<< Happy >>

I’m happy. Alhamdulillah. Sometimes happiness comes from unexpected places. And this time, it is seriously unexpected.

I would like to thank my lovely sisters for this. You girls sure are fabulous. You surprised me with that belated birthday bash alright. I was, at that time, extremely, tremendously, not expecting it. This made me happy beyond words.

Thanks for all the presents, and that delicious cake. The night was indeed a night to remember. Although I did wish that all of you are able to come. For the night will be completely perfect if you two were there.

I feel that the night was well spent. They come around maghrib, we prayed together, went out for dinner, prayed isya’ at Masjid Kampung Baru, went back to my house. That was when they surprised me with the cake and presents. Which is, to me, the highlight of the night. Afterwards, with full stomach and a very sweet memory to remember, we watched a movie, Sang Murabbi (an Indonesian movie). A movie which the girls liked (and I am very happy that they enjoyed it).

I meant to write this earlier, but unfortunately, because of time constraints, I was unable to do so.

So, this post is dedicated specially to them. My lovely sisters in Islam. May Allah reward all of you, and grant you happiness here, and in the hereafter. And I truly hope that we will all remain together in this path, striving towards mardhatillah. Trying to uphold this deen, no matter where we may end up in the future…

Heart Check Up

Just sharing this reminder for us all... perhaps not a very long one, nor a new thing.  Nevertheless, the matter is a very important one indeed.

What is the condition of our qalb, or heart currently?  Is it healthy and thriving? Or... is it sick, whithering away?  Or.. is it already dead? 

How is the qalb, or heart considered alive?  A heart will only be considered alive when it feels whatever it does, is for Allah.  When it lives according to what Allah wants.  When it views things according to the way Allah wants it to.  Thus, in order for the heart to live, its owner must be actively involved in seeking to find a way to perfect each of is actions accordingly.  He must also consistantly monitor the heart, to ensure that it is not suffering from any diseases.

Dr. Abdul Kadir ‘Audah once said, 

Our journey is the journey of the heart.

This thus indicates that, this whole life is not simply a physical journey.  A journey from a young age to become old.  Nor a path from primary school to university and in the end, to work.  Rather, it is a journey of purifiying the heart, and making sure that it is in its best condition to meet its creator.  This is the journey we need to strive for.

The heart is originally clean.  The inputs we receive from our surroundings, from our senses will fill it up.  The good, or bad, it is up to us, their owner.  Hence, we must play a very important role in ensuring that the heart is not falling into pitfals of fitnah. 

Regarding the importance of taking care of our heart, Rasulullah PBUH had said:

Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be whole, all the body is whole and which, if it be diseased, all of it is diseased. Truly it is the heart.

We must strive hard so that our hearts are aware of Allah at all times.  This awareness should lead us closer to Allah, until we love Him more than anything and everything in this world.    If a heart is not filled with ma’rifatullah (knowledge of Allah’s characters, etc), tarbiyyah (personal development) and mahabbatullah (Allah’s love), then beware… for this type of heart may never bring its owner to paradise.

There is a story of a companion of the Prophet, Ibnu Umar, who sold a very fine camel that he had been using for a while.  His friend asked, “Why did you sold something which is very fine and may be very useful to you?”  The reply?  Ibnu Umar said that his heart had become attached to the camel, and so he must sell it.  You see, the companions view the heart as very valuable indeed, and wants to ensure that the heart is attached solely to Allah.

So… how is our heart today?

Let’s look deep inside ourselves and find out.

…Empty…

 

Null. Void. That's how I'm currently feeling…

Basically, I've been battling this feeling for a while now.

Why? Because something had been missing lately. Been missing it for nearly 2 months now. Something that normally quench this thirst. Re-charge my own battery called iman.

Yup… been missing my weekly meeting with someone lately. Someone special, could be perhaps defined as a teacher, foster mother, one of my best mentor and role model, all rolled into one. Who's that? Well… let that be my little secret. (^_~)

Hope I can refresh my iman soon… Alhamdulillah, we had managed to arrange a 'date' next week, despite her many commitments and my own very-packed-weekend. Now I can only pray that when the time comes, both of us can make it.

