Twins of Faith & Before I Forget

I know I owe the continuation of Surah Yusuf for quite a long time, I typed some, hoping to publish tonite, but realized that I had some missing facts to be clarified, and I left the binder in PD, so I guess that will have to wait.

Some updates, I feel guilty for not sharing this earlier, but better late than never, at least some bit of promotion despite the fact that not much difference that I can make tomorrow. What is it? I am attending this carnival tomorrow and Sunday, Twins of Faith, Family Carnival. It will be held at PICC. The activity are jam-packed from morning till 10pm on both days. Some of the topics that will be covered are Modern Economics vs. Sacred Principle by the famous Ust. Zaharuddin Rahman, One Faith, One Family by an oldtimer ulama', Sh. Hussein Yee and Exemplary Women of the Past by Sh. Alaa ElSayed.
There are also workshop session in between all those talks, some that I have already signed up to are:

• Women in the Eyes of God by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Harlina Halizah Siraj
• Struggling to be a Better Muslimah Everyday by Wardina Safiyyah Fadlullah

Just pray that I have the energy to focus on all of them, insyaAllah. :D

Before I Forget....by Melissa Hill

This is not a book review. Nowadays its really challenging for me to finish a book. Hence I make a point to have any book/magazine available in my bag all the time, just so I can finish a page or two. On the way to-fro Bandung, amazingly I finished this book!! Whats so special about this book? Weelll........it just add up to another my destination to go > the city never sleeps, yeah you got it right, New York. Not just New York, but during Christmas time!! There's a part when Abby, the main character bumps into a stranger that took her on a quick tour in the New York city on the day before Christmas. The way Melissa elaborate on the city's vibe in this time of the year makes me wanna go even more.

And to add more reasons, I just watched this last weekend

The whole story revolves around New York. Just watching how the city was decorated makes me wanna start planning already!! But wait, I still have few more places on my list to go, so NY has got to wait  ;)

And I will not plan to go NY alone, not unless I have Det. Flack's no in my phonebook..hehehe... :P

p/s: Kak Tek!! di manakah anda~~~ same shout out to Senorita Aida y mi amiga Dieya !!

Don't tell my mom- finally~~

So many things to write, yet I am bitten by the year end bug. Howeverrr.... I need to get this one out of the way.

5th Dec 2011
Its my final day in Bandung. I woke up at 4am~ yes, Fajr prayers are early, sun risen at 5~ish but the actual business hours in most places are still at 9am. To me its a 3 hours waste already. It was raining heavily so I went back to sleep, somehow I was woken up by the sounds of kids, many of them!! I mentioned earlier that this guesthouse was located in the middle of pesantren. What a pesantren without a school right? So yes, its Monday and kids do go to school... (duh!!)

taken from my room's balcony

Looks like they had their assembly going on. I get ready for breakfast and waited for the kids to be dismissed before going down. I have to pass through the crowd in order to get to the cafe. Today the plan is just to walk around and maybe try to find some last minute ole-ole to be brought back.

After breakfast, I took a walk around the pesantren, its a complete complex on its own.

nursery, clinic, various guesthouses and parking area big enough for any event to take place

I took angkut with no particular destination in mind, trying to kill time before checkout. I was trying my luck to find the famous Kartika Sari. I thought I saw a big one on the route from Island Plaza to Lembang, asked the angkot driver, but he brought me to one of Amanda's Brownies chain instead. Since it was still early in the morning, they don't really have much baked good yet, so I just moved on. I board on the same angkot that sends me there as I know it will bring me back to where I started. This time I get to see more of Bandung. The area that it covers was Kalapa. And on this route I located the famous Jalan Dago, that is where most factory outlet was situated. I did not stopped though, first because I have no money :P and second, I am not the type that can buy there and then. I will need quite a significant amount of window shopping time before deciding, so I wouldn't want to risk missing my flight back ;)

Went back to the guesthouse, settled the bill and checked out. The driver drops me at the airport around 1pm. My flight was at 3.45 pm but I just liked to be there earlier.The flight was delayed (again!!) and I finally touched down in LCCT at 7pm. I recorded one safety violation on Air Asia (I just could not leave my work behind :P )

Do not do this at home. You should switch off the engine before refueling. Major fire hazard!!

My ex-housemate picked me up and after dinner, I reached home around 10pm. I came back exhausted but satisfied :D I learnt many new things.

Previously I know nuts about Islam in Indonesia, but through random conversation I found out they have few groups, biggest is NU followed by Muhammadiah. I even bought a DVD about the founder of Muhammadiah. That answers my curiosity why sometimes we heard Indonesia celebrate Eid one day earlier, because they have this different groups and school of thought. For now its a new knowledge to me. Its not my position to discuss which one was right and and which one is not. Its a long debate between them and I don't plan to dwell on that much more.

The people, despite most of them looks like 'preman', they are helpful actually, and people on the street does not look like people in the sinetron. I was always amazed by how beautiful those sinetron cast are, every single character be it the good ones or the bad one are all pretty and somehow looked pan-asian mix. In actual fact, most people are really close resemblance to us Malay (well, that is a broad statement) . Even among Malays we differ from one another. But the point is looks doesn't matter, its the inside that counts. I was scared to pull out my camera most of the time. I don't know what I was so afraid about, but I was just being cautious. But when I do took it out, I get few request ;)

I did managed to fulfill my objective, see the place as it is, experience a little bit of their culture annndddd....... came back with this :

I did not even busted the luggage limit...hahaha...

So there it is, my short trip in writing. Coming back I have more places to add to my list. Will blog about that later. Till then, daaa...... :)

Don't tell my mom part 2

*Warning, this time it is really a long post with lotsa pictures (well, at least longer than the previous one~~)

So I went back to the room and start forking out all the cash that I have, after doing some calculation, I have enough money to pay the room, pay airport tax and some spare cash to get around and by 'cheap' stuffs. So I am not so screwed then..hehehe.. :D but first thing the next morning, I need to find a money changer. The amount of rupiah I have won't last me for a day.

