30.9.07

Kelebihan Malam Lailatul Qadar

Allah Ta'ala telah berfirman di dalam surah Al-Qadr yang bermaksud:
"Sesungguhnya kami telah menurunkan (Al-Quran) pada malam al-Qadr dan apakah jalan yang menyebabkan engkau mengerti (kebesaran) lailatul qadar itu? Lailatul qadar itu lebih baik daripada seribu bulan. Pada malam itu para malaikat dan Jibril turun dengan keizinan tuhan mereka (Allah), untuk setiap urusan. Sejahteralah malam ini hingga terbit fajar".

Kebanyakan ulama' Islam menegaskan bahawa kemungkinan berlakunya lailatul qadar adalah pada salah satu daripada malam kesepuluh terakhir sama ada malam ganjil ataupun malam genap.
Yang tetap berlakunya malam lailatul qadar adalah didalam pengetahuan Allah jua. Sesiapa sahaja yang beribadah di malam hari bulan ramadhan, jika kebetulan dengan malam lailatul qadar, maka dikurniakan ganjaran pahala melebihi ganjaran pahala yang dikurniakan kepada mereka yang beribadah selama seribu bulan atau selama 83 tahun 4 bulan berbanding dengan malam yang lain-lain.
Rasulullah s.a.w. sendiri amat bersungguh-sungguh menghidupkan sepuluh malam terakhir daripada bulan ramadhan bersama-sama ahli keluarganya dengna beribadah, bertadharu', beristighfar dan bermunajat kehadrat Allah, memohon rahmat, keampunan dan keredhaanNya. Walaupun Rasulullah s.a.w. seorang yang maksum, dijamin terpelihara daripada dosa dan noda bahkan dijamin syurga, namun baginda tetap berjaga malam untuk qiamullail, menahan diri daripada tidur kecuali untuk seketika sahaja. Orang yang tekun beribadah pada 10 malam yang terakhir daripada bulan ramadhan akan mendapat rahmat yang dijanjikan sama ada dapat atau tidak menemui apa-apa tanda. Kerana yang penting adalah sepertimana yang tersebut dalam hadis sohih riwayat Bukhari dan Muslim iaitu:
* Menghayati malam tersebut dengan ibadah
* Beriman dengan yakin bahawa malam lailatul qadar itu adalah benar dan dituntut menghayatinya dengan amal ibadah.
* Amal ibadah itu dikerjakan kerana Allah semata-mata dengan mengharapkan rahmat dan keredhaanNya.

Marilah kita bersama-sama berdoa agar kita dipilih Allah menikmati malam yang sejahtera ini.
Anyway, dibawah ni ada satu entry (actually was posted in this blog last year, but I think it was rather funny I want to share it again) Read on and be happy....

"Ini kisah bulan puasa my mother in law a few years ago. Masa tu she stayed with us kat rumah lama di USJ 20. Satu malam di bulan puasa masa tu, my mother in law as usual after her tarawikh would mengaji Al-Quran. Masa tu dah midnight. Dalam kusyuk mengaji tetiba dia tercium bau yang harum mula menusuk hidung dia. (Masa ni kami semua dah tidur) Makin lama makin harum suasana dalam bilik dia. Alhamdullilah kata hati mak mertua saya ni. Dapat merasa malam Lailatul Qadar. Maka orang tua tu pun lepas selesai mengaji terus sujud syukur. Bersyukur kerana diberi kesempatan dan peluang sebegini rupa. Lepas solat dia pun keluar bilik dengan hasrat nak beritahu kami yang dah lama belayar ke Bidor. Bukak2 jer pintu bilik tengok2 suasana putih (macam kabus) menyelubungi rumah. Dan dalam kabus tebal tu, duduk Arissa (masa ni umur dalam tiga atau empat tahun) sedang main menghabiskan sebotol bedak Baby Carrie yang baru dibeli.
Tu yang wangi satu rumah tu!!!"

26.9.07

Tagged: All Five

I was tagged by bro TokAsid under the Tagged: All Five. First time for me. But I’m really a lazy bum...
Apparently this tag requires you to disclose a bit about yourself. Am I ready to share my inner thoughts and emotions, and risk making myself sound err very not educated? It's quite personal and private really. But I say what the heck… orang lain dah buat, it’s my turn. There’s nothing really except maybe you’ll find that I’m a terribly boring person. Yeah, that.

