>> Break: Busy Times <<

Assalamualaikum everyone...

I have not posted anything here for a while, although at times, I have loads to share. This is due to time limit (yup.. busy during holidays- this is the 1st time i'm experiencing it). Another reason is because I did not bring my laptop here, currently. I'm in Pahang with my family for a few days, but without a laptop (sigh..).

Will write as soon as possible..
Wassalam...

An Open Letter

Dear friends…

Firstly, I’d like to clarify.  That this letter is written, not of hatred.  Nor to spread lies in the net.  But because of love.  Love to you, as my friend, and also brothers and sisters in Islam, bonded by a bond that is stronger than any other ties, the bond of aqeedah.  Though it may be years since we last met, I still love you, for I had promised myself:  to love you, fillah, abadan abada

 

There are news that I heard.  No, not one, but tons.  No, not good news, but news which I am greatly saddened by.  What?  It is news upon news, one after another, of my friends finding ‘partners’ or perhaps… ‘love’.  No, not thru marriage, but by un-syara’ ways.

 

One thousand and one emotion surge thru me as I heard and witness them all. Anger?  Yes.  Hate?  Definitely.  No, not at you, my dear friends, but at those acts of disobedience to Allah that you had done.  Also to the syaitan that had successfully fooled you.

 

Please…  WAKE UP!!  Do not fall into syaitan’s trap.  Having a relationship with someone, declaring a guy/girl special is declared HARAM in Islam.  The ever-famous verse in the Quran, “La taqrabu zina” says it all.  “Do not come NEAR adultry”, Allah said.  Not “do not perform adultry”.  Hence even coming near adultry is haram, and staying away from it becomes WAJIB.

 

Sure, tons of arguments can be put up against it.  But remember, the saying is not mine, nor is it your mother’s, but it is the words of Allah, and thus it becomes MANDATORY.  Affirmitively, no arguments allowed.

 

 

Dear friends who I really care of…

 

We have been thought, undergo the process of self development (tarbiyyah) and learn Islam for so long…  but why did you still fall?  Did you not feel your iman criying inside?  Did you not notice that Allah seems far and out-of-reach, as you go along, being close to the opposite gender?

 

Remember, that a heart, if not watered by imaan, remembrance to Allah, and amalan soleh (good deeds), can wither and die.  Love for the world and going against Allah’s commands (ie doing ma’siah such as going out with a non-mahram, sms-ing and chatting on the phone/ online with him/her) are toxic, which will harden the heart, eventually resulting it to die.

 

Be careful, oh friends… be afraid… that one day, your cries for Him will not be heard.  Beware of the day, when you try to find Him, yet He is not there for you.  For then your heart has died (Nauzubillah!)

'Eid Mubarak!!

'Eid Mubarak everyone.... 

Let us recall back and recapture the spirit and strife of Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and his child, Prophet Ismail in obeying Allah under every condition and under any circumstances.  Let us strive to increase our iman and strengthen our taqwa in living for Allah and spreading the Deen..

_HumayraSolehah_

Travel - See - Think! (Part II)

Poring

Marks my expedition high up

A trek thru the ‘canopy walk’

Till 41m above the ground

Weaving through tree branches

Testing my courage

And reminding me, again and again

Of Allah’s Greatness, and Perfection

Also, even high up there…

He is still close by

Taking care of every corner,

Every single leaf of every tree

Each bird that ever chirps

 

My dearest sis

Thank you for your quick assurance

When we read the dua’a together

Atop of the ‘rope bridge’

“Bismillahi tawakkaltu ‘alaLlah”

And from being scared, you became so brave

Confidently saying, ever so assuring

 “No worries, Allah will protect us”

And my own fears vanish

With a smile that you did not see

And a whisper

“Thank you, oh Allah…

For giving me a lil sis who trusts You

And reminding me as well,

That my trust in only for You…”

 

Pulau Manukan

Your greatest beuty

Is hidden deep inside the ocean

The vareity of fishes and corals

Of all shapes, size and colors,

Left me silent with awe

At the sight of them all

 

And to You, dear Lord, my thanks go

For the precious experience

Of myself, first time snorkeling

Opening up a whole new world

The underwater world

Oh, how very accurately You created

Each creature, with its own function

Different and unique

In its own special way

 

 

As time flew by

The vacation ends…

So sadly, I say,

Goodbye, Sabah

Thanks for the memmories

And thanks for the wonderful days

Hope to see you again soon…

(^_^)

 

10:30 am, 6 Dec ‘08

Travel - See - Think!

