Good bye 2015 | All set for the new year

Bismillah.

All set for tomorrow.
All set for the new year.

Good evening folks,

I have been super busy today running around preparing for tomorrow because we are having a gathering with some special guests on the first day of the new year, insya Allah.

Preps shall continue tomorrow morning because that's how it is every time I am back in my hometown. I would always end up making at least two trips to the grocery store, every day. Every day means every day. And that does not include trips to the mall and/or some shops. It's always been about buying stuffs, spring cleaning, driving around and having tomato rice and/or nasi kandar twice a day LOL. 

2015 has been a colorful year for me. Alhamdulillah ala kulli hal. I am eager to wrap it up and embrace Jan-NEW-ary simply because everything will be fresh and new.

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the old, ring in the new.

Good night, rest well, sleep tight and sweet dreams.

Catch up tomorrow.

WaSalamualaikum warahmatullah.

May the new year be a year full of joy and hope.

Happening Penang | YaHuuu

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillahi hamdan yuwafi 
ni'amahu wa yukafi u mazidah

There is no place like my kampung (village). Hah hah.  

There is no bed as comfy as mine. LOL. It makes me feel like a $6 million dollar woman cos the mattress cost about 0.1% of that. [The spy-readers are running for their calculators now. LOL.] 

We all should pray hard and do tonnes of good deeds so that our bed in the grave would be super comfy too. And we should be more grateful so that Allah the Keeper of the Ultimate Treasures of the Heavens & Earth would be more generous towards us. Ameen.

YaHuuu... I managed to recite 1K+ salawat while driving from KL to Penang. That means I have got another 2K left to reach the magic number. Bi-iznillah.

Excuse me for the amateurish shot. It's for my friends living abroad who appreciate scenes of Penang. I will be sharing more pics soon. 

You Penang folks bear with me ok.
[Hangpa memang lah dah besa tengok gambaq merata ceruk Penang] 

Driving on Penang Bridge
heading towards 'island in the sun'
is always a thrill

Good night. I can't wait for tomorrow to check out some precious books from Makkah.

Until then, I leave you with a poster borrowed from Exa Publishing FB.

WaSalamualaikum warahmatullah.

p/s

Feedback from another 2009-Readers' Club member who discovered this insignificant space in 2009 while she was living abroad. She now lives in Penang. She is a pious, well educated and well-traveled person. She and her husband, as retired professionals have now become a committed tholabul ilmi. Her kind words are like du'a and mean a lot to me.

She sent this message just before I set out for my kampung.
"My dear, I read your superb blog at 2 a.m. and my tears poured out. I feel so connected to what you have written, as though that's my mind. Keep writing dear."

Masha Allah tabarakallah.

May Allah preserve our hearts and continue to grant us beneficial knowledge, ilham and tawfiq. And make us sincere and humble always.
Ameen.

Final leg | Ten to the power of eighteen

Bismillah.

Assalamualaikum folks,

How are you feeling now that we are in the final leg of our journey in 2015? I have been busy in the kitchen just now, no... no... not cooking, just cutting some fruits, made sandwiches and hot choc for me and mom. Alhamdulillah for the opportunity to do khidmah to my mother. 

Prior to preparing dinner, I thought of scribbling something just because someone had left a kind comment for the posting on Shaykh Omar Basheer. Someone from the 2009-Readers' Club, those who have been reading since the year 2009. Perhaps when my projects materialize and my businesses take off successfully in 2016, I should host a high tea at my Penang home for the entire clan of Shaykh Omar Basheer al-Khalidi insha Allah. Therefore, you all should pray for my success ok?

***

I saw this tweet by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf today. It's a quote of his during his talk at the RIS Convention in Toronto Canada held between 25th to 27th Dec 2015. RIS stands for Reviving the Islamic Spirit. Shaykh Hamza said: 

'When you are oppressed, people attack and harm you. What is the response of our Prophet (salallah alaihi wasalam)? Return a wrong with a right.'

Hmm...you think you could do that? RAW WAR - return a wrong with a right? Not me, not easy for me, I'll be frank with you, no, no, no. I may have completed 7,000 salawat by now as part of the 10K-salawat challenge for this wonderful month of Rabiul Awal as recommended by the honorable Habib Umar bin Hafiz, but I am not sure I could do that - RAW WAR.