Really need the push to climb back up. To re-fill my heart. To push me to strive more in this road. To overcome some recent frustrations… (let it be something between me and HIM alone…)

 

Rabbi yassir wa la tu'assir…

O Lord… grant us a calm and peaceful heart, to perform our responsibilities and face all the challenges that lay ahead. Let us remain firm in this path towards You, no matter what trials that You set forth in front of us.

Ameen…

New Blog..

Assalamualaikum to all...

This is just an announcement on a new blog that I co-author.  Actually, I am only the translator (^_^).  I am currently translating previous islamic articles/ reminders (tazkirah) from another blogger, Hilal.

Basically I am quite new at translating.  So I welcome positive critisizme in order to improve my writing.  InsyaAllah, I will try and translate at least 1 article every day.  Please make a du'a that I will be able to mantain the pace.

As for the blog, welcome to visit at:

http://aim4dalight.blogspot.com/

Jewish Editor Secked For Publishing Article

An eye-opener indeed!  Not all Jews are Zionists, and not all Zionists are Jewish! (what 'bout Eigiptian President who had successfully imprisoned 100++ people who demonstraited against Israel?? Hmm..) anyways... here's the article.  Read, evaluate, and get your neurons working!  Then make your own conclusion...

This article was sent to Debbie Ducro, a American-Jewish journalist with the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle. She published it, and was fired the next day.

Quest for justice

By Judith Stone

I am a Jew. I was a participant in the Rally for the Right of Return to Palestine. It was the right thing to do.

I've heard about the European holocaust against the Jews since I was a small child. I've visited the memorials in Washington, DC and Jerusalem dedicated to Jewish lives lost and I've cried at the recognition to what level of atrocity mankind is capable of sinking. Where are the Jews of conscience? No righteous malice can be held against the survivors of Hitler's holocaust. These fragments of humanity were in no position to make choices beyond that of personal survival. We must not forget that being a survivor or a co-religionist of the victims of the European Holocaust does not grant dispensation from abiding by the rules of humanity.

"Never again" as a motto, rings hollow when it means "never again to us alone." My generation was raised being led to believe that the biblical land was a vast desert inhabited by a handful of impoverished Palestinians living with their camels and eking out a living in the sand. The arrival of the Jews was touted as a tremendous benefit to these desert dwellers. Golda Meir even assured us that there "is no Palestinian problem".

We know now this picture wasn't as it was painted. Palestine was a land filled with people who called it home. There were thriving towns and villages, schools and hospitals. There were Jews, Christians and Muslims.

In fact, prior to the occupation, Jews represented a mere seven per cent of the population and owned three per cent of the land.

Taking the blinders off for a moment, I see a second atrocity perpetuated by the very people who should be exquisitely sensitive to the suffering of others. These people knew what it felt like to be ordered out of your home at gun point and forced to march into the night to unknown destinations or face execution on the spot. The people who displaced the Palestinians knew first hand what it means to watch your home in flames, to surrender everything dear to your heart at a moment's notice. Bulldozers levelled hundreds of villages, along with the remains of the village inhabitants, the old and the young. This was nothing new to the world.

Poland is a vast graveyard of the Jews of Europe. Israel is the final resting place of the massacred Palestinian people. A short distance from the memorial to the Jewish children lost to the holocaust in Europe there is a levelled parking lot. Under this parking lot is what's left of a once flourishing village and the bodies of men, women and children whose only crime was taking up needed space and not leaving graciously. This particular burial marker reads: "Public Parking".