Five things in my bag( work bag that I carry around when I go to work):
1- A fiction titled The Bookman’s Last Fling by John Dunning that I just bought from this neat and cool bookstore called Xcess at Amcorp Mall.
2- My notebook
3- My big pencil case (actually ini my daughter Alia yang punya but she has so many pencil cases so the bapak rembat satu). At last count, the case contains 21 pens of various colours, four highlighters of four main colours, an eraser, 8 pencils (both mechanical and the good old 2B ones), red marker and a ruler.
4- My two pen drives – Kalau hilang nih, I cry!!!
5- Buku Mari Belajar Sembahyang (bought at a store in UH – ingatkan nak go thru my bacaan sembahyang while on duty temankan my mak recently). Tak buka2 lagi pun… hmmm

Five things in my wallet:
1. Mykad
2. My driving license
3. My Bank Cards – ada Maybank, ada CIMB. (Tak de credit cards, legaaaaa)
4. My mom’s BSN bank card and my mom- in-law CIMB card. (Tukang simpan jer)
5. Money – yang banyak duit seringgit je. Ehm alahai…

Five things in my favourite room (Bedroom):
1. My computer (can spend hours in front of the PC blogging)
2. The bed – kalau diberi peluang boleh tidur siang dan malam but then Yan will bising2 lah..
3. My perfumes collection (for those nak tau my favourites are YSL’s Jazz and Davidoff‘s CoolWater)
4. This one purple notice board where Yan has turned into mementoes board when we put up our favorite photos and cards. (To see how it looks like, just go to Yan’s blog at www.mrsgoodthingshome.blogspot.com.)
5. My daughters – well of course they are not things but they somehow spend as much time in our bedroom as us. Why? Because the Internet’s here. But I enjoy having them here so I can ask them about boys and boys…Seriously, we had good conversations here ...

Five things I would like to do:
1. To go on a diet and stick to it. And then exercise like crazy no matter what.
2. To perform umrah and haji with my four sweethearts
3. To go on a holiday with the four sweethearts at all the places that I’ve been (that I enjoyed tremendously) namely London, Los Angeles, San Diego, Hawaii, Atlanta and Kuching, Sarawak.
4. To renovate the house in Kampar (actually it was my mom-in-law's house in a certain taman perumahan) that we just recently bought.
5. To make our (Yan and I) soon to be launched business venture a huge success and turn us into a billionaire (this is not an angan-angan but cita-cita!)

Five things I'm currently on:
1. Trying very hard to find time to complete the first phase of our soon to be launched venture
2. Looking very seriously to find a better paying job (should I apply back to NST or not????)
3. Trying to finish all the never ending work at the office.
4. Taking care of my mother and also my mak mertua. I’m happy that both are with us at the moment.
5. Figuring out the budget for the upcoming Raya.

There, hush susah jugak rupanya…..I’m tempted to end this meme but I’m no Agong, so I hereby tag the wife Yan, my daughter Asma, my cousin Anom and Yone and my new found fellow father blogger friend Haq’s Dad of Four.

25.9.07

Mak is up and about... at my place!

It has been a rather stressed up week for us here - with Mak in the hospital - and very gloomy too (with Nurin's news taking centre stage). And both Yan and I get tired easily these days. Must be the puasa month and we are definitely getting older. Cubaan and Dugaan. Mood to blog also tak dak.
However, I'm happy to inform that Mak has already been discharged from the hospital this evening and is now recuperating very well at my place. Alhamdulillah! Thanks for all the prayers.

20.9.07

Al-Fatihah Untuk Nurin.


Tersentak tatkala mendengar berita
Tidak percaya dan terus tidak percaya
Apa rasa ayah ibu .....

Walau tak sehebat mereka
Kita juga merasainya
Apatah lagi kita juga ibu serta ayah


Sudah sebulan kami tatap gambar wajahmu
lirik mata itu, senyum itu

hidung mancung itu ... bak bidadari
Mempesona bercahaya



Apa daya ...
Tuhan lebih menyayangimu
Semoga anakanda berbahagia di sana



Al-Fatihah, Nurin! (Satu Malaysia sayang Nurin!)

19.9.07

Update on my mak!

Alhamdulillah, my mother sucessfully underwent her operations earlier today. She's in stable condition.Thanks for the many doas and hanya Allah sahajalah yang mampu membalasnya. Now, the long road to recovery begins. Insya Allah.
(Am going back to the hospital now to send Yan)

18.9.07

Mak Temoh is in UH

Mak Temoh is currently in Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (also known as University Hospital). She's in Ward 10U. Tomorrow she will undergo a surgery to remove tumors in her ovary. Mohon doa keselamatan dan kesihatannya.