4th Dec 2011
First thing after breakfast, I made my way to Jln Asia Afrika, as some tips that I got from the locals, that is where one of the money changer is. Besides, I have not really entered the Gedung Sate. I reached the area around 8AM, and many business were not opened yet. After asking few people, I managed to locate the money changer. In the midst of searching, I ended up in Braga area, though its not fully opened yet, I can see that the area is kinda hotspot area. Few couples were having pre-wedding photoshoot, and some youngster armed with DSLR were roaming the area.

Few shops selling some great artworks are on this street

After that I completed my pending visit to Gedung Merdeka. What's interesting at this place is the building's history as it housed the first ever Asian-African Conference in 1955. Malaysia of course was not part of it as we were still on our way to independence then.

History were made here

After that, I moved on to my next destination, Gedung Sate, nope, they did not sell any sate there, it was named so because of the shape of the building central's pinnacle which resemble the shape of satay. Another building that is yet influenced by European architecture. The building now served as government office and so happened there was a cycling event that was ongoing on that day.

Across the street, there is a whole market going on. Foods, clothes, leather goods and many other stuffs were on sale. But since I am running low on cash, I just did what I enjoyed the most :) took lots and lots of pictures!!

After I had enough of look-see, I board on another angkot and make my way to the all time famous Cihampelas Walk, I must say, without an expert, I wouldn't know which jeans is a real bargain, they all look the same to me, I wouldn't be able to differentiate the quality. 


I entered the Ciwalk Mall and yet another event was ongoing at the center court. One thing that impresses me was, when it was Zuhur, there is an announcement via the mall's PA system announcing that. Though they did not put on the azan, the announcement itself put Ciwalk Mall a step above other malls that I have been to.

And in the mall, guess what I did? I watched a local movie ;) (still within my budget, besides, I'd passed a meal over a movie anytime!!). For RP35,000, the movie was well worth it. The cinema was new and classy, seats were comfortably large and the closest seat to the screen ain't that close. The movie was not a thriller movie, despite the title, it was a romantic comedy and I enjoyed it.

After the movie, I decided to make my way to Paris van Java mall, to see what so great about it. I asked for which angkot to take, but seems like it was on the opposite direction. With my 'almost good' sense of direction, I decided to walk. After a few turns, I was convinced that I am on the right way, but I was pleasantly surprised to bump into this structure :

It was in my initial list of places to see, but since I forgot to print it out, I kinda forgot about it. The architecture have many resemblance with Gedung Sate, the roof especially, because it was designed by the same architect.


It was drizzling when I left the masjid, and it got much much heavier when I am less than 500m to the mall!! I was making the booth along the streets as my pit-stops. Most of the booth sold pirated DVD, and had I not been short on cash, I would have walked back with some serious damage on my wallet.

My feet were drenched but I continued the walk to the mall. Its scary to see how fast the water level risen in the span of less than half an hour. Must be due to the poor drainage system the city had. Anyhoo, I got to the mall soaking wet!! After a quick tour, my verdict, not so great at all. The reason it was getting quite a buzz is probably due to the vast brand it houses under one roof, which we found in most malls in Klang Valley, no big deal. However, this one caught my attention. I was not a fan, but I don't think we have this in Malaysia though.

You'll never dine alone?? erk..salah team...

And that was my last stop for the day. I board onto an angkot, heading towards Geger Kalong, where I stay and plan to retire for the day. The place where I stay is like 10 mins walk from the place where the angkot drops me. Along the way, there were a lot of stalls selling lotsa street food. I dropped by to sample some :)

gerai gorengan punya FB & twitter!!

The first one Es Pisang Ijo, is actually banana wrapped in crepe like dough that is green in colour. It was then cut and mixed with shaved ice, condensed milk, syrup, chocolate rice and some other jellies. The taste was akin to ABC but not so sweet, which I like a lot. Cost ~ RP 2,000.


Next was various type of fried stuffs (gorengan). From left to right, banana wrapped in curry puffs like dough and deep fried. Second one is potato doughnut with fillings (I bought chocolate and strawberry fillings) and next to it the glutinous flour both from white and dark glutinous rice, it was rolled onto icing sugar. Each of the gorengan cost RP 500. I asked for the local name, but the moment I got onto the next store, I totally forgot about it already :P 


Last but not least is tauhu pedas, the tofu has some very spicy filling and it was dipped in batter before deep fried, this one cost RP 1,500 each. The last picture was Nasi Uduk, based on my reading, I was expecting Nasi Uduk to be like our nasi lemak, but what I got was more like Nasi Ambeng, yellow rice, with fried tempe and omelet, plus some fried beehon with it, and it cost me RP 4,000.


I did not bought the food in one go of course :) this is some of what I have tried for the 3 days I was there, that I think was interesting to share. So there it is, my journey for yet another day in Bandung. The final part will come next :O

Don't tell my mom part 1

*Warning, long post ahead.

Yes, the title is right, what I am about to tell you, please don't tell my mom. Though none of you knows her anyway..hahaha.. I will tell her personally later when she comes to KL this weekend :P

It was April, and I was stressed for some reason, and so happened Air Asia have yet one of those deal, and guess what, I booked a returned ticket for myself to BANDUNG in Dec!!! Me, myself and I. I did not even considered to ask another single soul to go with me. As the months gone by, I slowly looked up online, what so great about Bandung (save the shopping aside). Come November, the month flew very quickly. Things has been hectic at work with one thing came up after another, and next thing I know, it D-7!! I have not even secured a hotel booking. I was looking for few options and has been in contact with few places, but seems like they are all fully booked by now. One of the contacts gave me another options and alhamdulillah they still have available room. I didn't even bother to look up any further, and confirmed my booking right ahead.