It's something to think about for the upcoming new year 2016. Can I be more forgiving next year? What if I got a ticket for hajj in 2016? I would want to behave well starting from January. I would want to be more forgiving, more giving, more hardworking, more everything of the good things.

What if we were to die say in Dec 2016? Surely we would want to chart the months, the days, the hours in 2016 very carefully and meaningfully, won't we? On top of having a RAW WAR approach, we must be mindful of "spiritual ants" [to borrow a term coined by Shaykh Ninowy at one of his talks I attended.] And we must be mindful of people whose life long quest is to bluff their way, people who stunt our growth.   

Hmm...something to think about. We have got another two days left to pick a fight in 2015. LOL.

Anyway, I am hoping in 2016 Exa Publishing could live up to its name Exa, meaning 10 to the power of 18. That's a khadam at Exa Publishing posing in front of a custom made poster she designed.

Alhamdulillahi hamdan yuwafi 
ni'amahu wa yukafi u mazidah

Good night folks.
__________________________

Follow the path, just go!

Bismillah.

Assalamualaikum folks,

Just a quick one as I gotta run. Am pretty sure you are all busy too. Sometimes it's good to plan. But oftentimes circumstances call for a "just go" attitude.

Praise be to Allah for another beautiful day. Keep working on the 10,000-salawat challenge folks. Follow the path. Just go. Follow the Prophetic path. Just go for it!

I am halfway through the 10K salawat challenge, Alhamdulillah.

Take care.

-E-

Have a greaaat Sunday folks : )

Knowledge seekers | Perfection seekers

Bismillah.

Hmm...we all should be a perfection seeker. We all should strive to perfect our work even though no one is perfect, even though nothing can ever be perfect. 

As a trend setter for tote bags in high school, since I was 13, I couldn't help but feel disappointed at the quality of the tote bag I designed [as pic above]. Blame it on communication problem between designer and manufacturer that it did not turn out as expected and that it was a rush job. Didn't have enough time to select the best supplier/producer. Must buy a heat press machine and do it ourselves next time insha Allah.

The lesson here is that we should keep acquiring new knowledge, put it to practice and be independent. And be dependable, so that when people seek us out for a certain skill, we could offer it easily and effectively.

Ahhh... sorry folks, I am venting my frustration here. One consolation is that a similar bag with Exa Publishing, Al Falah TV and Lisan al-Din logos has reached Makkah! : )

As I am writing this, my sister should have arrived in Madinah and my salam should reach the Best of Creation - Rasulullah salallah alaihi wasalam. 

Hmm...somehow, I am suddenly choked with emotions.

: ' (

Allahumma salli ala Sayyidina Muhammad

Habibur Rahman 

ada dama yakun wama qad kan

O Allah, bestow Your prayers upon our Master Muhammad, 
the beloved of the Most Compassionate, 
to the number of things that will be and that were.

      

Beautiful Time & Space

Bismillah.

Maghrib in KL on the eve of 12 Rabiul Awal 1437 Hijri

It was a beautiful evening, yesterday. And today is a beautiful day.

How are you getting on with the 10,000-salawat challenge? If Habib Umar bin Hafiz had not recommended it, we would not have thought it's possible to do so many salawat. It's in fact, a reachable target. 

It reminds me of the "potato juice" challenge which I undertook at a corporate training a couple of months back. When the trainer asked us, if it's possible to poke a potato with a straw, I was the first to shout NO! LOL. But after being taught some techniques, I did it. I poked a potato, a big, raw and hard potato. We are not talking boiled cherry potatoes o.k!

We rarely push ourselves. We just roam around safe zone and we are pretty laidback about many things.

It's time to change.
A change would do us good.
Bi iznillah.

Jummah Mubarak!

A day to rejoice | Sallu Alan Nabi

Bismillah.

"On the Day of Qiyamah, the person closest to me, 

will be the one who has sent the most salawat to me."

- Prophet Muhammad salallah alaihi wasalam

Enough said.

It is obvious that it would be better for one to compete in making as many salawat as possible than compete on anything else. 

I wish yáll a wonderful day. It is a wonderful day to reflect upon none other than the Beloved of Allah.