I've talked with Palestinians. I have yet to meet a Palestinian who hasn't lost a member of their family to the Israeli Shoah, nor a Palestinian who cannot name a relative or friend languishing under inhumane conditions in an Israeli prison. Time and time again, Israel is cited for human rights violations to no avail. On a recent trip to Israel, I visited the refugee camps inhabited by a people who have waited 52 years in these 'temporary' camps to go home. Every Palestinian grandparent can tell you the name of their village, their street, and where the olive trees were planted. Their grandchildren may never have been home, but they can tell you where their great-grandfather lies buried and where the village well stood. The press has fostered the portrait of the Palestinian terrorist. But the victims who rose up against human indignity in the Warsaw Ghetto are called heroes. Those who lost their lives are called martyrs. The Palestinian who tosses a rock in desperation is a terrorist.

Two years ago I drove through Palestine and watched intricate sprinkler systems watering lush green lawns of Zionist settlers in their new condominium complexes, surrounded by armed guards and barbed wire in the midst of a Palestinian community where there was not adequate water to drink and the surrounding fields were sandy and dry. University professor Moshe Zimmerman reported in the Jerusalem Post (30 April, 1995), "The [Jewish] children of Hebron are just like Hitler's youth."

We Jews are suing for restitution, lost wages, compensation for homes, land, slave labour and back wages in Europe. Am I a traitor of a Jew for supporting the right of return of the Palestinian refugees to their birthplace and compensation for what was taken that cannot be returned?

The Jewish dead cannot be brought back to life and neither can the Palestinian massacred be resurrected. David Ben Gurion said, "Let us not ignore the truth among ourselves...politically, we are the aggressors and they defend themselves...The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down, and in their view we want to take away from them their country...".

Palestine is a land that has been occupied and emptied of its people. Its cultural and physical landmarks have been obliterated and replaced by tidy Hebrew signs. The history of a people was the first thing eradicated by the occupiers. The history of the indigenous people has been all but eradicated as though they never existed. And all this has been hailed by the world as a miraculous act of God. We must recognise that Israel's existence is not even a question of legality so much as it is an illegal fait accompli realised through the use of force while supported by the Western powers. The UN missions directed at Israel in attempting to correct its violations of have thus far been futile.

In Hertzl's 'The Jewish State' the father of Zionism said: "We must investigate and take possession of the new Jewish country by means of every modern expedient." I guess I agree with Ehud Barak (3 June 1998) when he said, "If I were a Palestinian, I'd also join a terror group." I'd go a step further perhaps. Rather than throwing little stones in desperation, I'd hurtle a boulder.

Hopefully, somewhere deep inside, every Jew of conscience knows that this was no war; that this was not G-d's restitution of the holy land to it's rightful owners. We know that a human atrocity was and continues to be perpetuated against an innocent people who couldn't come up with the arms and money to defend themselves against the western powers bent upon their demise as a people.

We cannot continue to say, "But what were we to do?" Zionism is not synonymous with Judaism. I wholly support the rally of the right of return of the Palestinian people. here.

10 Steps To Support Gaza

 

1) Follow up the news about what is happening in Gaza. The number of shuhada', injured people, the volume of destructions etc.

 

2) Download pictures of the massacre and distribute to your friends via print outs, e-mails, on the mobile.

 

3) Follow up on the achievements of the Palestinian resistance heroes in Gaza. What victories they achieve every day, how many soldiers they kill, how many tanks they destroy.

 

4) Call the people of Gaza tell them where you from and share with them your feelings of sympathy and support and your confidence that they will win in this war. You can call this number 009708285xxxx. Replace the x's with any number.

 

5) Paste pictures of Gaza on your notebooks, in your romm, PC desktops.

 

6) Participate in as much activities about Gaza as you can. Talks, gathering, seminars.

 

7) Organize activities on what is happening in Gaza in your neighborhood, in your collage, surau's (e.g: Organize Qiyamullai in grops especially for the people of Gaza) etc.

 

8) MAKE THIS THE MOST IMPORTANT TOPIC OF YOUR DISCUSSIONS AMONGST YOUR FRIENDS. MAKE IT THE FIRST THING AFTER GREETING THE PEOPLE YOU MEET THAT YOU TELL OR ASK ABOUT.