Few days before the trip, I was tied up at work (who isn't?) and on the Thursday (1st) and Friday (2nd) we have the long awaited departments away day at Gopeng. My flight scheduled to depart from LCCT on Friday 7.15pm. So there I was cracking my head, how do I get to LCCT from Gopeng, the chartered bus only left Gopeng at 2pm, straight to PD. So I decided to give the second day activity a miss. So here's what my time looks like on Friday.

1100H : took from Gopeng to KL (jam somehow along the highway, only reached KL around 2pm)
1415H : board a bus to LCCT at the newly renovated Puduraya 
1600H : reached LCCT, took my own sweet time to have late lunch while waiting for the flight
1930H : board the flight (yes, as usual delayed Air Asia flight)
2100H : reach Bandung (local time, Malaysian time is + 1 hour)

The thing is, I didn't even printed the guesthouse contact no, I just remembered its name, and what if they forgot to pick me up? I did not bring my laptop, my phone is not 'smart', so there is no way I can access the net if at all I need to upon arrival. Better yet, all those things that I looked up online, all those places that I wanted to go, remain as a list in my laptop....yes , I totally forgot to print out my plan.

So there I was, in the plane, with a bleak vacation plan...serve me right!! Maybe if I had told my mom, none of this would have happened.. :P Oohh ya, at this point, only some people in the office knew that I am going to Bandung alone (plus my 2 sisters, I warned them not to tell mom yet, as sometimes she worries about nothing).

So okay, to cut the story short, the driver from the guesthouse did picked me up and I arrived safely in Bandung. I was suprised to find out that the guesthouse is actually in the middle of a pesantren!!

3rd Dec 2011

When I looked up for places to see in Bandung, this one caught my attention, Observatorium Bosscha. Maybe because I was partly interested in looking up the skies in the dark night trying to find the stars (don't ask me about constellation, I have no clue!!) . I hired a driver to send me to this observatory and we got there at 0800H. The visits starts at 0900H, so I killed time by having some walk around the area. Like any other observatory, it is situated at higher ground, and at this altitude and weather, the surroundings are just breathtaking!!

radio tower not for radio station, staffs quarters, and the main structure that keeps the giant telescope

The visit starts with a brief explanation by this lovely undergrad student of Institute Teknologi Bandung, as the observatory is a research center managed by the university. Later we were brought to the main telescope, another student took over and explained about how it functions. This is apparently the largest telescope in South East Asia, to date. Thailand is in progress of constructing a bigger one now.

I must say its a worth visit and such a pity that not many promotions are done to attract more outside tourist to the observatory. All the visitors are local people and from what I gather from the 'satpam' @ pak guard, only a handful of Malaysian visitors make a stop at this observatory, and they are mainly students.

The visit finishes around 1100H and I asked the driver to drop me at Gedung Merdeka for a little walk around the town. When we reached there, they are closed for lunch and without wasting any time, I find my way to Pasar Baru. I didn't plan for a mega shopping spree, but I do bought some stuffs there. I dare not took out my camera at the market, security reasons..hehehe...

From Pasar Baru, I was asking around on how to get back to the guesthouse. So in the end I took a 'beca' that cost me RP 20,000 (I know it was way overpriced, but I considered it as sedekah anyway) and the beca driver finds me an 'angkot' that goes straight to Geger Kalong, the district where I stayed. 'Angkot' is actually a modified van that could take up to 15 passengers at one time. The fares ranges from RP 1,500 to RP 4,000 depending on destination. They have specific route, and I think its the most cost effective mode of transportation. On the roadside, there is all sorts of people doing all sorts of things to make a living. At any traffic lights, the 'angkot' will be approached by either junk food sellers or 'pengamen'. 'Pengamen' is their version of street performer, except that they did not just stay put at one place, they roam around the street. This guy actually sang quite well. When the lights turned green, he will hand out a cup, and depending on the passengers, we can choose to pay, but from what I see, they seldom gets anything.

I didn't dare to take his photo face to face... :D

I went back, dropped the stuffs and went out again. This time to a shopping mall, Istana Plaza, I was only looking to draw some cash since I have spent most of my rupiah at Pasar Baru :P Somehow I was carried away and stepped into music store. After choosing few DVD, upon making the payment, I was short of cash!! I quickly ran to the nearest ATM, and guess what, my transaction was rejected!! I still have some RM, and I was trying to find a money changer, and none was available nearby. At last I have to split the payment between cash and debit card.

After that minor crisis, I board onto an 'angkot' and went back. That night, I was doing quite a detail calculation to make sure I still have enough cash to pay the guesthouse, and to go back...hahaha....

Will I have enough cash? what do I do next? stay tuneeddd........ ;)

Selamat siang ibu-ibu..!!! ;)

Assalamualaikum.....

Lama deh nga ketemu. Coba tebak aku di mana sekarang? Ya bener, aku lagi libur, tapi ini hari terakhirnya kok. Ntar lagi juga pulang, lagi nungguin check in di bandara ni. Aku tu udah 2 hari kurang lebih di sini. Da dulu ya ibu-ibu, sampai ketemu saat aku tiba di Malaysia ;)

Do'ain aku selamat ya!! :D

Salam sayang,
~jeet

Tolong Saya...& Salam Maal Hijrah ;)

I have been attending this usrah and for me though we have some differences, we still get along well and I learnt a lot from them too. There is this one kakak at work, Kak K, she has been asking me to join her usrah for quite some time, but since her timing never suits mine, I passed. Last two weeks, so happened she asked one more time and I said yes, based from what she said, they will discussing some ayat from the Holy Quran, nothing more. For me, anything associated with new knowledge, am up for it. She also asked some of our colleagues, but I don’t know whether they can make it or not.

