15 Syaaban

i have been quite calm these days. one of my favourite nights and a special, although short ‘meet up’ with the Lord. it is true they say. waking up at night and just have a true silent peaceful prayer with the Lord can make a difference in the days to come. and every year, when i woke up to this night, with all the doubts and sadness that i may have been enduring, feels lighter and less troubling. i was able to face the next day with much confidence and calmness with the understanding that help is on the way.

i am taking things one at a time now. and i will eventually know when the time is right. although now, i am getting different signs. i feel like almost a possibility to return back to my first love, which is, comparative religion. like there is hope for it. create that road. but everything at its right place and time. still God’s way of telling what to do next.

your God’s love II

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i saw the moon today, in broad daylight, about 6pm. i was walking through the field. it was a beautiful pure white with the sky blue background. it was so clear and perfect.

i wanted to capture it with my phone, although i know i can never get the same image of what i am seeing then right with my very eyes. i tried still. and then i decided, no, i cannot capture this in a human limited gadget. i had to stop, stand and just watch the moon, capture it in my memory. it was the most beautiful picture. No 3d image can be replicated.

and then it really gives a eureka moment. the beauty of this. how you can only capture this beautiful image with what God has created us with, the eyes and the mind. SubhanAllah. truly, human’s inventions are limited but with these eyes, you see true beauty. i am short sighted mind you, but at that moment, i could see it so clearly. no specs, no squinting. just eyes.

He shows you His signs. Then, which of the signs of Allah would you deny?” Ghafir:81

so which of His signs am i denying? what is it that i do not understand?

your God’s signs

there are times when you need answers, God gave you answers in the most unexpected ways through unexpected people?
please believe in that.

i think i am getting some signs.

No. 1: My husband will always support me about becoming a housewife
No. 2: Out of a sudden, my teacher-mentor smsed me, although we were discussing about something, however, at the mention of her mother being in and out of hospital, my immediate respond was to tell her about my mother and she said she was actually thinking about my mother too. at the end of our conversation, she gave a simple straightforward statement. it brought me close to tears. and till now. i cannot stop thinking about it.

is it enough?

why is it so hard?

first distinction

yes, first distinction after almost 7 years after i completed my degree studies. of course, i have always been proud of my results during my uni years, plus making it to the dean’s list in one of my most difficult semesters. that had been a sweet success.

but yes, a distinction in my first assignment for my specialist diploma in counselling. who would have though?! it had been a very very tough assignment ok. and i felt so studious working on it. i enjoyed it. and i was happy i still have that writing streak in me.

well whoever said counselling was easy eh? it was totally not and with all the role plays i have been doing, although half heartedly, i know it was not an easy thing to be asking the right questions. i still havent had that eureka moment on counselling, still quite confused with all the different therapies, and when to say what, what to ask, what is it that we want the client to achieve at the end of the session. there was a lot of thing to consider. especially who the client is. that already takes a lot of thinking and trying to understand what kind of a client someone is and which kind of therapy works best for him or her and what is the goal of the counselling sessions. let’s not talk about the many ethics you have to be aware of also.

so i get it now. it was not an easy job. but i guess, learning it had been fun, and it better worth the fees i am paying for, hehe. but i think, my learning journey is not going to stop once i completed this course. i kind of have a list of courses i want to take afterwards but it has to be at a general pace. cannot be taking everything at one time.

help me Lord.

against If

Reading Rasul Mulia, Umat Mulia, Akhlak Mulia.
I came to the page where the author talked about the idea of ‘andai’ or ‘if’ in English.

it’s a dangerous thought where we can go towards losing faith and trust to Allah. Astaghfirullah. I may have been guilty of that many times. Those ifs moments. and even few days ago, i was struggling with the idea of ‘what if i dont do anything and regret about it later’.

it is either i do what i think i need to do and leave the trust, TAWAKKAL IllAllah. isnt that what we have always been teaching our students? but of course, if you dont do anything, how then can you put your trust to Allah.

why is it difficult to make a decision Seri. what is it that you want to achieve?

i hope i am clear to myself that i am leaving the decision to Allah and I trust He will take care of my family.
wow. i never know, becoming thirty makes me think alot about my inner self. you really start thinking about your purpose and what is it that you want to achieve. but the need to balance it out with the whole spiritual point of view of it. already i am starting to think that i am going back to those identity-building years and embracing it more because it is just me. but now the decision making is a whole different story. i have always been bad in decisions. i have always turned to God to lead me to what is right for me and believe that whatever i am doing now is at its right place.

and i am going to do just that. Ask for His guidance. no more If. it is either one or the other.

womanhood

so well, womanhood is just getting more real. im still getting over the traumatic moments of some medical checkups whereby for every uncomfortable claims that any woman made is pure pain to me. i am beginning to think that the reason i am not pregnant yet is probably because God knows i may not be able to take in the pain, and so He is sparing me all these trauma. wAllahu a’lam. we are trying and i leave it to Allah Ar-Razzaq and He knows what is best for us. at least, we still have each other.