Allahumma ya Rabba Sayyidina Muhammad
wa ali Sayyidina Muhammad
salli wa salim ála Sayyidina Muhammad 
wa ála ali Sayyidina Muhammad
wa azib huzna qalbi
fid dunya wal akhirah
wa ajri ya Rabbi lutfakal-khafiyya
fi umurina wa umuril muslimin

***

Allahumma ya ni'mal mawla wa ya ni'mal nasir 

salli wa salim 'adada 'ilmika 
'ala sayyidina Muhammad 

man ja'altahu lana hirzan harizan 

wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi 
wansurna bihi wal muslimina 

bi asrari: wa yansurakallahu nasran 'aziza

***
Allahumma salli ala Sayyidiina Muhammad
Habibur Rahman
ada dama yakun wama qad kan

O Allah, bestow Your prayers upon our Master Muhammad, 
the beloved of the Most Compassionate, 
to the number of things that will be and that were.

Sacred works | Link to Allah

Bismillah.

That's a beautiful and interesting photo captured by my sister who is having a wonderful time in Makkah. Alhamdulillah.

Everyone is in the state of worship including the workers who are busy renovating the sacred space known as Hijir Ismail.

Every action which we regard as work is considered worship as long as the niyyat is linked to Allah. As advised by Shaykh Kamaludin Ahmed in an article on wuqoof qalbi (vigilance of the heart):

"Before performing any action, we should make an intention in our heart. Link every action we do to Allah Almighty. So each and everything in our life whether it is a worldly thing or a religious thing, we should make an intention for it, and link that intention back to Allah. And this will be a test for us that anything we cannot make an intention, anything in our life that we cannot link to Allah - know that it has some level of sin; that thing has some level of forgetfulness; that thing is somehow keeping us away from Allah. Because through the best of our ability, if we cannot link it to Allah, that means that thing is clearly a ghayrullah; that thing is other than Allah, that thing will make us distant from Allah; that thing will distract us from Allah; So each and everything in our life we have to link to Allah. " 

Read the entire article on wuqoof qalbi here.

No doubt, it is a good thing to remember always. It is a good practice - vigilance of the heart which I understood as having a link or trying to keep a link to Allah active most of the time if not at all times, in most of our actions if not all of our actions.

And I thought that photo above is also symbolic because it shows a Line of Sight (LOS) to the Holy Kaabah which is a sacred symbol of our link or connection to Allah. I work in the telecommunications industry so the term LOS is common as we build telecommunication towers that must be carefully and accurately positioned so that all will be linked up onto the network. It is important to have a Line of Sight (LOS) with the other towers which are all connected on one big network, which in turn must have redundancy in case of emergency.

It is a good analogy for having an LOS with Allah. We should always check for our LOS with Allah lest we get lost and get left out from the Divine Providence. Our "tower" will end up being an island tower that is not linked up with the entire divine network and what use is there for an isolated tower? How sad we will be? That's like going to an island and finding a telecoms tower but that tower is not active since it's not connected to the entire telecommunication system, because it has no LOS, hence there is no service coverage! Sad!

***

Tomorrow we shall observe Mawlid ar-Rasul insyaAllah. How are you all doing in regard to the 10,000-salawat challenge - the salawat recommended by Habib Umar bin Hafiz, for us to recite 10,000 times in this blessed month of Rabiul Awal?

I have done 4,000+ already Alhamdulillah. I think Habib Umar bin Hafiz's words carry a great deal of weight. If it was just an ordinary bloke who asked me to do something that challenging, I might just brush it off. But when Habib Umar teaches a salawat, I stand at attention and I become very receptive somehow. It shows that Habib Umar is a person of great stature who carries legal authority of the Rasulullah salallah alaihi wasalam. I wonder how many salawat Habib Umar himself recite on a daily basis?!

***

Related posting on 10,000 salawat challenge, in case you're wondering what I am talking about.

http://lisanaldin.blogspot.my/2015/12/10000-salawat-challenge.html

Allahumma ya Rabba Sayyidina Muhammad
wa ali Sayyidina Muhammad
salli wa salim ála Sayyidina Muhammad 
wa ála ali Sayyidina Muhammad
wa azib huzna qalbi
fid dunya wal akhirah
wa ajri ya Rabbi lutfakal-khafiyya
fi umurina wa umuril muslimin

May Allah remove sadness from our hearts, in this dunya and in akhirah. May Allah keep our hearts connected to Him always and to His Beloved Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam.

Ameen.

Meccan time

Bismillah.

He is Time.

He manifests His attributes and afál at all times for us to know and witness Him.