Just a shot at writing a poem... mind the mistakes, i haven't edited them yet...

Mount Kinabalu beacons me

Welcoming me with its untamed greatness

The South China Sea greets softly

With its lapping waves and soothing sounds

 

Thank you, ya ar-Rahman

Giving me this valuable opportunity

To travel, visit, and observe

Appreciate Your creations...

And get to know more about You

To store wonderful memmories

Expanding knowledge, experience,

And not to mention, IMAN!

 

Mt Kinabalu…

You amaze me with your height

Your vastness and might

Full of untamed nature

And oh, so picture perfect!

 

Thank you...

For letting me realize

How very small I am in this planet earth

How irrelevent it is, to think we are so great

So powerful, that we can defy Allah’s rules

And how illogical

To think that the world revolves around us

For we are nobody, at all,

But His servants

Also… thank you for showing me

The perfect beauty that Allah have created

He is indeed the Creator (al-Khaliq) and the King (al-Mulk)

And as weak humans… we need Him

At every step of our journey

At each phase of life

Till the end…

 

I enjoyed you

Your breathtaking view

Left me at awe and wonder

Drives my mind to ponder

The hidden truth and facts within

Your fresh mountain air

Led me hoping

That my iman will be as fresh

And my drive to spread Islam will thrive

**To be continued... 

Lost....

 

Lost… somewhere in the mist.  A suffocating mist of alien emotions and unknown feelings.  What?  I’m not sure.  Honestly, I don’t know. 

 

This is what I am currently feeling.  Unsettled.  For a few days already, actually.  Why?  That was the same question that even I cannot answer currently.

 

My mind wandered on… though admittedly with its limited capabilities, it may not know enough. Yet it pondered on, in search for answers.  Meanwhile, my heart remains at its unsettled state, despite efforts upon efforts made to calm it.  Is it crying? Well… perhaps not.  Not that I can see it.  Is it bleeding, or sick?  Well, maybe. 

 

“It hurts… somehow…”  from somewhere inside, a small voice admitted.  And my mind took charge again.  Why is it in the particular state? 

 

Is my heart far from remembering Allah lately?  Did I do anything that brings His anger?  Is my amal fewer now than it was before?  Or… is it because I’m missing someone?

 

Still trying to figure out..

And my heart is crying… again.

 

Signing  off…

~ Some Pics of Kem Kerlipan Bintang ~

group cheer! (^_^)

GooD... (I think.. hehe..)

oh.. they're all enjoying themselves.  trying to build a high, yet stable tower using a bunch of straws.

this is during the explorace ~my checkpoint~ 

these guys are sure hard at work... building from straw is no easy task!

>> salam semut2 <<

presentation time... presentinig team name, motto and logo

each team is so creative... (not to mention some funny ones too!)

C'mon... wanna join?

Um.. bile yer ni?? ha.. jmput minum.. (a nite i won't forget!)

wonder who... hard at work.. *wink*

>> more to be posted later, insyaAllah..

>> A Camp To Remember (Part II) <<

...:: tambahan: sesiapa yg nak entri ni diterjemah, tlg bgitau ye.. tgglkn email kat bhgian comment (especially buat adik2 SMK Dato') ::..

> We can plan, but Allah also plans.  And His plans are the best of all.

 

Perhaps it is something that is oft heard and repeated.  The verse seems very apt during the evening of the second day of the camp.  We had planned a number of activities for the night, but Allah knows best.  He had wanted to ‘tarbiyyah’ the students on how to really put their trust, and hope only to Allah.  How to really rely on depend on Him fully.  How is that?  Allah had planned for the night, to have three people getting ‘hysteria’ one after the other.                             

Hence, the evening was filled with ma’thurat and two rounds of Yasin.  We also get to really relate the talks and remind the students of Allah’s power over His creations, His love and the fact that He is always there for us.

Honestly, I was actually freaked out too, when the first girl got hysteria.  On top of that, I was the only girl facilitator around too!  Plus I have never experienced anyone getting hysteria when I am around before.  But Alhamdulillah, I was able to keep my cool at the time, reminding myself again and again that whatever ‘the thing’ is, Allah is much more powerful.  Coincidentally, one of the facilitator is used to dealing with this situation.  Hence we let her handle the girl, while the rest of us calm other participants and organize activities for them. 

Later on, during the post-mortem, all of us agreed that the experience is a highly valuable one indeed.

