

~Peace.

2007-03-05T13:18:00.000+11:00

Hey all~

Just at Uni at the moment. I brang along my son to a lecture today but we didn't last long. hahah! I expected that. It was a Lecture Tutorial for the subject "Becoming A Nurse". This is a subject which I've passed in 2003 semester 1. I've already lodged in a "Academic Credit Form" or something of that affect but Gloria, the chick who helps us nursing students out, advised me that I still attend all classes until the Head of Course grants me some credits for all the subjects that I've done.

I hope to Allah that I do get those credits.

Even though Abdurrahman & I only lasted half an hour in the lecture I'm still @ Uni printing some stuff out and looking for textbooks for my assignments- this time I'm going to start them early, inshallah.

I didn't feel like going back to the lecture even though my son was sleeping after a bottle of milk. I wasn't in the mood. Instead I queued up to buy some textbooks. WHY DO TEXTBOOKS COST MY LIFE SAVINGS?!?! AARrrgh Uni!!

~Peace.

2007-02-28T21:25:00.000+11:00

Boy, oh boy. Today was not as tough as yesterday. Had class from 1.30-3.30pm; although the teacher gave us an early mark. My morning was kinda hektick: prepared hubby brekkie & lunch (he left @ 7am to start @ 8am), prepare Abdurrahman's milk and brekkie, do my washing, prepare for dinner and hang the clothes out to dry afterwards - which was useless because they ended soaking wet due to the heavy rain in the afternoon. I've never been more busy than that- I don't think.

By 10am I had to take a break and sit down because I felt my legs were about to split from my body. I watched abit of Grey's Anatomy. I've been downloading recent episodes off HERE. You can find & download all the episodes you like. With Grey's Anatomy I'm up to episode 17. If you're a Prison Break fan and can't wait to watch the episodes on Aussie tv, I suggest you download the episodes from there as well. Trust me, it gets SO MUCH jucier!

Anyway, I left Abdurrahman with my mother-in-law cuz she was free. I like going to uni. It's also a chance for me to get out and socialise with some people, especially the Muslim sisters. But these days, going to uni doesn't feel the same as opposed to not having a family. When I was going to uni before, childless, after class I felt at ease with staying back a little, chatting with some friends. But now, after classes finish for the day, all I want to do is get back to my son as soon as possible..............without speeding, of course. Didn't think it would rain today, hence I didn't bring an umbrella. So, by the time I got to my car, to go home, I was drenched! Love the rain.

I have a class from 10.30-12.30pm tomorrow. Inshallah I'll drop Abdurrahman off @ my mum's. Alhamdulillah she's willing to go to work late in the arvo to look after her grandson. I hope it all goes smoothly tomorrow.

~Peace.

First Two Days of Uni

2007-02-27T16:36:00.000+11:00

I'm soOOo tired! Especially today. Nobody could look after my son. I had class from 8.30-11.30. I had no other option but to bring him to class; he was allowed to come and within the first hour he was fine. When it got around 10am-ish he started being fidgety. Eventually he was making too much noise in the class.

I had to walk in and out of class three times before I bumped into Nafeesa (a very good friend who goes to the same uni now), and her class ended up being cancelled. Her and her friend offered to look after Abdurrahman while I go back in class for the remaining 15 minutes. Alhamdulillah! Now I know NOT to bring him in class. I wasn't angry, especially not at my son. Rather, I felt sorry for him. There's a reason that mothers are more compassionate than fathers. Alhamdulillah Allah made us women like that. If I hadn't been compassionate with my son today I wouldn't have cared.

I wonder how it'll be like with 3 kids and going to uni @ the same time. My hubby doesn't eat rice so I've got to cook something different each day. Cooking is easy but if he would eat rice it would make things MUCH MORE EASIER for me.

After leaving uni for the day I bought 2 Wicked Burger Meals from KFC for dinner. That's how tired I am. I'm just going to lay back and put my feet up somewhere. Adieu.

~Peace.