So off I went to her house, expecting no less than 5 people (because from what she said last time she asked quite a lot of people to attend as well). When I got to her house, there is one man, herself and her husband. And to my ‘horror’ surprise, her husband was the one to lead the usrah, fine, I’ll hear what this is all about. He started off with Bismillah (just Bismillah, nothing more, not even Al-Fatihah…) . After asking a little a bit about myself, he started. One of his opening statements caused me to be uncomfortable immediately. He was saying that teaching or sharing anything in the Quran is not an exclusive right to certain people. I said to myself, sure it is….you could not just take any teaching or sharing of the Quran from any Tom Dick and Harry. Someone must have at least a certain level of knowledge to be able to share and dwell on the details of the ayat in the Quran. That is why we refer to ulama’.

And my discomfort did not stop there, let me briefly share some:

He reads all the translation and start on discussing the ayat. Jumping from one ayat to another to make his point. His discussion points are merely from the translation, pure translation, he did not refers to any of the tafseer by Ibn Kathir, or Qurtubi, or any other renowned ulama’. He read some of the ayat in Arabic and I can tell that he did not know Arabic, he may memorize some of the ayat, but he definitely did not know the Arabic language, and to me this is the priority no 1 for anyone to start discussing and making a point from any verse in the Quran. If the person did not have the knowledge, at least refers to the tafseer. And it is a sin to interpret the ayat based on the translation only, not backed by any tafseer and any hadith, even if we are right, it is still a sin, refer to one of my post in Surah Yusuf. I used to do it sometime back, and I admit I was wrong.

When he jumps from one ayat to another, he uses the terms like 2:185 , at first I was lost, then I got it, Its Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 185. I mean, which ulama’ that I know refers to ayat like that, by numbers? Not even recognizing from which Surah it was, NONE!!! I was a bit pissed, I may be wrong, but why does majority of ulama’ never refer to ayat by numbers? Beats me, I don’t know the real valid reasons, but the only people that refers to all these verses by numbers are Christian, that I know. Furthermore, he could not even pronounce Surah Al-Waqi’ah properly; his pronunciation was ‘Wakiah’. There is a difference between ‘qaf’ and ‘kaf’. The makhraj are way different. I know I am picking on small things, but doesn’t different pronunciation leads to different meaning?

Oh ya, one more thing, throughout the whole discussion I felt like I was being put on the spot, any ayat, any further discussion, he keeps on asking for my feedback, every single time. The other guy just sat there in silence and as if he is just an observer. If we were all there to learn, then why is he picking on me? Asking whether I understood, what do I think, yada yada… At the end of the session, I felt as if I was lured into some kind of cult, they want me to believe what he was trying to prove (all the jumping of ayat tells me that). I may be over thinking, or over reacted, but that is how I felt. They did not say anything but the way the whole session went on makes me think so.

The close the session with ‘Alhamdulillah’. Just that, not even the whole sentence, no tasbih kifarah, no Surah Al-‘Asr. I felt that was odd. All the ustaz in Madrasah Al-Hijrah and many other tazkirah session that I have been to never failed to do both of the above.

So after that very uncomfortable session, I kind of avoided Kak K in office. I was thinking, if she did not say anything I will let it slide. But last two days, I received an SMS from her. She was asking when we can have the second session. I am contemplating on whether or not to voice out my concern. There is one case Kak Y share with us via email some selawat to add on to our daily zikr, but she (Kak K) lashed back at Kak Y asking her why we have to refer to the rest, whereas the Al-Quran is complete? Something is not right here. No doubt, Quran is the most complete guide that we Muslims are blessed with, but let’s be real; we are not living in the same age as Rasulullah, or even the sahabah. We didn’t even know Arabic language, the grammar, the asbabun nuzul (why the ayat was revealed) and later the details that complement the ayat. We can get all that completed by referring to Hadith, Sunnah and many other great masterpieces written by ulama’ all across the world. A colleague also mentioned there is a lot of ayat mutashabihat in the Quran, so we could not just take the translation at the face value. I see Kak K will have some difficulties in accepting what I am going to say. What should I do?

I think in a way I am responsible to explain to her why at least I think what they are doing now is not quite right. But for now I need to gather my thoughts properly, so that she will not misunderstand. Help me….  

p/s: sebelum terlambat, Salam Maal Hijrah 1433H. Moga tahun ini ibadat kita makin bertambah dari tahun sebelumnya, amin….

Perempuan Berkalung Sorban

Indeed another Indon movie review, a story of how certain individuals that claimed to uphold Islam and yet failed to acknowledge the fundamental of Islam. This story is about a girl, born and raised in the middle of 'pesantren' run by her orthodox father who treats women no more than somebody that her is job is waiting for the husband's hand and foot. Though girls were sent to classes, they were not allowed to think at all.

The story shows how a woman suffers to break from the cycle, its also about love, and later the fight to make the 'pesantren' a better place.

This movie should be shown to celebrate women's fight for justice, equality for all. We did not asked to be leaders all of the time, but we asked to be treated fairly and with respect. I was blessed to be brought up in an environment that allows me to do almost anything. So it was painful to watch the injustice to women, and these people use Islam to justify their action, even though its just a movie.

I could not stop myself from watching Indon movies, I really longed for another Yasmin in Malaysia, Erma Fatima still fell short :(

An Epic Journey part 5

Assalamualaikum wbt.

Continuation from last part, this part will explain about types of dreams.