 

9) BOYCOTT!!! BOYCOTT!!! BOYCOTT ISRAELI & AMERICAN PRODUCTS.

 

10) REMEMBER THEM IN YOUR DO'A AND PRAYER.

 

Source: Al-Aqsa Friends Society UIAM

I am trying to do as much as I can.. but I don't think I can be able to do number (4) though... As for (8).. I'm still trying.  Trying to get my friends to care more... To the readers.. please pray for me.. to instill awareness among my friends..

Palestine: How Much Do we Care??

I have had realized that most of my recent post is on Palestine.  Yet I really can't help it... that's apparently what comes to my mind most of all.  It really is, from the moment I woke up, the reality of what is happening there flooded in my mind, and will weave in and out, until I sleep again. 

Today, alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah, I was given an opportunity to read a blog filled with news from Gaza.  A Malay blog, yet written by someone who is currently in Sudan.  And to some extent, I was relieved.  Relieved because the news I read, is not all bad.  Although the victims of merciless Zionist is still increasing, there may still be light at the end of the tunnel for the Palestinians.  To a certain extent, Hammas is still fighting hard, and in some small areas, winning.  This really gives me hope.  Truly, Allah does help us out, even if the situation seems really hopeless sometimes...  And for that, I have to say... alhamdulillah, dear Lord... and keep helping them, until they win, insyaAllah...

Tariq Ramadhan – In The Name of The Palestinians

 

I have always loved to read Dr Tariq Ramadhan's books and articles. Tonight I had discovered a writing of his on his blog, hence I waste no time to upload them here. Something for all of us to ponder...

 

Startling—and stomach turning : where Palestinians are involved, memory and sense of proportion fail us. The Jewish conscience, justifiably, has long called upon the world's powers and upon their citizens to remain vigilant, never to forget -in the name of "the duty of memory"- the atrocities, massacres and genocides of the past. But where the State of Israel is involved, we are expected to set all sense of proportion aside, to leap to conclusions. Suddenly, it would be assumed that these are two equally powerful belligerents. After a six-month ceasefire, one of the two parties to the conflict (the Palestinians) is said to have broken the truce by unleashing its rockets. The victim of aggression (Israel) is acting solely in self-defense—if we are to believe the version sold to the world by Israel, and relayed by complacent and complicit Western media with the full support of the Bush administration and of many European governments. The bravest among them can barely bring themselves to point out Israel's "disproportionate" reaction. What courage !

And, most of all, what lies ! For decades—long before Hamas came to power—the Palestinians have seen their dignity trodden underfoot, their legitimate rights denied. From the Oslo "peace" accords to a succession of negotiations (more frequently compromises), from the repeated broken promises to media circus withdrawal schemes, the Palestinian representatives have achieved nothing for their people. Israeli governments, whether of the Left or the Right, stall for time, resort to lies, summarily execute their adversaries, and dismiss Palestinian civilian deaths as collateral in the name of Israel's security while continuing to expand illegal settlements and pursue a policy of "facts on the ground." Many experts, including Richard Falk, United Nations special rapporteur for Human Rights in Occupied Palestine, have confirmed that Israeli policy fails to respect the Geneva Convention ; that it has, by default, made the two-state solution almost impossible.

The Israeli government has fenced in the population of the West Bank (in complete disregard for United Nations General Assembly resolutions and the International Court) ; it has subjected the population of Gaza to a siege coupled with a blockade that has brought hunger, a shortage of medical supplies and care, and mass unemployment ; it has created a state of despair. International humanitarian relief organizations are sharply restricted in their activities ; badly needed food supplies are not getting through. The June 19 - December 19 truce was conditional on an end the siege and the blockade of Gaza, and partial opening the Egyptian border crossing. Neither Israel (nor Egypt) has respected these conditions ; the Palestinian population has been the victim of inhuman treatment, for weeks, months and years now. Are we to ignore these realities in order to justify the massacres now unfolding before our eyes ? Are the Palestinians responsible for their own misfortune because rockets were launched from Gaza? The failure of memory is compounded by a loss of all sense of proportion: the number of Israeli victims is now multiplied by a factor of one hundred, two hundred, three hundred Palestinian civilians murdered by Israeli government fiat.