Preparation

2007-02-26T08:16:00.001+11:00

*sigh* Here we go. Uni starts today, inshallah. I feel like I'm sitting for an exam; a little scared & apprehensive and I don't think I'm excited about it.

Be right back; feeding my son his breakfast

Twenty minutes later:
Sometimes it's a battle feeding my son in the mornings, somtimes it's peaceful.

Anyway, I've got a 3-hour class this morning from 10.30am-1.30pm. Sadly, while I'm @ uni I have to leave my son behind, with my mother-in-law. I hope he'll be okay; he's been away from me before, but for 3 hours? I'll leave it up to Allah Almighty to watch out for him. I'd have to ask if there's a childcare facility @ uni or something because I can't leave him with my mother-in-law tomorrow; she has to do dialysis for her husband.

We'll see how it goes today; inshaAllah it'll work out for the best.
I'll let you know how I go on my not-so-first-day-at-uni.

~Peace.

Uni Jitters........................................bleh!

2007-02-22T22:50:00.000+11:00

hey! wat up, mah homy-G's?? O_0

Hope everyone's well and all :) Yep, Thursday shopping night............what a night. I can't explain why I always feel faint, a little light-headed, and tired all at the same time whenever we go grocery shopping. But whenever I do the shopping during the daytime- I feel fine! Yep, I'm starting to notice the pattern here.

Believe it or not, Uni's starting next week; for UWS. Think I'm getting the Pre-Uni Jitters. I'm a little worried how my son will be looked after when I can't take him to Uni and my mother-in-law is busy with Dialysis at the same time? Inshallah I'll find a way. During tute registration, they've put as a "default" full-time student. Gosh! I'm gonna have to do alot of damage control within the first week! And another bizzarre thing: they've changed ALL OF THE SUBJECT NAMES in the whole 3-year B Nursing course!! I mean, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??!! I've done most of the subjects that I'm enrolled in right now. I predict it's gonna be a bloody hassle for the first week, sorting out my official hours at Uni. Once that is cleaned up perhaps I have time for a part-time job? Inshallah I will- trust me, I need the moolah to help my hubby in searching a place of our own.
On the lighter side, inshallah I'll get to some familiar faces that I left behind 2 years ago. It is time to embrace Uni life, once again.

I'm getting bored of my iRiver mp3 player. I've realised that I didn't need it anymore. I've got the CD stacker in the car, my sony ericsson which has 1GB memory card. These days I'm not in the mood for music, not even Dream Theater songs. What I should be listening to is more Qur'an recitation, and HEAPS of Islamic lectures. So I've decided to sell it on.....*drum roll* EBAY!! YAY! hauhauah! Alhamdulillah, most of my items get sold :D Problem is: Starting price. What should it be? eeek! >_<
The iRiver plays AWESOME!

Btw, I'm trying to fight off a mouth ulcer- subhanallah, it kills!! I was over-joyed to find Sedagel in the drawer. IT KILLS EVEN MORE!!

Check out this video. This guy paints pictures of 30 people who have influenced him on his torso. I was amazed! Watch it:

~Peace y'all.

Belated B'day Post: I've Lived For 23 Years (Alhamdulillah)

2007-02-21T01:49:00.000+11:00

Never thought that I would be married with a 13-month-old son by the age of 23.

My b'day was yesterday. Why am I posting a day after it? I don't know myself. I had the intention of posting sometime yesterday, but didn't get around to it.

This is my 2nd b'day with my hubby and son. And it feels so special every single time. *Gasp* Oh...my.....subhanallah! It just hit me. It may not be a big deal to some people but; it's almost my 2nd year of marriage to Robbie. Time flies TOO fast, apparently!

What do 'birthdays' really mean? In Islam, we try not to celebrate too much on our birth dates. Not to sound pessimistic but we view our birthdays a way to remind ourselves of how close we are to old age and eventually death. More likely, how close we are to death. Of course we welcome our special birthdays with open arms! You can throw a party if you like! It's best to keep it a standard pace. Because if we celebrate too much and over the top, we tend to forget our purpose in this life.