 

> Da’wah is an art – a business of winning people’s heart

Yup… it is an art.  An art that take years to master.  It is not a simple task to touch hearts and influence people.  Because people are not the same.  Everything is not just black and white. 

During the camp, I saw firsthand one of the art at work.  Oft times, when facing those who we perceive as bad, we tend to be hard on them, setting punishments upon punishments.  But a da’ei should be different.  Take a different outlook, and be creative with these people.  Because fire may not be put out with oil.  Thus, we should try to pour water no the fire instead.  This is the approach that the camp commander had decided to apply.   Alhamdulillah, it works.  Handling the guys who are labeled as ‘bad’ in a softer way, befriending them and talking nicely to them actually helps a lot.  The impact?  They are willing to join in all the activities, even help out in cleaning up.  Also, after the hysteria case, the facilitators actually succeed in getting these guys to pray.  In the end, I think that most of them are not really bad.  Maybe naughty, yes, but not bad.  All they need is to be given a chance to prove themselves.  And someone who actually care.

 

> Obtaining perfection is impossible, but all the way to perfection, you’ll gain excellence

Tribute to sis Hlovate, for sharing this quote in ‘Versus’.  I love this quote a lot, and shared it a few times with my friends and the participants of the camp.  Yes, we all hope to be perfect, but sometimes, it seems so far and impossible to achieve.  However, if we go on trying, in the end, we’ll excel, though we can never be perfect. 

This is my hope for the participants.  I know they are all far from perfection.  Yet I hope that they can improve, gain more knowledge, learn to control themselves, try to be better sons and daughters to their parents, better students and study harder, and most importantly, be better servants to Allah, our Savior, Creator, and Lord.  The road ahead is tough, yet we can go on, insyaAllah, with trust, hope and prayers to Him.

 

Well… I guess that’s the summary, on the whole… a very long entry this time.. (^_^)  as for pictures… I’ll upload them as soon as another facilitator is able to email them to me…  may all these life lessons be of use, to me, and also to all the readers.

>> Sorry for any mistakes in relying the events here… or for any other khilaf anywhere else, for that matter.  I’m just a humble servant of Him, still on the long road of self improvement… hence I welcome any comments and additions, etc. 

~Signing off…

>> A Camp To Remember <<

...:: tambahan: sesiapa yg nak entri ni diterjemah, tlg bgitau ye.. tgglkn email kat bhgian comment (especially buat adik2 SMK Dato') ::..

Well, I did say that one of my target for the holidays is to join camping and workshops… Well, here’s my first camp for the holidays.

I had tried to find more pics, but unfortunately, the pictures are mostly with a friend of mine who is currently busy with another workshop. I’ll upload other pictures ASAP, insyaAllah…

• “Remember, we will have little food, less sleep, and we will feel tired. So be ready.”

One of the guys said this. A reminder to all the facilitators during our first meeting, the night before the 3 days 2 nights camp, Kem Kerlipan Bintang at SRK Sri Kampung, Kg Tengah, Renggam. This is a reminder which had been set on my mind. My personal aim during the camp? To let the students know the beauty of Islam, get closer to Allah, and at the same time, increase my own Faith and knowledge.

• Breaking the ice

18^th November: After setting up the school, readying it for the participants later on, I find myself wondering… how will the students be? Will I be able to befriend them? Will I be able to share Islam with them? From what their teacher told me, these kids come from different backgrounds. Some are from the nearby town, while others are from villages. Some of them are very good, while others have problems, such as smoking, sex and even alcohol. Hence admittedly, I am nervous.

Yet, Alhamdulillah, the day went well. The participants come, we had an ice-breaking session, intro-talk by the camp commander, and a talk by Cikgu Zamree. The talk was on self reflection, being thankful for what we have, and how much we have to thank our parents, for without them, we are not going to be who we are now… afterwards, there is a sharing moment with the facilitators at the field. Yup… the day went well, and us facilitators were happy, despite several hiccups along the way…

• Sleeping is a Ni’mah (gift)!

Yes, it is. A gift which many tend to forget. Unless you are suddenly deprived of it. Like what I feel during the two nights I was there. A two hours sleep, for someone who normally sleeps like a log for 6 hours. Makes me think back for all the times I slept well, and really be thankful. Though Alhamdulillah, due to the early mind setting before the camp, I am able to go on, still feeling energetic despite the lack of sleep

~ the camp details… there are loads, but because of the time limit, I’ll end this post here…. There’ll be a ‘part two’ (which WILL be more interesting, insyaAllah) so… wait for it…