Return to Him | The noble Quran readers

Bismillah.

Malaysians mourn the tragedy that befell students at a tahfiz school in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Twenty-one would-be huffaz boys and two teachers perished when their school caught fire around Subuh.

And so they entered the realm of barzakh on the best of days - yaumul Jumaah. They were Muslims who kept themselves busy with Quran recitals on a daily basis.

What about us?

Will we return to Him as noble people who engage ourselves with the Holy Quran regularly and consistently? Or do we touch the phones and PC keyboards a lot more for deeds that would not help us much in the grave? 

O self, please be reminded and take heed.

Pic credit: Malay Mail Online

Inna lillah wa inna ilai hi rajiun

Motherly compassion | Great women

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah for my mother.

Alhamdulillah for the opportunity to serve her in my own [small] ways.

Today is one of many special days for her.

I humbly ask you my friends, genuine readers, and sincere-hearted visitors of this blog, to please say a prayer for my mother, one Virgo girl who is always on the go and keeps going strong through the years. Alhamdulillah.

For the degree of gratitude that I have for this blessing, I pray Allah will continue to grant her good health, abundant of provisions, and everlasting happiness in this world and beyond. Aameen.

Some people thought my writings came across as witty.
I think I got it from her.
LOL.

Some people thought I've got a good dress sense.
I think I got it from her.

Someone who is slightly older than me said she should carry a cross-body sling bag now before she gets "too old" for it. I told her, my mother is pushing 80 and she could pull it off pretty stylishly : )

When I was 27, I took her for our first umrah and I remembered there was one incident amidst an uncontrolled crowd, we had left our sandals near Raudhah. I pray we both would get to the real Raudhah to reclaim our placement. Aameen.

Thank you, Allah, for my mother.

***

Today the 14th of September is also a significant day for Muslim women in this region especially, as we witnessed the inauguration of the first [Muslim] woman as the 8th President of Singapore. Madam Halimah Yacob, 63, ventured into politics 16 years ago as Member of Parliament before becoming Singapore's first female Speaker of Parliament from 2013 to 2017. One thing that has impressed many people most is her insistence to remain at her flat instead of moving out to the grand palatial residence reserved for the President. Let's hope more Singaporean women would be as humble as their President, not a snob, but as one who exudes an air of dignity, effortlessly : )

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/halimah-yacob-sworn-in-as-singapore-s-8th-president-9216250


p/s
Sis Julia: You are one of the few praiseworthy Singaporeans I know : )

Don't you wait

Bismillah.

Knock knock knocking this on my head.

Let your feelings catch up with you regarding:

• Spending an hour a day for Quran recital.
• Sweating it out at the gym daily.
• Cooking your own healthy meals on most days.
• Feeding your brain with positive words every minute.

Alhamdulillah if happy feelings already catch up with you in some departments.

Thank you, Allah, for making the tongue nimble for salawat and for the indescribable happiness that comes with it.

Allahumma salli ala Sayyidina Muhammad

solatan tuwas si'u biha 'alainal arzak

wa tuhas sinu biha lanal akhlak

wa 'ala alihi wasohbihi wasallim

: )

Perjalanan menujuNya | Ya Halim

Bismillah.

Maha Penyantun, Al Halim, itu antara Nama Terindah milikNya. Dan atas rahmat kurniaNya jua ada kala kita diberi rasa dan diberi nampak akan sifatNya yang satu ini, melalui orang-orang di sekeliling kita, juga peristiwa.

Semalam, seorang hamba Allah yang diberi darjat kebesaran di kalangan manusia, bergelar Sultan telah pergi menujuNya. Kuasa mutlak Allah untuk memuliakan sesiapa sahaja hamba pilihanNya. Sejarah menjadi bukti betapa sesetengah daripada kalangan kita diberi peluang luar biasa, melebihi yang lain. Maha suci Allah lebih tahu darjah ketakwaan hambaNya, lalu diberi penghormatan di alam dunia. Maha suci Allah lebih tahu ketinggian santun hambaNya, lalu diberi keutamaan berbanding yang lain.

Hati dan mata yang mengenali keluhuran budi seorang Sultan - yang sering mendahulukan rakyat jelata serta negeri/negara dalam keadaan uzur apatah lagi sihat - hati itu pasti merasa sedih dan mata itu pasti menangisi permergian ruh nan istimewa - Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah (1927-2017).

Memegang tampuk kesultanan negeri Kedah hampir sama waktunya dengan usia kemerdekaan Malaysia. Satu-satunya Raja yang menjadi Yang Dipertuan Agong sebanyak dua kali. Siapa yang mengetahui dan yang mengenali biarpun dari kejauhan, pasti akan mengakui keistimewaan Almarhum Sultan Abdul Halim.