I've never had a birthday party in my life (except in Kindergarten). Not even in my teen years and not even now, in my adult life. Of course I've always had my close family to share my birthdays, and I've always appreciated that. Especially for last night. My mum, brother and 2 cousins came by just for the b'day; 'twas truly touching.

I know it wasn't a big party or anything; but that's exactly what I didn't want: A big party. The important thing is I have a purpose in life, a reason to live, and a destination to reach; Eternal Paradise. And that's what pulls me through this tough life.

We all have a purpose in Life. Don't lose it.

~Peace.

Reunion.

2007-02-10T11:32:00.000+11:00

I'm so happy and relieved that all my cousins (from mother's side) are here. My aunties and their families arrived in Sydney one day apart from another. I haven't bothered with updating this blog. Don't know why. I guess I must've been preoccupied with mother stuff, haha.

My parents are back, cousins are back; wonderful pictures of the wedding....wow~ my cousin looked AMAZING. I'll take a shot of the pictures and then i'll post them on here. Felt like I REALLY missed out on a lot- looking at those photos and hearing my cousins telling stories of how awesome it was being with Ummi & Buya (our mothers' parents), and going shopping everyday @ Jakarta. Girls, it sounded like you had the time of your lives!

The people I miss the most are Ummi & Buya; miss them so much. They've seen how AbdurRahman and & Hamzah look like and they are astonished that Uni Novi & I have kids now. And I miss all my cousins over there; the big ones, the little ones, trust me- with my mum having 14 other siblings, beside herself, there's BOUND to be LOTS of grand-kiddies and around 5 great grand-kiddies. It's impossible to fit us ALL in one photograph. Judging from the photos, they've grown so much and there are more additions! Subhanallah!

A little update on what's been going on:

my son is inshaAllah growing 2 front-bottom teeth. He's handling it well but there's been a few restless nights for him, poor bugga. And also I'm teaching him to walk with just holding one of my hands- and he did it pretty well this morning! Another new thing with him is his ability to clap his hands! LOL! He looks soOO adorable when he claps!
I've gotten my car back; after 1 year of waiting, wishing, and hoping. Alhamdulillah, I have my little freedom.
InshAllah I'm going back to Uni, part-time studying B Nursing @ Western Sydney, Bankstown campus. Yep, Rina & Nafeesa, inshallah I'll see u both there!

I reckon that's all the update I can think of. It's Saturday and inshallah around 2.30pm I'll be going to my mum's house for a weekly visit, yay! The three of us usually go out, but today, I don't want to be anywhere near that husband of mine. Had a little misunderstanding (what married couple doesn't?) but it wasn't my fault. I've realised that men NEVER apologize. Why don't you test it out and see for yourself? I swear, it's the truth.

*b r e a t h.d e e p l y* Patience.....patience....patience.

I'll end it here.

~Peace y'all.

Homecoming.

2007-01-23T22:44:00.000+11:00

AHOI-HOI!!

whoaaaa!! It's been............weeks eh? Yeh I know. I've been lazy mostly, to post one measly, little, post.

It's been 3 weeks since my son has turned 1 years of age. It's been turning point for me, so far. To recap his b'day party in a paragraph (or so): Alhamdulillah it was excellent turn-out. My mother-in-law invited the WHOLE VILLAGE...........and that's what she got. Food was enough for everyone. Not all of my friends came. I was kinda pissed. I spent all that money for blardy sms's and only 2 friends from school came, for which I'm soOOoo grateful. And for some people to tell me, face to face, that they'll come inshaAllah, but didn't. I HATE THAT!

I felt a hole inside of me grow that day. My parents were @ Indonesia, most of my cousins @ Indo too. I felt that they missed out on this somewhat important. Alhamdulillah it was better than I thought. All Praise be to Allah, he received soOOo many prezzies! So many clothes!!! That's awesome! So we won't have to shop for him for another 3 years!! LOL. Two of my school friends who came were Nafeesa & Lousia; girls, I ABSOLUTELY love your prezzies! They're adorable, and he loves it! :D
Getting abit cloudy now. I'll post up the pics of that day.