True dreams can be classified as requiring :	An interpretation due to obscurity of the symbolism in the dream or because of the ignorance of the dreamer
	No interpretation because of the clarity of the dream or because of the obvious meaning of the symbols
Only the prophets….	…knew with certainty that their dreams were true before the dream was realized. All other people have to wait for the dream to come true in reality to realize that the dream was true

1b) Divine Dreams : Good Pleasant Dreams

Al-Bukhari reports:	Abu Said al Khudri (RA) narrated that he heard the Prophet (SAW) say, “if anyone of you has a dream that he likes, then it is from Allah. He should thank Allah for it and narrate it to others.’ [Al-Bukhari, vol 9, p.114]
The Prophet SAW refer to good dreams….	…as an aspect of prophecy that will remain among mankind until the Last day. Al-Tirmidhi records that Anas b. Malik (RA) related that the Prophet said,  “Indeed, risalah [messengership] and nabuwwah [prophethood] have ended, so there will be no messenger or prophet after me.” He (Anas) said: The people found it difficult to bear, so the prophet added, “except glad tidings.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what are glad tidings?” He replied, “The dream of a Muslim. It is one of the parts of prophethood.” [al-Tirmidhi, 1853]
	The prophet specified the dream of a Muslim which is a part of prophethood is a good dream, “Nothing is left of prophethood except glad tidings, ” They asked, “What are glad tidings?” He replied, “Good dreams.” [al-Bukhari]

Principles regarding good dreams

1.       Good dreams are from Allah (SWT)

2.       Good dreams may be shared with others in the same way as good news is shared. However, the prophet (SAW) explain to us that we should not share good dreams with everyone.

Abu Qatadah heard the prophet say, “Good dreams are from Allah, so if anyone of you sees that which he likes, he should not disclose it to anyone but whom he loves. [Muslim]

2) Satanic Dreams

Bad dreams are….	…a consequence of evil jinns interfering in our dreaming state, Just as evil jinns can introduce evil thoughts into the human mind while we are awake, so they are able to do so while we sleep.
Muslim reports:	Abu Salamah said, “I used to see dreams which caused me to shiver, but I did not cover myself with a cloak, [this continues to happen] until I met Abu Qatadah and told him about it. He quoted the prophet saying, “A good dream comes from Allah and a bad dream from the devil. So when one of you sees a dream which he does not like he should spit on his left side and seek refuge from Allah from its evil; then it will not harm him.”
Satanic dreams may create sadness	The prophet said, “There are 3 types of dreams; a righteous dream that is glad tidings from Allah; the dreams that causes sadness is from Shaytan; and a dream that is from the ramblings of one’s own mind.”
	In relation to Shaytan’s desire to create sadness among humans, Allah says; Private conversation is only from Shaytan’s that he may grieve those who have believed, but he will not harm them at all except by the permission of Allah, and upon Allah let the believers rely. [ Surah al-Mujadilah, 58:10]

Principles and steps one should take in relation to bad dreams

All dreams with evil contents are from Shaytan and no interpretation of them should be sought.

1.       One who experience satanic dreams should spit 3 times and seek refuge in Allah SWT 3 times. Jabir RA narrated that the Prophet SAW said “ if any of you sees in a dream something he dislikes, he should spit thrice to his left, seek refuge with Allah from Shaytan thrice, and change the side in which he is lying [i.e turn over].” [Muslim]

The following supplication may be said for protection. ’Amr b. Shu’ayb narrates via his grandfather  that Allah’s Messenger used to teach them the following words for protection against panic (due to nightmare) : “ I seek refuge in the perfect word of Allah from His anger, the evil of His servants, and from the evil suggestions of the devils and their presence.” [Sunan Abu Dawud, 3884: Muwatta’ Imam Malik, 1710]

2.       It is also recommended to get up and pray 2 raka’at or more of voluntary prayer. Abu Hurayrah said that he heard the Prophet says, “There are 3 types of dreams; ramblings of the mind, frightening thoughts from Shaytan, and glad tidings from Allah. So if anyone of you sees a dream which he does not like, he should stand up and offer prayer.”

3.       A Satanic dream should not be divulged to others. Abu Sa’id al-Khudri narrated that the Prophet SAW said, “if any of you has a dream that he likes, then it is from Allah. He should thank Allah for it and narrate it to others. If he has a dream that he dislikes, then it is from Shaytan. He should seek refuge with Allah from its evil, and he should not mention it to anybody; then it will not harm him.” [Al-Bukhari]

Jabir related that a Bedouin once came to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I saw in my sleep that I was beheaded, after which my head rolled away and I was running after it.” The Prophet replied, “Do not tell people about the games Shaytan plays with you in your sleep.” Jabir also said: “I later heard the Prophet say in sermon, ‘None of you should ever relate the games Shaytan plays on you in your dreams.’.”[Muslim]

3) Human Cognitive Thoughts: Mental Reflection

Dreams of the human mind’s working….	Is usually a succession of images, thoughts, sounds, or emotions passing through the mind during their sleep from their waking experience, past or present, imaginary or real. In Sunan b. Majah there is a report that ’Awf b. Malik quoted the Prophet a saying, “Indeed there are 3 types of dreams: horrors from Shaytan to make the children of Adam sad; that which is important to a person when he is awake, so he sees it in his dreams; and that which is one of forty-sixth parts of prophethood.”
	Such dreams are meaningless; they are neither glad tiding from Allah nor evil suggestions from Shaytan. They are merely mental reflection, and as such a product of the brain.
	One does not need to seek interpretations for such dreams
	Such dreams should be considered a blessing from Allah

Dreams and istikharah: a common misconception. Istikharah is to calm ourselves towards making a decision. The guide will not necessarily be given via dreams.

Wallahu a'lam...

Rantings...kayu?

Z   : What keeps you awake at night?
Me: ?
Z   : What keeps you awake at night? I mean about work?
Me: Oo...(I ponders for like 2 seconds..)
Z   : Meaning our plant is safe then, we don't have to do anything!!
Me: Ooohhh no, you cannot equate my confidence to sleep at night with the plant condition. I have this ability to isolate myself. Once I got home, that's it, I shut down everything about work :P
We just laugh it offs :D

*Portugal will have to go through the play off rounds facing Bosnia for Euro 2012 qualifiers (again!!) Bosnia managed to hold them to a draw last World Cup qualifiers. And I bet they will pose quite a threat to Portugal this time around, why these guys never learned, why can't they qualify in the first round...why?? of why??