15.9.07

Taraweeh Changed His Life

The following story is about how Taraweeh Solat changed the life of a person during the month of Ramadan.
About 20 years ago, brother Khawaja used to live with his family in an apartment building in Toronto, Canada. During the month of Ramadan, the local Muslims would get together and arrange a small room in that building to offer Taraweeh prayers.
Brother Khawaja states, "I wasn't that particular about offering prayers so I didn't show much interest in going to Taraweeh which was Sunnah and not even Fardh."
His wife would constantly tell him to go but that didn't change his mind. However, she would prepare her two small sons and send them to the prayer.
One day, his sons returned back from Taraweeh with tears in their eyes. Brother Khawaja became concerned and asked why they were crying.
They replied, "Everyone's father goes to Taraweeh but our father doesn't go." This really touched his heart and he promised his sons that he will go with them to Taraweeh the next day.
It so happened that there was a speech on that day after listening to which Brother Khawaja decided to change his life. Since then, he has been actively participating in many Islamic activities and have built and supported various Masjids.

MasyaAllah! Such a simple episode like this can change a person for the better. So, let us spend our time properly to obtain as much as we can from this Ramadan. Be generous this month and increase our acts of worship.

Source: www.islamcan.com

12.9.07

Benefits of Buah Kurma (Dates)


It's puasa month and suddenly everybody is buying the dates buat pembuka selera kala berbuka. Apatah lagi berbuka dengan buah kurma merupakan sunnah. Lagi-lagi la umat Melayu Islam Malaysia berlumba-lumba membeli buah kurma. The following are the benefits of dates... read on.


Muslims generally break their fast by eating dates.

Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said: "if anyone of you is fasting, let him break his fast with dates. In case he does not have them, then with water. Verily water is a purifier."
The Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) used to break his fast by eating some dates before offering Maghrib prayer, and if ripe dates were not available, he used to substitute them with some dried grapes. When they too were not available, he used to have a few sips of water, according to some reports.

Modern science has proved that dates are part of a healthy diet. They contain sugar, fat and proteins, as well as important vitamins. Hence the great importance attached to them by the Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam).
Dates are also rich in natural fibres. Modern medicine has shown that they are effective in preventing abdominal cancer. They also surpass other fruits in the sheer variety of their constituents.

They contain oil, calcium, sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium. In other words, one date is a minimum of a balanced and healthy diet.

Arabs usually combine dates with milk and yogurt or bread, butter and fish. This combination indeed makes a self-sufficient and tasty diet for both mind and body.

Dates and date palms have been mentioned in the Holy Qur'an 20 times, thus showing their importance.

The Prophet likened a good Muslim to the date palm, saying, "Among trees, there is a tree like a Muslim. Its leaves do not fall."
Sayyidah Mariam(alaiyhas salaam) mother of Isa(alaiyhis salaam) had dates as her food when she felt labour pains and during confinement. They are definitely the "crown of sweets," and ideal food which is easy to digest, and within half an hour of taking it, the tired body regains a renewed vigour.

The reason for this is that a shortage of sugar in the blood is the main factor that makes people feel hungry and not an empty stomach as is often assumed. When the body absorbs the nutritional essence of a few dates, the feeling of hunger becomes appeased.

When one breaking the fast with dates takes some other food afterwards, he cannot eat much. It would seem that breaking the fast with dates then helps one avoid excessive eating.
Experiments have also shown that dates contain some stimulants that strengthen the muscles of the uterus in the last months of pregnancy. This helps the dilation of the uterus at the time of delivery on one hand and reduces the bleeding after delivery on the other.

Dieticians consider dates as the best food for women in confinement and those who are breast-feeding. This is because dates contain elements that assist in alleviating depression in mothers and enriching the breast-milk with all the elements needed to make the child healthy and resistant to disease.

The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) has emphasized the importance of dates and their effectiveness in the growth of the fetus. He has also recommended they be given to women.

Modern dietary institute now recommend dates to be given to children suffering from a nervous nature or hyperactivity.

The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) has also recommended dates as a medicine for heart troubles, according to some reports. Modern science has also proved the effectiveness of date, in preventing diseases of the respiratory system.

Sayyidah Ayisha, (R.A.) wife of Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam), used to prescribe dates for those suffering from giddiness. It is now well known that a fall in the level of the sugar in the blood and low blood pressure are among the causes of giddiness. She was also reported to have used dates combined with cucumber to treat her over-slim condition! She said, "they've tried to fatten me giving me everything. But I did not become fat. Then they fattened me with cucumber and ripe dates and I gained!"