Me & my boyz
Nafeesa & AbdurRahman
Goofing around.

LOOK @ ALL THOSE PRESENTS!

~Peace y'all.

My Son Has Lived His First Year.

2007-01-03T23:55:00.000+11:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABDURRAHMAN, MY LITTLE MAN!!

Oh hey! Great to be here again! Finally, I am on time for ONE OF THE MOST important moment in my life...MY SON'S BIRTHDAY! Now, I want to post ON THE RIGHT DAY of something important to me. I am SOOOOOO buggered right now, but the love of a mother to her child cannot be beaten by tiredness and delaying posting in her blog on her son's birthday. No way. I'm trying to fight that tiredness right this minute. It was a big day for the little guy. You know what he got for his birthday? THREE INJECTIONS ON HIS THIGHS, that's what!Hah! Imagine getting that for a blarrdy b'day gift! Poor baby, he was fed up with the 3rd injection on his right thigh. We had to go to a completely different doctor to get him immunised. The usual doctor we go to is on Holidays, and the Medical Centre was out of stock of the '12 months vaccinations'. After those nasty injections it was off to the Baby Health Centre we went.

Alhamdulillah! He is progressing so well. Right now, he's 10.2 Kg, 75cm tall. He can now drink full-cream cow's milk (the normal milk), but I still want to continue giving him S-26 Gold Toddler, with all those nutritious ingredients. But somehow we'll alternate between the two.
Since it was his b'day my brothers wanted to come over to see him. He rang me up while we were still at the baby centre. So I just told him that Abdurrahman & I would pop by @ mum's place. Oh btw, my parents have departed to Indonesia, for mycousin's wedding. So my unmarried brother has the house all to himself.......HOW LUCKY! I wish I single now.........NOT! LOL.Ok, so the story goes: I had to get some shopping done and we couldn't leave my father-in-law all by himself. So I dropped off my mother-in-law and headed off down to my mum's place to meet my brothers there. And between those times alot of shopping had to be done, and I had to be home by 4pm to cook dinner. Regardless of the hecktik schedule, I had fun spending time with my brothers; nowadays, that moment is rare to have.

I always remember back to Abdurrahman's birth day. He came to the world early than expected. His estimated due date was 19 February, 2006, yep- one day before my birthday. I was excited! Instead he came 2 days before Robbie's birthday. I still remember that day vividly. I don't want to go into details just in case some readers get grossed out by birth stories. The first thing new mothers do when they meet is tell each other labour stories - it's facsinating! Alhamdulillah, mine was VEEEEEEEEERYYY easy. The whole labour thing went for 16 hours but the real pains only lasted for 1 hour; and he was out by 4.10pm, 3rd January 2006.

The BIGGEST thing I learned while going through delivery is how precious our mothers are. It is true what parents/mothers say: You will NEVER, truly know how it is to be a mother/parent, until you become oneyourself. Within 5 pushes, I received my gift from Allah Almighty. I was so happy that I was crying. Overwhelmed by what's happened. My gosh, I'm even getting teary while typing this blog.

My point is: when a mother hold her newborn baby in her arms, she thinks about nothing else except how Allah is Gracious; how beautiful her baby is; how hard is was for her own mother to go through the same thing. And with those thoughts in mind, I asked MY mother to forgive me, immensely. For all the pain I have caused her. For the way I acted sometimes - especially raising up the youngest, and only daughter. Dearest readers, I only ask that you treat your parents with kindness. Please, never mistreat them; or else you'll regret it.

Everyday I ask Allah to give me strength in raising my son. For him to be the best Muslim that he can be and never displease his Creator. Here's a classic shot of me & my boy :)

[Forever Love]

It is no surprise why Parents get all your attention,

After all they've been your guardian since you've

Stepped out into the world, since your first cry;

First word, first smile, first walk.

You'll never understand the love of a parent for their children

Until you become a parent yourself.

Why do you take them for granted?

How can you?

Your responsibility is to them after God,

They have cherished you & looked after you

And hoped all the best for you while you were still suckling.