Israel flaunts its contempt for the self-styled "international community", secure in unilateral support of the United States and the silence—in silent complicity—of European governments. An efficient communication strategy and a complacent media establishment (accompanied with the usual dose of predictable disinformation) allows the Israeli government to play for time, to inflict upon a population of one and one-half million human beings an inhuman siege, and now, a full-scale massacre. We have been reduced to spectators and our "neutrality" should have to protect us from our guilty conscience. Cynicism is at its paroxysm when we understand that the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians depend upon the political calculations of Israel's leaders, eager to demonstrate their strength and determination with a view to the upcoming elections. The Lebanese disarray during summer 2006 should be rectified. Mission accomplished : 80% of Israelis support the murderous operations in Gaza ! Frightening !

Can we expect anything better from the "international community" of governments and states as we observe their reactions, both East and West ? Theirs is the guilty silence of the accomplice ; the hypocrisy ; the waiting game ; contempt for Palestinian lives—for whom the ideal solution would be Jordan, Lebanon, or some "permanently temporary" refugee camps. The time has come to create an international, global non-violent resistance movement against the violent, extremist policies of the State of Israel. We must mobilize world opinion by keeping the Palestinian issue in the public eye through ongoing, scrupulously accurate information ; by writing articles, organizing conferences and demonstrations in support of the Palestinians, and by improving synergy between the efforts and activities of existing organizations. We know this much : the Palestinians may bend, but they will not break. We must continue to defend their legitimate rights on the ground. Around the world, we must support their resistance in a determined, peaceful way. Israel, for all its awesome firepower, has not won the conflict ; Israeli society faces deepening crises. It is a matter of utmost urgency that the State and the people of Israel realize that, for them, there can be no secure future, and ultimately, no survival, without recognition of the legitimate rights and the dignity of the Palestinians. The strategy of playing for time, of wilful blindness, of "shock and awe", of bloodshed and massacre offers no assurance of victory. On the contrary, it is a formula for defeat.

Source: http://www.tariqramadan.com/spip.php?article10489

The Palestine Plight: DO SOMETHING!!

My eyes started to become watery as I read the news.  The news of a doctor, a Norwegian doctor who is currently in Palestine.  I cried, for I can do only so little.  The doctor, though he is not a Muslim, had managed to be in Gaza, and helped out so much at their hospitals.  You can read more of the news here:  http://haluanpalestin.haluan.org.my/?cat=1

What about us?  Are we doing anything, anything at all?  Did we even pray for the Palestinians?  We proudly claim to be Muslims.  In islam, everyone is supposed to be bonded.  Tied up by the bond of Aqidah, a common bond of faith that trancends culture, skin colour, language, and geografic location.  Yet, how many of us are willing to help our brothers and sisters there? Sacrifice some money for them, and use a bit of our energy to let other people know about what is happening to them? 

Their plight is not just for them to care about.  Their burden is not just theirs to carry.  But it is a responsibility of all of us.  A plight for all of us to relieve.  For the Palestinian issue is not just an issue for the Palestine.  Nor is it just an issue for human rights activist.  But a crisis call for all of us, who stands up and claim to be Muslims.  Also, an issue for the world, to anyboby and everybody who wishes for peace and harmony.

I'd like to quote the doctor's words...

" DO SOMETHING.  DO SOMETHING MORE!  We can never claim to be good European citizens if we do nothing to stop them (the Zioninst)"

and to the quote, i add:  How can we claim to be Muslims, in front of Allah, if we don't do anything at all to try and stop the Zionist from hurting our brothers and sisters?

May ALLAH forgive us.  Forgive us from sleeping ever so soundly, while the Palestinians cry out in pain.  May Allah forgive us, for all the money we spend on supporting the Zionist.