Alhamdulillah I praise the Lord for being kind unto my sister who is having a wonderful time in Makkah Al Mukarrramah now. She has just texted me asking me for new duá to request. I had already given her yesterday and today she asked for more and longer duá. LOL. It feels good to know that I could 'courier' my petitions on a daily basis, at least for a week.  

Hopefully, tomorrow she will be able to meet a long-time friend of mine who has been a Meccan resident for over five years now. This friend of mine is very special. We all can talk about zuhud and sacrifices of the worldly dunya this and that but she is one of a select few people who epitomizes zuhud, in my opinion. She used to live in a huge luxurious mansion in KL, yet she gave up all that and opted for a very simple lifestyle in Makkah. She gave up her big car. She gave up her fancy shoes and clothes. She gave up plenty of stuffs that we are all still hunting and collecting.

Now how many of us are willing to do what she did? Let's put aside some time to think and reflect.

p/s
Dreaming of living in Madinah; blogging from Madinah and dying in Madinah : )
Ameen.
Perhaps doing 10K salawat a month could improve my chances on this.
Allahumma salli ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa ala ali Sayyidina Muhammad

Sunday Fajar in KL

Bismillah.

Gooood morning folks : )

That's Subuh Azan (call to prayer) in KL this beautiful Sunday morning. There are at least three mosques calling for prayer. Subhanallah!

Anyway, this is just a short greeting to yáll to remind you of the 10,000-Salawat challenge. I am progressing slowly. Alhamdulillah so far.

One thing I have come to realize since I undertook the 10K-Salawat challenge is that I prefer silence to unnecessary chatters and noise. We are flooded with tonnes of messages each day, aren't we? It can be overwhelming and deafening sometimes. 

They say we have to learn silence just as we learn speech. Silence can do us much good. It's true.

Wish yáll a pleasant Sunday. Next week is a short week work-wise because it's going to be a longggg weekend YaHu! Can't wait for it to unfold. Have you finalized your holiday plans yet? Whatever it is, don't get stressed out and don't fight over it ok? LOL. The best plan is that which is destined by the Supreme Master Mind. Let's be open minded and leave room for divine surprises just because The Lord is the Best Planner. 

Ah...Thursday is of course special. It's Mawlid Ar-Rasul. Gotta gear up on the salawat. May Allah grant us more tawfiq. Ameen.

Allahumma ya Rabba Sayyidina Muhammad
wa ali Sayyidina Muhammad
salli wa salim ála Sayyidina Muhammad 
wa ála ali Sayyidina Muhammad
wa azib huzna qalbi
fid dunya wal akhirah
wa ajri ya Rabbi lutfakal-khafiyya
fi umurina wa umuril muslimin

The joy of giving

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillahi hamdan yuwafi 
ni'amahu wa yukafi u mazidah

Am lovinnnng it!

This is what I am up to. Preparing custom-made goody [canvas tote]bags for a group of tholabul ilmi (knowledge seekers) from abroad who will be joining a spiritual retreat (dawra) in Malaysia soon. Insya Allah.

I've commissioned a calligraphy lecturer to design that tholabul ilmi kufi. I've asked a good friend of mine to make Florentine biscuits and I've made a special sticker that says ''Made with Love by my bestie Hanim" : D

Of course the tote bags will be filled up with several more [secret] gifts that would hopefully make our visitors, the knowledge seekers, smile and stay happy throughout their journey in beautiful Malaysia.

Hopefully they would be kind enough to say a prayer for me : D

Florentine biscuits contain all kinds of nuts
plus two sunnah food items:
habbatus sauda and pumpkin seeds.
Stay tune for
Sunah Food Campaign - Video Competition (SFCVC).
On top of getting cash prizes, all six winners will also be given a fig plant
and a special videography course at Saiful Nang Academy,
Insya Allah.

Jumaah Mubarrak!

Wish yáll a fabulous weekend.

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullah.

-E-

Where you want to be

Bismillah.

Good evening folks,

Don't be so hard on yourself OK?

I am off for a night swim cos the pool is where I instinctively want to be ; )

KL is hot, people!

: P

p/s
Don't forget the 10,000-Salawat challenge. I am crawling but it's OK. Keep striving.
Terus berusaha!

Group| Look ahead

Bismillah.

Guten morgen folks.