Pardon the ramblings, blowing off some steam... ;)

Farewell Amoi~~

Another one will abandon the nest. This time someone really close. We started about the same time, but she'll be off to where her husband is right now.

We (the young ones) used to make time and go out for movies in S2. Always the case that we will have at least 5 movie buddies to go along. She was also almost the constant in the group. This week is her last and as part of her farewell, we went out for movie last nite, we watched Real Steel!! Highly recommended :)

We will miss her definitely, so long my friend, till we meet again :D

disclaimer: I did not make the montage, I was just the song advisor :P

Relevankah?

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

Baru balik dari usrah, hadis yang kami bincang hari ini melibatkan 3 keadaan seorang Muslim dibenarkan dibunuh, 3 perkara itu ialah :

•  Janda yang berzina
• Orang yang membunuh orang lain tanpa sebab yang munasabah
• Orang Muslim yang murtad

Dan pastilah topik yang paling menarik, yang akhir sekali, seorang akhwat mula berkongsi bual bicara dalam TV AlHijrah tentang soal murtad ni. Aku tak sempat tengok. Kalau menurut dia ada 3 panel, antaranya Dr Zaharudin, (Dr Z), Presiden (ke Pengerusi Majlis Peguam Muslim) (PMPM). Antara inti perbincangan Dr Z menyatakan pendirian beliau tentang isu murtad, beliau tidak menyalahkan pihak-pihak Kristian dalam menyebarkan agama mereka, kerana itu sebahagian dari dakwah mereka, yang beliau lebih tekankan adalah peranan Majlis Agama dalam menangani isu murtad, aku setuju.

Dalam perbincangan itu timbul pula isu umat Islam yang murtad disebabkan kemiskinan. Aku tak pasti apa yang Dr Z cakap, tapi akhwat ni menyuntik sentiment Majlis Agama (Baitulmal) tidak melakukan tugas mereka dengan berkesan bila menyangkut urusan pembahagian zakat fakir miskin. PMPM ada menyarankan bahawa masyarakat juga boleh main peranan seperti membawa fakir miskin ke pejabat zakat untuk memohon bantuan. Akhwat ni siap memperlekehkan cadangan PMPM itu, katanya tak lojik.

Aku dah tak boleh diam. Pantang jugak bila orang mula memperlekehkan Baitulmal. Aku mula buka mulut,

“Saya bercakap dari pengalaman, saya rasa Baitulmal KL sangat main peranan. Sejak kecil keluarga saya terima wang zakat, dari bantuan makanan bulanan, ke bantuan masuk U, semuanya kami dapat. Awal mula kami menerima bantuan zakat bila mak selalu beli barang kat satu kedai runcit ni. Agaknya pakcik itu boleh agak tahap ekonomi keluarga kami, dia pun bagi borang permohonan zakat, mak disuruh ke masjid, jumpa amil untuk mohon bantuan zakat. Dari situlah kami sekeluarga mula dapat bantuan lain. Memang lumrah, dengan kemiskinan, kebanyakan orang naïf, tak tahu apa bentuk bantuan yang boleh kita mintak. Kena ada ahli masyarakat yang tahu, tolong tunjukkan ke arah yang boleh kita lalui”

Point aku kat sini :

Janganlah kita memperlekehkan cadangan orang lain. Hanya kerana orang itu berbeza fahaman politik, kita memperkecilkan pandangan dan saranannya. Akhwat itu dari awal menyatakan PMPM itu pro-kerajaan, jadi apa pun yang keluar dari mulut PMPM, aku boleh agak dipandang ringan oleh akhwat ini. Aku memang join usrah, dan usrah ni bawah kelolaan IKRAM, yang aku tahu rata-rata orang kuatnya sangat tidak pro-kerajaan. Kalau ikutkan pendirian politik aku, memang dah lama angkat kaki, tapi aku ingat balik niat aku join usrah, untuk tambah ilmu agama yang tak seberapa ni. Memang kadang-kadang lebih 50% isu yang dibahas, mesti ada terselit unsur politik, tapi aku abaikan.

Ada juga dibahas isu HIMPUN, persoalannya kenapa slogan perjuangannya fokus pada bersatunya Melayu akan mendaulatkan Islam. Nanti apa perasaan Muslim dari bangsa lain? Cina Muslim, India Muslim? Kenapa nak memperkecilkan skop orang Islam di Malaysia dengan hanya melaungkan sepanduk Melayu? Aku faham, mungkin perjuangan ini kurang tepat kalau imej Islam jadi taruhan, tapi pernah tak akhwat-akhwat ni terfikir, mungkin salah satu sebab penganjur fokus pada Melayu adalah sebab di atas, pandangan sesama professional Melayu sudah diperlekehkan dari orang bawah, macam mana nak bersatu kalau masyarakat kita berfikir dengan berlandaskan fahaman politik, bukan secara objektif isu yang diperbahaskan. Mentang-mentang yang bagi pandangan bukan sehaluan politik, terus pandangannya dipandang remeh? Mungkin sebab itulah penganjur HIMPUN nak fokus pada orang Melayu dulu, tapi aku bukanlah menyokong HIMPUN, sebab aku pun tak pernah ambil tahu apa pucuk pangkal perjumpaan itu, jadi aku tak nak ulas lebih-lebih…

Point kedua, orang yang tidak pernah merasa, janganlah terlalu cepat menghukum pihak yang kita tak tahu tatakerja mereka. Contoh sini senang sangat. Kalau bab mengutuk Baitulmal tak adil, tak buat kerja dan sebagainya semua orang bersemangat nak bagi pendapat. Mereka ni orang-orang yang hanya memberi zakat, tapi tak pernah ambil tahu, bagaimana zakat itu diagihkan, bagaimana kakitangan Baitulmal berjalan kaki ke rumah-rumah memantau keluarga yang diberi bantuan zakat. Bagaimana ahli-ahli Puteri Umno buat roadshow bagi kesedaran pada masyarakat tentang bantuan yang boleh diminta. Mereka ini golongan yang hanya tahu menuding jari, padahal mereka golongan terpelajar. Ini yang buat aku risau, mereka orang berilmu tapi sering terbawa emosi saat berbahas soal macam ni. Takut nanti kata-kata mereka diambil oleh orang yang kurang arif, dan dianggap itulah kebenaran.  