They've watched you grow, grow & grow into a human being-

Into an individual; what you have become today,

Even if you are not the person they wanted you to be;

You will still be forever theirs,

Forever a father & mother's love.

When you stumbled when taking your first step,

They kept you going;

When your mother carried you, wherever she went for the whole nine months,

She battled with the pain & suffering of birthing;

She may have died while hoping you would have a great life!

Will you not help them up after they've taken their final step?

Will you not give them a shoulder to cry on?

Will you not lower your wings of humility to them?

Show them your gratitude, your generosity-

The next time a 'tomorrow' comes,

Will be on the Last Day.

~Peace y'all.

Eid Madness!!

2006-12-31T10:42:00.000+11:00

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!

2006-12-26T00:05:00.000+11:00

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!

2006-12-15T13:20:00.000+11:00

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.

2006-12-14T09:55:00.000+11:00

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.

2006-12-12T22:14:00.000+11:00

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.

2006-12-06T23:59:00.000+11:00

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.

2006-11-26T16:03:00.000+11:00

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.

2006-11-20T03:50:00.000+11:00

..........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.

2006-11-17T23:45:00.000+11:00

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.

2006-11-16T23:25:00.000+11:00

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.

2006-11-13T23:43:00.001+11:00

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

2006-11-05T21:23:00.000+11:00

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.

2006-11-03T21:18:00.000+11:00

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!!

2006-11-02T00:42:00.000+11:00

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 :(

2006-10-25T15:08:00.000+10:00

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.

Fauzia's HQ

Come And Have A Read.

First 10 Days of Dhul-Hijjah

A Hadith A Day: Ramadhan Series

Wa-Thak'ker (And Remind)

Seeking Your Provisions (Rizq)

The Duties of Brotherhood In Islam

The Quest for Tranquility in Marital Life, part 2.

It's Been A Long Week

The Quest for Tranquility in Marital Life - Part 1 of 2

Mother Mary in Islam

A Reminder....

EID MUBARAK!

Ramadhan Day 22

Ramadhan Day 8

Ramadhan Day 3

Ramadhan Day 1

Vent

As The Week Goes By....

I'M BACK, BABY!

A Little Update....

An Extra Year of Life - Allah Is Great!!

To Allah We Belong & To Allah We Return.

It's All About Bella & Edward.......

On the 12th day of Ramadhan ........

Tomorrow is........

Clinical Placement Day 1

I'm Avatar Obsessed!

*In Prostration*.............I PASSED!!

Freeeezing!!

Four Things About Me‏

Some Hilarious Pics...

Latest videos uploaded on Youtube

NO PORK AT ALL!!

Updates....

3 years and counting (inshaAllah)

Nobody Told Me....

It's Official!

INSHALLAH............

'Tis The Day I Turn 24.......

Freedom Is 2 Weeks Away + Turning 24 (Inshallah)

Beauty Tips 4 Sisters

A Little Jet-Lagged

Something's Fishy...

To-Do List...

Exams Are Just Beginning

Death Comes Unannounced

Catch-Up

Ahh.......Daylight Saving

A Belated EID MUBARAK!

Ramadhan Day 25

Ramadhan: Day 21; Ramadhan Stories 2

Ramadhan Day 15 (ramadhan stories).

Clinical Placement

Clinical Placement Week.

Just uploaded a video off my phone....

Clinical Placement Week 2

Clinical Placement Week 1

The Results Are In.....

18 Months and on.....

Snotty Season.....Literally.

There's Ease After Every Hardship.

Oh, The Relief!

Boldness.

For those who are ready for marriage...

No Regrets.......

One of many chances to thank Allah Almighty.

Fauzia Resurfaces.

Gold Class..............for free.

Look up

First Two Days of Uni

Preparation

Uni Jitters........................................bleh!

Belated B'day Post: I've Lived For 23 Years (Alhamdulillah)

Reunion.

Homecoming.

My Son Has Lived His First Year.

Eid Madness!!

Survey Time!

Broadcast Yourself!

In Prostration.............I PASSED!!