Praise be to God for new acquaintances, contacts, partners, supporters, friends and positive people He keeps sending us, day in day out.

I remembered one corporate trainer by the name of Dr Reza, he said, if you are the smartest in your group, then your group is too small; if you are the richest in your group, then your group is too small; if you are the prettiest/most handsome in your group, then your group is too small.

I am feeling grateful that my group has drastically expanded on all three aspects. It's good to network and build good connections because the Quran says we are to cooperate on good deeds and piety. "Help one another in al-birr (righteousness) and at-taqwa (piety)...." 

And that funny trainer Dr Reza also reminded his class to not look back and the fact that the rear mirror is small unlike the windshield, simply because we are to give more focus on what's in front of us, and not so much the things which are behind us.

2015 is gradually coming to an end. We may want to look back just a wee bit, for lessons learned in the past 12 months and then focus on the new year ahead of us. Insya Allah.

I have achieved the minimum 200-postings target for the year, but I feel obligated to write while I can for the sake of you, regular readers who start your day by checking on this space. Masha Allah! Thank you. May Allah make us all benefit from good words and good vibes. Ameen.

Today, I eagerly wait for a special delivery - tote bags with Lisan al-Din logo on it. It's for my own private collection. I was wondering if the regular loyal readers would be interested to purchase it. We shall see.

Until then, wish y'all a greaaat day, wish you sihah wal afiah and....

p/s

Don't forget the 10,000-salawat challenge for this blessed month of Rabiul Awal. I have so far only managed 200+ LOL. I tell myself - Terus berusaha. Keep striving :)

But I have successfully memorized it. YaHu!

Allahumma ya Rabba Sayyidina Muhammad
wa ali Sayyidina Muhammad
salli wa salim ála Sayyidina Muhammad 
wa ála ali Sayyidina Muhammad
wa azib huzna qalbi
fid dunya wal akhirah
wa ajri ya Rabbi lutfakal-khafiyya
fi umurina wa umuril muslimin

Strive | "Usaha"

Bismillah.

I was among the bottom three students in class during the first few years in primary/elementary school. I remembered the teachers were not creative at all when commenting in my annual report cards. They had nothing better and nothing more to say than "Terus berusaha" which means keep striving. LOL.

During the final year when I slowly and painfully emerged among the top ten students in school, they still wrote something to that effect: Usaha dengan lebih tekun which means the same thing - keep working hard, keep striving. Perhaps they were not allowed to venture far from the school's motto Usaha Tangga Kejayaan. LOL. That essentially means, effort is the ladder to success.

Now at this mature age, of course I understood better the value of usaha. Understood perfectly why all the teachers had to hammer it in the head, year in year out.

Now at this mature age, I smiled from ear to ear when an animation expert autographed his book and wrote Terus berusaha. It made me smile because it felt really good as if he truly understood my aspiration and dreams and the sweat and tears that come with it. Terus berusaha sounds a lot more hopeful now than ever before.

Tangis dan tawa. Terus berusaha.
Tears and Laughter. Keep striving.

My nephew got his PT3 Exam results today (14th Dec). He did pretty well, but still I am disappointed the fact that he did not usaha much. I reckon he only put in about 60% of effort.

I think this is a universal problem, we all have a lot of untapped potential which would have manifested into a bigger success had we strive 100%. We do not really optimize our brains, nor do we maximize the power of our limbs to usaha.  

Must work harder, you and I.

Congrats Kamil Arif & Imran Harris 

Usaha tangga kejayaan

p/s
Wish when I was 15 when I experienced my first ''success", wish I had an aunt who has a blog so she could blog about my good results. LOL.

p/s
Achip: Congrats and terus berusaha : )

10,000-Salawat Challenge

Bismillah.

Below is a screenshot from Muwasala.org. Habib Umar bin Hafiz recommends we recite below salawat 10,000 times in this blessed month of Rabiúl Awal.

I have never done it before, it should be a good and beneficial challenge for us to take up. Certainly better than making 10,000 steps around the malls. Unless you are shopping for gifts for your family, friends, guests or the less fortunate. I'm not talking about Xmas presents here but in Islam we are also encouraged to give presents to our family members/friends anytime throughout the year, to foster better relationships among us.

Anyhow, I'd like to be brave and take up this 10,000-salawat challenge. The Habib says it's a recommendation but for weaklings like me it sure is a challenge. LOL.