Serius, aku akan terus hadiri usrah untuk ilmu agama, bab isu politik ni aku akan cuba abaikan. Tapi kalau isu yang aku rasa aku punya pengalaman untuk menjawab, aku akan jawab. Biarlah aku dilabel pro-kerajaan. Aku tahu tak ada kerajaan yang sempurna dalam dunia ni, dan aku tahu dengan cara mengutuk, isu itu tak akan ke mana. Biarlah orang lain sibuk berapi nak cakap siap betul, siapa salah, yang penting aku tahu pendirian aku, dan kalau boleh satu hari nanti aku akan cuba perbaiki keadaan, insyaAllah…

C28 - A picture from my childhood

Ya amppuuunnn....I totally forgot about this. I postponed it earlier because I was searching for my childhood photo. When my parents moved to SP, we have been transporting stuffs bit by bit, and somehow most of my childhood photo was either misplaced or lost. So when time passes by I kinda forgot about the whole thing :P

I still have the same cheek ;)

The rest of the challenge will be wrapped up soon, tungggguuuu..........

Mendadak Dangdut

Well......no. I am not into dangdut, despite I spent quite a fair bit of time watching Indo Pek nowadays, I still could not find it in my heart to like the soul of Indonesia's music, not a single beat.

Its actually a title of a movie I watched just now. I must admit, hands down, they made film waayyyy better than our local producers. Its a story of two sisters, Petris, the younger one is a pop rock star with an attitude, managed by her older sister, Yulia, very patient and seems to handle Petris very well. One fine day they were on the way to go back home after a radio show. As usual Yulia's boyfriend pick them up by driving Petris's car. She insist that Yulia drives back while Gary moves to the back. Yulia took a shortcut, and stumbled into a roadblock, just meters away from the police, Gary jumped out of car. Confused, the two sisters went ahead and stopped at the roadblock. Little did they know Gary left a bag with 5kg of heroins in it.

They were busted but somehow they managed to run away during a stop for a toilet break. They ran towards nearby 'slum' area, and what a run without a chase right? The running scene was real, those two can really run. Somehow they stumbled upon two people arguing on a dangdut show. Crowds were yelling but the female dangdut singer left the musician after her demand for payment rise has been rejected.

Yulia saw the opportunity, she talked Petris into singing dangdut, by this time both are fugitive with nothing on them, they are both tired, hungry and has no place to stay. So like it or not Petris agreed to play along. I can see that she was reeeaaaallllllyyyyy struggling to 'feel' dangdut. Masa sih penyanyi rock disuruh nyanyi dangdut, mana bisa dong, konflik tau ngak jiwanya..!!

In order to survive, Petris was transformed to a dangdut singer, the musician even took the effort to get help from a dangdut living legend to teach Petris how to sing dangdut. They blended in the society, from a superstar frequently made appearance in the MTV, Petris now struts her stuff in front of a group of people that she called 'preman'. Few incident happen that somehow changes Petris's view on the world and why dangdut sngers sang the way they are. The film portrays the street life of the low income group in Jakarta, their struggles and basically their fight for survival. Did Petris took a 180 and stick with dangdut? What about the drug trafficking charges? Would they continue living in the slum? While the storyline might be predictable, the way the stories were told makes a difference. At times it was hilarious and some other time I would be crying with them. I like it :)

* I wish we have producers in Malaysia that would make this kind of light movies and yet full of messages.

Orang tamak selalu rugi?

Total damage = RM 336
Here's the breakdown :
Jamie's Kitchen - hard cover = RM 25 (whatttt??)
Nigella Christmas - hard cover = RM 25 (another whattt???)
Spanish dictionary - hard cover = RM 15 (really??)
Window Treatment Design book = RM 10 (err......)
Various paperback novel + some hardcover novel = RM 8 x 22 books = RM 176 (you're kidding me???)
Kids boxset (4x3, Handy Manny, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) - hard cover = RM 70 (am running out of ???)
Some other stuffs = RM 3 x 5 = RM 15

Its still ongoing, go to Big Bad Wolf until this Sunday Oct 16. Honestly, I went berserk!! I was only quarter way through, but I was already carrying a box full of books. I ended up with the whole lot. This is considering I omitted looking further at cooking book section (guilt kicks in, as I keep on cooking the same dish, or worse I rarely cook nowadays) and they don't have my favorite John Grisham and Khaled Hosseini. I could not imagine the damage if those two writer's collection were there.

Most of the novel that I bought, I rarely know the writer, so I guess for RM 8 a book, I can afford to experiment ;)

p/s: this is not only for me, for my niece and nephew, my younger sis, my mom...(kenyataan bela diri!!)

List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter

Been tagged by Bro Faiz. Simple yet interesting ;) let see....