Ayisha was quite correct, as we now know that one kilogram of dates contains nearly 3,000 calories which alone are sufficient to supply the minimum daily requirements of an active man for one full day.
Dates are rich in several vitamins and minerals. When the level of trace elements falls in the body, the health of the blood vessels is affected leading to an increased heart-rate and a consequent inability to perform its function with normal efficiency.

As dates are also rich in calcium, they help strengthen the bones. When the calcium content in the body decreases, children are affected with rickets and the bones of adults become brittle and weak.
Dates are also important in keeping up the health of eyes. It is quite effective in guarding against night-blindness. In the early years of Islam, dates served as food for Muslim warriors. They used to carry them in special bags hung at their sides. They are the best stimulant for muscles and so the best food for a warrior about to engage in battle.

The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) used to combine dates with bread sometimes. At other times he mixed ripe dates with cucumber, or dates combined with ghee. He used to take all varieties of dates, but he preferred the variety called Ajwah.

11.9.07

The Goals of Fasting

The acts of worship that the Muslims practice seek to achieve certain goals and benefits that Allah wants His slaves to acquire knowledge in them and to comprehend and achieve them. Among these acts of worship is fasting during the lunar month of Ramadan, which has several goals that the Muslims must strive to achieve with his heart and by his actions. These goals are as follows:
1. Achieving At-Taqwa, that is, the fear from Allah. Allah said, "O you who believe! Observing As-Sawm (fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious)." The Holy Quran 2/183. Hence, fasting is a means to achieve At-Taqwa. In fact, all acts of worship and Tawhid (monotheism) are methods and means to achieve At-Taqwa, as Allah has said,"O mankind! Worship your Lord (Allah), Who created you and those who were before you so that you may become Al-Muttaqun." Quran 2/21)
2. Acquiring the rewards of Allah. Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated that Abu Hurayrah related to the Prophet, that he said, "Allah the Exalted said, 'All the deeds of the son of Adam are his, except for As-Siyam, for it is Mine and I will reward for it.'"
3. The Prophet also said, "The Sa-im ( the person who fasts) has two happy moments: when he breaks his fast he is happy, and when he meets his Lord he is happy because of his fast." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim). About his saying, "When he breaks his fast he is happy," and Imam Muslim's addition, "Because of his breaking his fast," Imam Al-Qurtubi commented, "It means he is happy because his hunger and thirst have ended, since he is allowed to break his fast. This happiness is natural and this is apparently the desired meaning. It was also said that his being happy is because of his breaking the fast, means that he has fulfilled his fast, and as a culmination for his practicing the acts of worship. His saying, 'And when he meets his Lord he is happy because of his fast,' means he is happy because of the rewards for fasting and its complete awards.'"
4. As-Sawm (fasting) purifies the soul and helps it acquire the habit of obeying Allah and His Messenger by defeating the desires of the heart. Fasting teaches refraining from following the desires because the soul of the Sa-im becomes obedient to Allah's commands. Also, Satan has a stronger hold over the souls that often obey the desires. When the soul abandons its desires, it will become more difficult for Satan to have a hold on the heart.
5. Being saved from the Fire, for the Prophet said, "And Allah has those whom he frees from the Fire, and this occurs every night (meaning in Ramadan)." (At-Tirmithi and Ibn Majah)
6. Ash-Shafa`ah (the right of intercession). The Prophet said, "As-Siyam and the Quran will intercede on behalf of the slave. As-Siyam says, 'O Lord! I prevented him from food and obeying his desires in the morning. Therefore, accept my Shafa`ah on his behalf.' And the Quran says, 'I prevented him from sleeping at night. Therefore, accept my Shafa`ah on his behalf,' and they will be accepted as intercessors.'" (Ahmad, Al-Hakim & Al-Bayhaqi).
7. Having the sins forgiven. There is no doubt that fasting directs to having one's sins forgiven and erased. The Prophet said, "The five prayers, and from Friday to the next Friday, and Ramadan to the next Ramadan, are erasers for what occurs between them, as long as major sins are avoided." (Muslim). Also, the Messenger of Allah said, "Whoever fasts Ramadan with Iman and Ihtisab, will have his previous sins forgiven." (Al-Bukhari & Muslim). Imam Ahmad and An-Nasaii added the following to the above narration, "And also what will occur later on (meaning future sins, as well)." "With Iman" entails fasting while believing with the heart in the obligation of fasting during Ramadan. As for Ihtisab, it means that one anticipates the reward and his fasting is therefore only for the sake of Allah and not to imitate his people and community or for any other worldly gain.
By: The Daar of Islamic Heritage
Source: islaam.com

Selamat Datang Wahai Ramadan!