Let's see if we can do 500 in one sitting per day, that would take 20 days. But knowing me, I might completely forget all about it on the 3rd day. LOL. So then doing 1000 a day might be a better idea as it would take only 10 days to complete it. InsyaAllah. 

The salawat is indeed a good du'a as we are asking Allah to free us from sadness. We are all bound to feel sad at least on three occasions in a day, I reckon. LOL. Sadness is a big problem to mere mortals. 

Wa azib huzna qalbi 
fid dunya wal akhirah

Remove sadness from my heart 
in this world and the hereafter

This is a very powerful sentence we all should learn by heart. But of course once we start reciting the complete salawat for the 100th time, we will have memorized it fully bi-iznillah.

Allahumma ya Rabba Sayyidina Muhammad
wa ali Sayyidina Muhammad
salli wa salim ála Sayyidina Muhammad 
wa ála ali Sayyidina Muhammad
wa azib huzna qalbi
fid dunya wal akhirah
wa ajri ya Rabbi lutfakal-khafiyya
fi umurina wa umuril muslimin

Rabiul Awal Mubarak

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillahi hamdan yuwafi ni'amahu wayukafi u mazidah. Praise be to Allah for His endless bounties and boundless compassion. We have come to Rabiul Awal. I am yet to memorize this new salawat taught on Muwasala though.

Allahumma salli wa salim ala Sayyidina Muhamadin
Ahabbil mahbu bat
wa ash rafil makhluqat
wa af dholi ahlil aradhina was samawat

O Allah bestow prayers and peace
upon our Master Muhammad
the most beloved of all things beloved
the most noble of the most noble of created beings
and the best of the inhabitants of the earth and the heavens

***

Below is an excerpt of Habib Umar bin Hafiz's advice as related by Shaykh Abu Zaki [former Imam of Masjid Sultan Singapore] on 20th Nov 2015 at Masjid Al Falah. Shaykh Abu Zaki related three major advice given by Habib Umar during his tour to Indonesia and Singapore: about Allah waging war on us on account of riba; the correct method for dakwah and tawbah. A dear friend forwarded the lessons to me and below is my feeble attempt at translating Habib Umar's advice on dakwah.

As related by Shaykh Abu Zaki, Habib Umar said: There are people who use their Shaykh to attract popularity. They are two-faced. They use their Shaykh's name in order to be popular. If you intend to perform dakwah then employ the same approach as did the Prophet (pbuh). Put the Prophet in yourself. [Ask yourself] is this the method used by the Prophet? Would the Prophet endorse my way of doing dakwah? Does the Prophet hurt people? The Prophet wants everyone to enter the Heavens. He did not label anyone as misguided/blasphemous. [You] pretend to do dakwah on the words of the Prophet but you actually don't. Many people are eager to jump into dakwah based on the hadith: "Çonvey from me even if it is one verse'' yet they do not place the Prophet in themselves. The meaning of "from me" is from the Prophet, that is his akhlak and nothing from your nafs when you engage in dakwah. People compete in spreading the words of the Prophet but they do it in the wrong manner. You may convey thousands of the Prophet's words, but remember to put the Prophet in your heart and in your behavior.

***

Allahu Alam.

May I be forgiven for any errors in the translation.

Sallu alan Nabi.

          

A change would do you good

Bismillah.

Assalamualaikum folks,

Yes, change is good. I remembered singing to Sheryl Crow's song 'A Change Would Do You Good'.

Feeling so blessed and grateful that I took a couple of bold steps to change. I'm sure you have experienced having that kind of feeling too. It's the best thing I've done in three years. Thankful that the Lord has diverted a potentially bad qadar from me. YaHu!  

Change for the better.
Change your circumstances by stepping out of negative situations.
Change to be braver.
Change to more positive way of thinking.
Change to better behaviors.
Just change.

Because a change would do you good!
And drink milk - it does a body good. Plus, it's sunnah food.

Have a fabulous weekend folks : )

Al Fatihah | Ahmad R bin Ahmad D

Bismillah.

This is the least I could do for a colleague I have known for 20 years who passed away today 8th of Dec 2015. As far as I'm concerned he had lived up to his good name Ahmad R bin Ahmad D.

You know there are all kinds of men in the corporate jungle. Many of them can be pretty rude towards women. But this colleague of mine is someone I remembered as a polite and well mannered person. He was 56. 