List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter
1. Traveler writer cum photographer. I know this job pays well, but you need to have the skill (photography) and the looks (definitely I don't have this..hehehe... :D ) So I guess I am no Denise Keller :P

2. Language teacher - another half cooked skill that I have :$

3. Personal caterer - given the freedom to set the menu and sometimes even pick the customer (memilih...hahahaha...)

Now tagging the fellow friends: Kak Tek, dieya, Kak Pah Maya, Aida & Kak Yong, jawab jangan tak jawab... ;)


*all pics credit to Pakcik Google

An Epic Journey part 4

Salam all, 
This edition came much later than I had planned, but nonetheless, here it is :) we continue with ayat 4-5 of Surah Yusuf. At the pace I am going, we may be able to finish the whole surah mid next year... :P

[Of these stories mention] when Yusuf said to his father, "O my father, indeed I have seen [in a dream] eleven stars and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me."

He [Ya'qub] said, "O my son, do not relate your vision to your brothers or they will contrive against you a plan. Indeed Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy.

Yusuf’s Lineage
His full name	Yusuf bin Ya’qub bin Ishaq bin Ibrahim (Khalil Allah)
Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrate:	Upon the authority of Abu Hurayrah the Prophet was asked, “Who is the most honourable of people? ” He replied, “ the most honorable s the one with the most taqwa.” The questioner said, “I am not asking about that,” so the Prophet said, “the most honoured is Yusuf, who was a prophet, a son of a prophet, son of a prophet, son of Khalil Allah
In other narration :	Ibnu Umar narrates that the Prophet said of Yusuf: He is the noble one, son of a noble one, son of a noble one:

Lesson:
10. In Arabic language, there a many ways to call the parents, but the most softest way is to add ‘tha’ at the end : Ya abati (O, my father)
11. Parents should be the children’s’ role model, the first they turn to when they have questions.

Respect for Parents
A muslim child should respect, appreciate and honour his parents at all times, Allah has mentioned kind treatment of parents alongside the command to worship him alone, which indicates the importance of honouring one’s parents and treating them well. Allah emphasises the status of parents and how they should be treated in many ayat:
Be good and dutiful	Allah says: and we have enjoined upon man, goodness to parents [Surah al-Ankabut, 29:8]
	Shaykh a-Sa’di (RA) said: “be dutiful and kind to parents” means: treat them kindly in all ways in word and deed. [Tafsir al-Sa’di, p.524]
Acknowledge the high status of parents	The importance and high status that Islam has granted to parents is evident from the fact that Allah often mentions the command to worship Him and to be dutiful to one’s parents together, as in: Surah Luqman,31:14-15 And We enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the [final] destination. But if they endeavor to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them but accompany them in [this] world with appropriate kindness and follow the way of those who turn back to Me [in repentance]. Then to Me will be your return, and I will inform you about what you used to do
Obey them, and ask forgiveness for them	Islam teaches a child to obey his parents, to do as they ask and to refrain from what they tell about him not to do, on condition that it does not contradict the teachings of Allah. Furthermore Allah commands us to supplicate for our parents and pray for forgiveness for them especially when they grow old and weak: Surah al-Isra’ 17:23-24 And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], "uff", and do not repel them but speak to them but speak to them a noble word. And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, "My lord, have mercy on them as they have brought me up [when I was] small."  Shaykh a-Sa’di said: “this means, pray for mercy for them, while they are alive and after they die.” [Tafsir b. Sa’di, p.524]
Yahya bin Zakariyya	Allah has provided us with examples of his messengers and described how they treated their parents with kindness and compassion. Surah Maryam 19: 12-15 [ Allah ] said, "O Yahya, take the Scripture with determination." And We gave him judgement [while yet] a boy And affection from Us and purity, and he was fearing of Allah, And dutiful to his parents, and he was not a disobedient tyrant. And peace be upon him the day he was born and the day he dies and the day he is raised alive. Ibn Jarir al-Tabari said: “Here ‘And dutiful towards his parents’ meaning that he was quick to obey them, loving towards them, not disobedient, ‘and he was neither arrogant nor disobedient’- that he was not too proud to obey Allah or his parents; rather he was humble and submissive towards towards Allah and his parents, doing what he was commanded to and avoiding what was forbidden to him; he disobeyed neither his Lord not his parents. ” [Tafsir al-Tabari, 16/58]
Isa  bin Maryam (A.S)	Surah Maryam 19:30-32 [Isa] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah . He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive. And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant.

Dreams

There are 3 types of dreams:

1.      1.  Divine dreams

a.       True dreams

b.      Good dreams

2.      2. Satanic dreams

3.      3. Human dreams

Imam Muslim reported:

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said “There are three types of dreams: a righteous dream, which is glad tidings from Allah; the dream which causes sadness is from Satan; and a dream from the ramblings of the mind.”

1 a. Divine dream: True Dreams 

Prophetic Dreams	The dreams of the prophet were a form of revelation. Allah states that revelation was given to prophets in 3 ways. Surah al-Shura 42:51
The story of Ibrahim (AS)	This clearly illustrates that prophetic dreams are a form of revelation as he acted immediately upon the instruction given in his dreams. Surah al-Saffat 37:102-105
Al-Bukhari reports….	From A’ishah that : “Divine revelations began to come to Allah’s messenger in the form of righteous (true) dreams during his sleep. Whenever, he had a dream, it would come true like the daybreak.”
True dreams are a gift from Allah	Abu Qatadah reported that the Prophet said, “True dreams are from Allah and bad dreams are from Shaytan.” [Al-Bukhari]
Al-Bukhari also reports…	…on the narration of Abu Hurayrah related that the Prophet said, “When the day of resurrection approaches, the dream of a believer will hardly fail to come true.”
It is reported in Sahih Muslim…	Abu Hurayrah related that the Prophet said, “Those of you with the truest dreams will be those who are most truthful in speech.” This hadith indicates that true dreams are related to human character; the more righteous the people are the truer their dream will be.

Are true dreams specific to the believers? No, for example the King’s dream later in this surah turns out to be a true dream as well.

Can the same true dream be shared by several people? Yes, refer to sahabah’s dream on azan.

We will be continuing with the other type of dream in the next part, till then, wassalam :)