Let's start and do something NOW.  While we still have the chance.  Raise awareness, and do your part in stopping this merciless war.  May Allah be with us, and count our deeds as amal soleh.  Ameen...

Silnce Can be Golden

Silent? Admittedly… yes, I had been, for a long while, indeed.  I have had made myself a promise to write, at least once a week previously.  Yet, I had ultimately broke my own promise by not updating for nearly a month.  And for that, I apologize.  To myself, for the promise I had broken, to the readers, who drops by and discover a dusty, un-updated blog, and most of all, to Allah, for not taking the responsibility of upkeeping this blog seriously.  For a while, I forgot the perpose of this den of mine, to send out and share the messege of Islam.  This is what I should have done, regardless of however busy I am.

 

Yet, as the title suggests, silence is golden, at times.  With the month-old silence, I learnt a lot.  I underwent a journey of self-improvement and self-discovery, renewing my resolve as a mu’minah and muslimah, and also as a muslim worker.  I’ve found out many weaknesses which needs to be improved, and also meet many people who I hope will help me through, towards Allah’s love and redha.

 

Well… anyways, here are a few highlights of the holidays, which I haven’t write up due to my silence for the month [only a short summary of everything, may not be satisfactory – but I’m going to tell the going-ons very briefly] 

 

 

>> Kem Kembara Muda ‘08<<

Learnt a lot… on how to run a camp, to a lesson on the real me: what goes on as time passes by… (Sounds weird?  Well… let the rest be between me and Allah)  But the most valuable thing I learn here?  Is a reminder, that I am so far away from being perfect, and I have to try so much harder to try, try to be a better friend, a better Muslimah, and a better person as a whole.  And so try I will… again, and again, till the end of my life. For those involved in the camp, I'm sorry for the mistakes and errors I make... for I know, I have made many.

 

The camp's sweet ladies.. *hehe*

 

Up for some fruits?? My group's masterpeice

>> Kem Pewaris Kebangsaan ke-4 <<

One of the sweetest memories of my life is the Pewaris 1.  Hence, when I heard people asking around for volunteers to help out at the camp, I jumped to the chance.  Secretely, with a hope.  A hope that I can recapture the same feeling I have during the first camp. 

 

Yet, during this camp, Allah have had arraged something for me… I have been given a responsibility which I never have had, in my entire life.  What is it?  Let it remain a secret.   Up till now, I still don’t think I am the one who is supposed to be given the responsibility.  Yet, I accepted it at the time, though admittedly, not without a few bouts of criying, and a whole lot of prayers.  Accepted it with a heavy heart and a mind full of doubts, but resigning to the task at hand, as everyone had agreed that I should be the one for the task.  But alhamdulillah, with the support of many friends, I managed to pull thru, somehow…  thanks so much for those who helped out!

 

Today's teenagers.. tomorrow's hope...

Yes, I gain numerous lessons, in leadership, friendship, time management, in my own faith and ties with the Almighty, and many more… not to mention the hope, the hope that I had for the juniors.  The hope that they will, one day, help continue the strife on this road.  This path which we had chosen to live, to spread the Deen and gain His Pleasure.

 

This is becoming a story on its own… sorry for the length.  (^_~)

 

 

 

As for everything else? Hmm… I’ll try to continue, if time permits, insyaAlah… but I think the post is long enough as of now, so let the rest be recorded later.

 

Wallahu’alam…

I know I have not posted anything on Palestine yet for now.  I'm hoping to do so, ASAP.  But for now, let us make a du'a for them.  

Oh Allah... please help the Palestinians.  For to You we put our hopes.  Ease their burden, and strengthen their strife.  Protect them from the warth of Your enemies, and make things harder for the Zionists, as they have had done for the Palestinians, and Muslims around the world... Oh Allah, you are indeed the All-knowing, all-Aware.  Ameen...

**Silence is golden?? Well.. maybe.  what do you think?