You see, that's all we need to be for people to remember and cherish us - have good behaviors (akhlak). 

My present colleagues were a lil surprised to see me shed tears at the office upon hearing the demise of Ahmad R. Although I rarely interacted with him lately, he remained sweet in my mind because we met circa 1994 and worked on a few projects together when the company was still small.

I never had a real opportunity to treat him lunch so my heart was breaking when I dropped some cash in the collection jar, not far from his lifeless body at the mosque today. 

I humbly ask you to offer Al Fatihah for this friend of mine, one good Ahmad who had lived well carrying the name of Allah's beloved Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam.

  

  
Jazakumullahu khair.

Numbers | Tin-tea | Driven

Bismillah.

Numbers can be misleading ya know despite the fact that there's an explanation for it, for everything and anything. I have been blogging for six years. Out of the 700,000 page views only 20,000 people viewed my pic profile LOL. Al Falah TV is eight months old, but minus two months cos that's how long since the last video appeared, yet it has garnered 20,000 views. Hmm...how come? LOL.

Numbers can be deceiving. Is there an indicator to show how many hearts are moved or inspired by a single thing we put out to the universe? Pray Allah will let us be a tajalli of His goodness. I heard this from Shaykh Fahmi Zamzam who said: ''You gotta pray so that Allah makes you a tajalli (receptacle) of His goodness."

***

By the way, I discovered another great sunnah food product today. It would remind you of T2 tea. It's Tin-tea! Tea made of figs (tin). Yes! Tasted a tad too bitter than the regular black tea though. But it's packed with dozens of goodness. There are a handful of fig planters in Malaysia, so I learned.

***

This is looking pretty random. It's my attempt at sending out a signal to the universe that I so wish to be driven more often. It's so much fun being in the passenger seat, occasionally [on more occasions from now on, please].

An acquaintance of mine who had set out to walk for 40 days is still out there walking somewhere and here I am rambling nothing or in Malay they say mengada-ngada. This pious acquaintance suddenly popped up on WhatsApp today and addressed me as Sayyidah Ezatulhada. OMG. I take it as a BIG duá! May Allah forgive me. May Allah make me better than what people think of me. Ameen.
[The haters/spy-followers of this blog are sticking out their ugly tongue now LOL]

OK folks, don't get too serious. It's Sunday. It's end of the year. Footloose, put on your Sunday shoes. And put on a fun cap. Opt for a snapback : )

And opt for an inspiring Tee : )

Push yourself | One direction

Bismillah.

Kuala Lumpur
Last Saturday Morning
28.11.15

Gooood morning folks : )

Just like you, I am excited cos...it's Saturday!

What's your plan for today? Have you taken khal (date vinegar) yet this morning? I have! Alhamdulillah.

Just a quick posting before I spring-clean my abode. Must hurry before my team arrive. We are going to do some voice recording today - narration for an animation snippet. Pray Allah will help us see it through. Should enjoy the process, keep doing and leave the outcome to Him.

I am just ashamed of myself knowing there are super-successful and super-wealthy people who work 100 times harder than I do. I was chatting with one of them the other day, and you know what this person said to me? He said: "I gotta earn a living". He said it in Malay which actually sounded even more humbling. He said: ''Nak cari makan!"

Masha Allah tabarakallah. People like these are truly inspiring. They are in a position to rest on their laurels yet they keep pushing themselves. They have plenty of people to do it for them - their big strong team - yet they work as if no one is going to do it for them. They are focused on one direction and one direction only, which is work. 

OK folks, wish yáll a happy and productive weekend.
:)

Most beloved | Sallu alan Nabi

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillahi hamdan yuwafi niámahu wa yukafi u mazidah

Praise be to Allah for giving us thoughtful friends who swing by our place just so that we get to taste some yummy cookies; friends who alert us on new salawat we should learn and all the sweet-natured friends in our lives. May Allah grant His great bounties upon them especially those who help us in our religion. 

I saw a tweet by Muwasala quoting Imam Al Hadad: 'Flee from anyone who harms your religion as you would flee from a fierce predator.' Therefore, on the contrary, we should embrace people who help us in our religion.

So here's a new salawat published on Muwasala FB which I shall put on record here so that it would be easier for me/us to memorize. Wallahi, I have not learned that many salawat elsewhere than those shared through Muwasala. May Allah bless the team at Muwasala.org for their commitment and efforts in broadcasting the knowledge of their shuyukh in Hadramawt.