Manusia mati meninggalkan nama. Hanya mereka yang istimewa meninggalkan jasa serta budi yang dikenang penuh kesyukuran. Budi dalam bentuk contoh teladan mahupun secebis kebahagiaan.

Sebagai seorang rakyat biasa, dan sebagai anak kelahiran Pulau Pinang saya bersyukur di atas "buah tangan" istimewa daripada Almarhum, yakni Jambatan Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah yang menghubungkan sekeping tanah yang asalnya milik negeri Kedah jua. Kasih sayang nan luhur pasti saja terus berhubung, berpisah tiada. Kesantunan seorang Raja seumpama baginda Almarhum, akan dikenang sentiasa, tak mungkin hilang di perjalanan masa.

Al Fatihah
Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah
(1927 - 11 September 2017)

     
Wahai Tuhan yang Maha Penyantun
Ya Halim
janganlah Kau uji kami dengan cubaan yang tak tertanggung;
Wahai Tuhan yang Maha Mengetahui
Ya Alim
janganlah Kau murka dengan kami walaupun Kau lebih tahu akan kesalahan kami;
Wahai Tuhan yang Maha Tinggi
Ya Aliy
angkatlah kedudukan kami dengan redhaMu;
Wahai Tuhan yang Maha Agung
Ya Azim
jadikanlah hati kami sentiasa tunduk terhadap kebesaranMu
dengan penuh pengharapan akan kurniaMu.

Aameen.


***
Note to our foreign readers:
The above is a eulogy on the passing of one of the most notable Sultan, Malaysia has ever had.
You may read about His Highness here:
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/09/11/a-sultan-of-many-interests/
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/09/278689/sultan-abdul-halim-passing-peoples-king

Get rid of busy nothingness

Bismillah.

[This is written on a cloudy Sunday morning.]

Post-gym sesh, I found this quote I needed 30 years ago. LOL. It's by Steve Maraboli.

Yes, when the weather is bad for your brisk-walk routine, hit the gym. If you really must sit down and do nothing, might as well do some meditation (zikir/tafakkur/salawat). LOL.

Or blog - post some random ramblings. It does not matter if people don't appreciate your postings. The point is you exercise your brain neurons, pump up the brain's synaptic connections. It's your brain, not theirs, so never mind them. LOL.

Or cook.

Or read.

Nothingness has no place in the day-to-day living, that's what the experts are saying and of course, we all agree.

Getting enough sleep does not fall in the "nothingness' category of course. It's excessive sleeping that we have to avoid. Else, you can't make yourself useful/beneficial to your-self, let alone others.

OK, this is a reminder to me-self and the young ones in my family.

Keep busy being productive on meaningful things.

Don't just sit idle.

Oh, the next time I am tempted to go idle, I should google the recipe for idli and try making some.

LOL.

Have a great week people. It's week #37 already.

p/s

Amer: Kat mana nak cari Rava Idli yang sedap kat Penang? Yang ada sambai nyok pekat kaw kaw macam dalam gambaq tu. 

Takmau yang plain putih tu boring. 
Little India? Let's. 
My next trip. In shaAllah.

Written | The Greatest of Writers

Bismillah.

"Be patient.
For what was written for you
was written by the Greatest of Writers."

This hit me hard, that kind of happy hard, you know what I mean?

In my opinion, it beautifully evokes the meaning of sobrun jamil - beautiful patience, a concept which I thought was too strange to be real, something I could never comprehend until I saw the above quote.

When you become truly conscious again, of the fact that it is the Greatest Writer who writes the script of your life, you just crack a smile.

Subhanallah : )

It's something I have to continually remind myself.

Of...
The King.
The Greatest of Writers.
The Smartest Orchestrator.
The Kindest of all.

Credit: IG - Inspirational Islamic Quotes.

Changing perspective

Bismillah.

So today I decided to take a different path. Change of attitude starts with a change of path, this I realized after sweating it out. LOL.

I often share a cityscape of KL from my balcony. This photo is like giving you the same snapshot of KL, but reverse about a mile back. Not sure if you follow me. LOL.

Alhamdulillah for today. For being healthy enough to go for a brisk walk.

Just trying to psych me up for the life-long marathon.
Just another Saturday rambling.
One beautiful Saturday in September.


p/s
Should anyone (spy-readers) think my photos are too cute to handle, get out of here then. LOL.
And sorry if all you see is the not-so-nice side of me.
But perhaps, you should change the way you look at things.
"Don't let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace."
- Dalai Lama

: D