Ramadhan Kareem!

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

So, it's already day 5 of fasting for Muslims in Malaysia and other parts in the globe. Not too late for me to wish RAMADHAN KAREEM to ya olls who are reading S-2-S. May we make the best out of this barakah month,inshaAllah.

I still owe this blog the Mekkah entry which I don't know when I'll have ample time to jot down my experience. Been busy with this one thesis like very pagal busy. Still unemployed until further notice but I feel so much content on the inside.

After years of fasting alone [most of the days], this time, I will be spending my whole Ramadhan with le family,alhamdulillah. But, I do miss my old life....I miss the heart of Malaysia despite the hectic-ness, lulz...Most importantly, I miss those whom I left behind. Already been bombarded with the question "bila nk blk kl?"  [wow,retisss y'awww].

**********************************************

SELINGAN

Another question I got when I returned was: "jumpa jodoh x depan kaabah"?. Maybe at that moment, people were hyped up with the walimah of sis Irma Hasmie and how she met her other half.....gittteww :p. 

Well, happy fasting, happy terawih-ing, happy break-fasting! Remember, eat LESS, ibadah MORE. Don't forget while we have all the luxuries of foods to choose from, some people out there don't even have anything to eat....sobs.

Salam.

Gems

can't read the credits but this is not mine

Alhamdulillah,

last night I had the chance to attend a talk given by Prof.Tariq Ramadan held at Cultural Activity Centre [or known as CAC for IIUM-ians], IIUM.

Bought the ticket just before I went for umrah....Couldn't miss the talk given by the grand child of Imam Hassan Al-Banna.


Silly me left behind my precious notebook and pen  so I had to borrow Eldee's pen whom by the way was my companion for the talk and jot down points on an A4 paper [which clearly wasn't enough].


I loved loved loved the talk!


The title was : In the Footsteps of the Prophet: How Muslims Should Contribute to The World


I hope my humble sharing wouldn't do injustice to whatever Prof said last night  [when the video's up, I'll share the link here....inshaAllah]


Prof maintained his speech throughout the clock by relating what we should do as Muslims with how our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w did thousand years ago.

Prophet Muhammad as the best of man, an exemplary to the future generation, who lived his life according to the teachings of the quran, should be followed by the ummah. Being the person who has been promised jannah didn't stop him from performing additional ibadah along the obligatory ones because of his love for Allah...Even the sahabah couldn't match him in that sense and mind you, he was maksum. 

He had beautiful qualities even before the revelation which he then become our last prophet to send the true message of Islam and that's why he was the chosen one.  [falling in love much much more with this great man! allahumma solli a'la muhammad]


Furthermore, prof mentioned about the four qualities we should have that are:

1) Be confident
2) Trust Allah
3) Be ambitious
4) Have courage to speak out and do the right thing


The following will be in point forms and some sharing from FB posts:

•  If you have the question "Does Allah still love me?" realizing you are full of sins, it means that Allah is still close to you, with that conscience alone.

•  Be in touch with Allah.He is not monitoring our actions but He is welcoming our intentions,our quest for the truth

• Change the way you look at things. Look with your hearts,with compassion. The way you look at things is like looking into a mirror. It reflects how our hearts value them as gifts from Allah.

• To attain the love of Allah, follow the prophet with understanding, love our parents and love other people in the name of humanity

• Two things we should never forget:

     
1) We do not own anything and we will be accountable for everything
2) One day, we will die 

• You neglect nature , you neglect your heart

 "We are numerous, but yet we are nothing."

He added on by reciting a hadith:

"Thauban reported that the messenger of Allah said: "It is near that the nations will call one another against you just as the eaters call one another to their dishes."

Somebody asked: "Is this because we will be few in numbers that day?"

The prophet replied: "Nay, but that day you shall be numerous, but you will be like the foam of the sea, and Allah will take the fear of you away from your enemies and will place weakness into your hearts."

Somebody asked: "What is this weakness?" The prophet answered: "The love of the world and the dislike of death." (Abu Daud)    [credits to Ameen Misran of LangitIlahi for this sharing]


Prof also didn't like the crowd to clap upon his "best" statements but rather he urged us to get up and do something to change it....


It was a fruitful speech and I cannot wait to listen back to everything....[heard the team is already processing it,wehoooo!]

I'll put down first his beautiful du'a which brought tears to many people in the crowd

HERE 

Thank You Allah (1)

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,


All praises be to Allah, the All-Mighty,All-Knowing and All-Loving.

Masjid Nabawi

Alhamdulillah, me and family just returned from Umrah 4 days ago and the whole journey was surreal. Till date, I still can't believe Allah accepted me, full of sins, to the Holy Land.


I don't know whether I should be 'sharing' my experience or not because if you google "pengalaman buat umrah", you'll be directed to lots of post entries. At least that's what I did before leaving,teheee :p But, not to disappoint some people  [wahh retis], I'll just share a few stories and tips,InshaAllah. May Allah preserve me from the feeling or riak or whatever, na'uzubillah.


Here we go.....