This salawat is attributed to the great imam Habib Ali al-Habashi.

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ و سَلِّمْ على سَيِّدِنا مُحَمَّدٍ
 أَحَبِّ المَحْبُوباتِ
 و أَشْرَفِ المَخْلُوقاتِ
 و أَفْضَلِ أَهْلِ الأَرَضِينَ و السَّمَواتِ

Allahumma salli wa salim ala Sayyidina Muhammadin
Ahabbil mahbu bat
wa ash rafil makhluqat
wa af dholi ahlil aradhina was samawat

O Allah bestow prayers and peace
upon our Master Muhammad,
the most beloved of all things beloved,
the most noble of the most noble of created beings,
and the best of the inhabitants of the earth and the heavens.

Jummah Mubarrak!

Follow the rainbow in your heart | Rise high

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillahi hamdan yuwafi ni'amahu wa yukafi u mazidah

I am loving the posters created by my team mate at Exa Publishing. She is getting better at it. Alhamdulillah. It's always good to see how people or we ourselves grow from strength to strength, push ourselves forward and increase our knowledge and skills from time to time. I think that's why we are taught to make duá: "O Lord increase me in knowledge." We should strive hard and learn as much as possible. We ought to soar to greater heights as far as knowledge is concerned, like getting a higher score in the school monthly test, a higher CGPA each semester, and learn more salawat/hadith/Quranic verses/du'a for example. There's no doubt we must aim higher as far as education is concerned. In Malay we say belajar setinggi yang boleh.

There still exists in the Malay society a culture (for lack of a better word) of people trying to be humble and call themselves orang kampung (village people). Or sometimes we use the term orang kampung as a derogatory terminology referring to people who live in remote/rural areas who are presumably backward in terms of education and material possessions. I think we have to grow from that narrow mindset because it is not necessarily true. Moreover, I learned at a corporate training, a couple of months back that: "It is not humility to discount one's own ability."

I come from a small village (kampung) in Penang. I stay there occasionally. My family is there. I have a small bungalow house and a small plot of land there. I consider myself orang kampung of course because it's a fact. I consider myself as orang kampung who have made some good progress compared to who I was 30 years ago. The majority of kampung folks there have all advanced considerably. Alhamdulillah.

As a matter of fact, my kampung is one of the last few kampungs left on Penang island. And mind you there are many people in my kampung who are highly educated. Some of my neighbors are PhD holders, professors, medical doctors, lawyers, magistrate, wealthy businessmen/women, we've got a couple of millionaires in the kampung and the Penang mufti lives in my kampung too. What I am trying to say here is that there's nothing wrong with being orang kampung who belajar tinggi-tinggi who attains the highest education/success possible, and still be humble.

Having said that, I also enjoy being a city girl who wakes up to a beautiful view of the KL city landscape. We have to be broad minded folks, accept His bounties and be grateful no matter where we are, in the kampung (village), in the sub-urban or in the city. It is all His manifestations. It is all His afál (actions). Everything belongs to Him. And the quest to belajar tinggi-tinggi, to continue learning as much as possible, is a lifelong quest.

Allahu a'lam.

: )

This December

Bismillah.

Ah...the much awaited month of the year has arrived. December spells peace and joy to many of us as we wind down and reflect on the bygone months.

This is the time to take stock of what we have done this year and regroup any scattered pieces and fix any misfits.

This may spill over to January, which is okay because introspection and rectification of oneself is an ongoing process and has no deadlines. It's a solo race after all. So run or walk as you may. There is a path for you and for me. Your path is yours alone. Mine is mine alone.

This world is big enough for everybody after all, else the Lord will show us the exit, at the appointed time. So there is no need to whine.

This is, as usual, just my two cents to mark the coming of December.

This is posting #192. Eight postings to go before I wrap up 2015. YaHu!

Folks, keep your hopes high and keep smiling : )

-E-

p/s

On a lighter note, since December is synonymous with sale and in keeping with the spirit of buying and selling, I might auction my Tiffany diamond ring LOL. Bought it at RM 17,000 so that's the starting price, folks! Because a witty blogger named Miss E has worn it, it could fetch RM 71,000 you know! LOL.

Ok...ok... I better sign off now : D

Peace!

This is Oyako Donburi
: P