Salam All:
Selamat Menyambut Ramadan. Alhamdulillah. We meet again Ramadan.Semoga Amal Ibadat Diterima Allah Maha Agung. Amin.







9.9.07

Funny Isn't it?

* Funny how a RM20 bill looks so big when you take it to the mosque, but so small when you take it to the market.
* Funny how long it takes to do Zikir for an hour, but how quickly a team plays 90 minutes of football.
* Funny how long a couple of hours spent at the mosque are, but how short they are when watching a movie.
* Funny how we can't think of anything to say when we pray, but don't have difficulty thinking of things to talk about to a friend.
* Funny how we get thrilled when a soccer game goes into extra time, but we complain when a "Tarawih" during Ramadhan is longer than the regular time.
* Funny how hard it is to read a chapter of the Holy Quran, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a best selling novel.
* Funny how people want to get a front seat at any game or concert, but scramble to get a back row at mosque so that they can scramble out fast.
* Funny how we need 2 or 3 weeks advance notice to fit a mosque event into our schedule, but can adjust our schedule for other events at the last moment.
* Funny how hard it is for people learn a simple preaching well enough to tell others, but how simple it is for the same people to understand and repeat gossip.
* Funny how we believe what the newspaper says, but question what the Quran says.
* Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, or to think, or to say, or do anything.
* Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding Allah, people think twice about sharing.

FUNNY, ISN'T IT?
Are you laughing? Are you thinking?Give thanks to Allah for He is good & Merciful!

Source: johnw.host.sk

Malam BBQ


Tadi malam, tatkala ramai rakyat Malaysia either tengok Piala Malaysia ataupun Anugerah ERA, kami turun makan-makan BBQ di tepi kolam renang. Sementelahan adik-beradik, ipar duai anak-anak sedara, ramai yang hadir dari siang kerana pergi merisik ke Shah Alam. Yang tua duduk berbual manakala yang muda berenang-renang dan bernyanyi-nyanyi. Dan semestinya sessi Sisha pun turut ada. Enjoy!!!

Cinta Dua Hemisfera

Inilah Naim aka Azim. Di depan rumah bakal pak mertua dia.

Dulu-dulu semasa hari perkahwinan saya berbelas tahun lalu, seingat saya dalam waktu Asar, tetiba ada seorang budak lelaki dalam lingkungan Darjah 3 atau 4, sudah terjah masuk bilik pengantin di rumah mak mertua di Kampar. Terkejut jugak. Dengan selamba si anak muda ni berkata, dia nak solat Asar and proceeded doing just that. Namanya Naim, anak saudara Yan. Memang sedari kecil tak pernah tinggal solat. Alhamdulillah! Nampak gayanya hingga ke hari ini sifat menjaga solat kekal.

Dan kelmarin, kami sekeluarga merisik meminang anak gadis orang untuk Naim. Di Shah Alam. Sudah dewasa dan sudah mau kahwin itu budak ya.

Namun ini Cinta Dua Hemisfera. Naim masih belajar di UK (dan akan kembali ke sana 19 September nanti) manakala idaman hati Miza pula di New Zealand (juga belajar). Jauh tuu... tapi kalau hati sudah berkenan, kami yang tua-tua mengiakan aje.

Apa-apa hal semoga aman berbahagia.

5.9.07

In Labuan and Subang Jaya

i.

I was in Labuan these past few days. Working. And Labuan reminded me of Putrajaya and Cyberjaya. The initial intention of developing these places was good, I guess - to make these locations happening and improve its economy. Whatever that means. But somehow apa yang dicitakan tidak menjadi. Even with duty free status, Labuan fails to attract people to come over. Hmm, perhaps Labuan should organise an international fireworks competition. Then maybe thousands will come and jam up its streets.



ii.

While I was away, Yan had this conversation with our daughters...


Alia: Err, Mak. Kita orang kalau dah besar nanti nak kerja apa?
Mak: Suka hati lah. Ala kerja le apa-apapun boleh. Cari kerja yang elok-elok yang boleh beri pahala.
Alia: Kerja banyak pahala?
Mak: Kerja yang elok-elok ler.
Alia: Jadi doktor banyak pahala ker?
Mak: Bolehlah tu.
Alia: Kerja apa lagi yang banyak pahala ya?
dan Asma pun menyampuk...
Asma: Imam!