Madinah

We departed KLIA around 10am via MAS. The flight was about 8 hours long and we landed at Madinah Airport around 1pm  [tolak 5 jam dari waktu kita]. Pung pang pung pang settled imigration and luggage claim, rode the bus which was waiting outside to our hotel. First thing I felt after stepping out of the airport, mad hotness! We stayed at Durrat Al-Fayroz hotel and alhamdulillah the hotel was nice and the catering throughout our stay for both in Madinah and Makkah were splendid. W did jama' ta'hir for 'Asar and Zuhur as it was already late and our room check-in process was a bit hassle [pity our mutawwif]. Ok feels like writing an essay already here. Short and simple wanie, short and simple!

the hotel we stayed in

We went to pray Magrib and Isya' at Masjid Nabawi and the first time witnessing it, I was totally mesmerized. The feeling of actually being in the same place as the Prophets were, is indescribable. Me,my mom and sisters took the Gate 9 Entrance for ladies and please be reminded, there is a spot check at the door where no cameras, phone with cameras are allowed [tapi,kalau nk bwk jugak, kena pandai2lah simpan dalam poket seluar or baju, jgn simpan dlm beg....wahh tunjuk ajarku sifu]. It is totally understandable that they want to preserve our 'aib as ladies. Although it was tuna-crowded, we managed to get a spot on the carpet and quenched our thirst with fresh cold zamzam water!After isya', we went outside and waited for the guys before going back to the hotel for dinner. MashaAllah I was captivated by the minarets at night and was excited to see how the tents will be flap-opened in the daylight :D

Day 2- Outdoor Ziarah to Masjid Quba, Dates Farm, Dates Market, Jabal Uhud, Masjid Qiblatain. Alhamdulillah we got to pray in Masjid Quba. It is said that if we enter and pray in Masjid Quba, the reward is like completing an Umrah. Regardless, the feeling was lovely despite the crowd. Later in the evening, our neighbour in JB who now live in Madinah came to fetch us to their house. Youngest bro was so happy to meet his two friends and my mom was happy to meet her friend and my sisters were happy to meet their friends and I was happy to meet mr. Internet, LOL.We were served with delicious foods and special mint tea [my fav!] and pakcik N brought us to perform maghrib at Masjid Qiblatain. He then took us to Masjid Tujuh and told us some history behind it before sending us back to the hotel. Thank you Pakcik N, Makcik A and family!

first time witnessing...MashaAllah!

muslim area

Masjid Quba'

Dates Farm

Masjid Qiblatain

Jabal Uhud

Cemetery of the syuhada' during Perang Uhud

pretty in picture...mesmerizing in sight.

Quran production factory

Baqi' Cemetery

Makam Rasulullah s.a.w

Day 3- An unforgettable day. The mutawwif told us that we will be doing ziarah Masjid today so we had to gather at the lobby around 7 am. Mind you that Masjid Nabawi is massively big! We walked to Baqi' Cemetary where the syuhada' and mujahidins were laid to rest. We said our prayers and afterwards, our mutawwif said that the  ladies can go to Raudhah so off we go. We passed by Makam Rasulullah [which was just opposite to the perkuburan and said our salam. It was a mixed feeling, happy that I was near him, worried whether he will recognize me as his followers in the hereafter or not...tsk.




Raudhah. [A part of the garden of heaven...]

As usual, spot check first. Cameras were already given to my brother because the guys can bring it inside the praying area. Upon entering, I can hear a bee-like buzzing [pardon me for the exaggeration] to signal a big crowd is inside. And a BIG crowd it was! "Ibu-ibu! dodok...dodok dulu...sini...sini!" the all-covered female guards instructed us. We entered the C.S.I-like tape in the Malay-Indo section and waited for the next instruction. While waiting, it is good if we can use it wisely for zikrullah, making du'as so that Allah eases our entering, perform sunat prayers,etc. From the stories I read, the Malay-Indonesians would always be the last group to enter...ya know,after the big-tall-and a big fiercy group finishes the session but alhamdulillah after 15 minutes of waiting, the guards told us to get up and enter. Inside, there was another waiting session but this time around, we saw the green kubah [ Makam Rasulullah] and our prayers grew deeper. Story got really interesting when we actually entered the praying area. Upon touching our feet on the red carpet, we were not walking anymore, we were pushed inside! Mind you that the Malays were minority and I am sure they were not the ones pushing. SubhanAllah patience level had to be increased. I was tightly holding my sister and my mom held my other sister. While being pushed inside, I told my sister,don't look front, just look at the carpet below and if the carpet is green, we are already in Raudhah and not long after that, we saw Green....Alhamdulillah!It was a double tuna-crowd inside the green-carpet area as the previous group [Iran or some other Arab people] were going out and some just didn't want to leave so just imagine the ones pushing in and the ones pushing out. Amazingly, despite the full-crowded space, I managed to perform my solat smoothly. It felt like I was covered by a wall at all sides until my last salam...Ya Allah syukur! Separated from my family but reunited after exiting the green-area [same story, pushed outside...claustrophobic me got adapted somehow].

red carpet: common area. Green carpet: Raudhah  [picture copied from Secretly Myra]

The reason to the crowd was, entrance to Raudhah for ladies was restricted. Not like the guys who can enter raudhah 24/7, we had a time limit in the day and at night. May Allah accept our du'as there.





We left Madinah on our fourth day to Makkah and all the memories there will forever be in my heart. May Allah give me lots more chances to visit my Most Beloved.





Tips:

1) No cameras are allowed at the female area so bring it at your own risk

2) Bring your own plastic bag to put in your sandals. It's a big crowd and you might won't find them. Don't worry, everyone does it too.

3) Drink as much zamzam water as you like coz it's free and refreshing! Bring your own bottle too to bring it back to the hotel and while you go for ziarah.

4) Be careful with your purse and belongings but put upmost trust in Allah....everything will be OK.

5) Don't bring a lot of clothes because it will dry overnight after washing...inshaAllah plus if you go to Madinah first, it's only for four days...just bring minimal amount in Madinah's luggage and can wash when you are in Makkah.

6) Bring lots of medicines [ note: cough,flu,fever,vomit,diarrhea, inhaler if you're asthmatic], face mask during hot season coz it's a bit pricy there.

Peaceful

Will continue with Makkah inshaAllah later.