oh hei, it’s june isn’t it? i did not even realise it and june doesnt mean anything to me because i have many tasks i want to be able to complete before the school reopens. well, except i will get 4 weeks of pure weekends. i applied for off-in-lieus for all my sundays coming back to work and thankfully it was all approved. i am so looking forward to truly spend the weekends with my husband. he deserves this and i owe him big time because he has just been patient with me all these while. my fate for the next 5 months starting July is not sealed yet. i have no idea what is going to happen and i do not want to think for it. i am just compartmentalising my brain and to do things one at a time, think and plan for things one by one and not everything at the same time, because it is going to be crazy.

i am a proud sister to my sisters who have just graduated last week and both gotten a job as soon as they had their convocation ceremony. siti in keppel and nuri in prison HQ. both getting the jobs they pretty much planned for. (even i dont plan properly, heck, i didnt know what i wanted to do back then and that’s why im stuck in this path). i am proud but i am also worried of what they are going to face in this harsh world. and more so the spiritual needs. i have been busy taking care of other people’s children, i barely think about my own siblings. i really dont know what have i been doing all these while. and that brings me to whether i am taking good care of my parents.

you see, my parents have had their days in the hospitals early this year. i felt it was a slap on my face that i have not taken care of them truly. and just recently i made more efforts to visit them and its becoming frequent nowadays. but my father still looks tired nowadays and my mother, she looked worst and being her, she is not taking this well. i want to be there for them, i want to cook for them and make sure they eat properly, i want to accompany them for their checkups, i want them to know i am here for them. and now that three of my siblings are working, except for the youngest, i feel that i could finally ease up on the financial needs and probably this is the time to take care of them.

except that i know, i have so many things i havent do back at work, i feel like no one can do the job im doing, although i dont think i am doing the job perfectly well either myself. so many expectations are dumped on me and i am afraid of letting them down. and maybe i am afraid of failing. i honestly could not fathom what is it that i am actually feeling.

but the crucial question will be, what if i dont do anything now, would i regret it later? would other people care if something happens to me and my family? definitely not, right? i am not a superwoman, and i cannot do everything. but maybe there is a hikmah behind all these and i just need to make a choice. the right choice. because i am feeling time is demanding me to take charge quickly and i am just being too slow.

and this guilt of knowing that i worked too much but not caring enough for my own family, my husband, myself. am i being fair? i can always say and pray that since i am doing so much for a holy place, surely God will take care of my family. but what if working too much means i am neglecting my own responsibility, my initial purpose and then bammm, i got hit on the face real hard only to realise it is too late to do otherwise?

i am now doing whatever i could. for every minute that i act i dont care, i am really thinking hard and my feelings just fighting within….and just maybe my unconscious mind will give me the answer i need.
well, old brain, maybe we need to spend a bit of me time…

Your God’s Love

i am in pain.
honestly.
and if anyone asked how does it feel to have a papsmear checkup? i would tell her its a nightmare.
it still is.
and no, i am NOT going to give you details about it. and NEVER will.
my level of pain tolerance was 0.
and like the crybaby i have ever been, the moment i see my mother, i burst into tears like there is no tomorrow.

but what i want to tell you here is how Allah sent me comfort and companion throughout the ordeal.
i went there alone with the innocent thought of it would be a normal checkup. but when it was not, i am just glad that there was a male doctor who lent his right hand to be ‘crushed’ by me and two female nurses who cared for me not leaving me alone for the next half hour i was left to rest in the doctor’s room. and one of them a Muslim nurse, whom i could ask some intimate questions.

and what are the odds that when i was well enough to walk, feeling alone and in pain and still feeling like i can faint anytime, i went to the taxi stand with not enough cash (although i asked my little sis to wait downstairs with some cash to help pay the taxi fare). with a long queue, i turned around and see a malay lady queuing behind me. i asked her. ‘Kak, could you save me this queue, i need to sit.’ she smiled and she said no problem, go ahead and sit.
and then, she asked, where i lived, i gave her my parents’ home and surprise surprise, she lived nearby, clearly, Hougang Ave 8 blk 677, why not we take the same taxi?

I am truly touched and I know this is God’s work. i am so grateful with His help when i was in pain and in need. Thank You Allah for taking care of me.

Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah.

wahai da’i

wahai da’i
jangan putus harap
jangan lemah dan goyang
jangan iri dan sedih
jangan rasa gagal diri

wahai da’i
memang cantik susunanNya
setiap kita ada dakwahnya
mungkin engkau dakwah di sana
mungkin aku dakwah di sini

wahai da’i
tenangkan hati
setiap kita kebolehan kita
setiap kita kemampuan kita
setiap kita hadaf kita

Wahai da’i
Kan Dia yang aturkan segala
setiap penjuru dipagari da’i
engkau di sana aku di sini
masa mu begitu masa ku begini

Wahai da’i
ikhlaskan hati
tugas ini bukan sendiri
redhalah mampu mu di situ
redhalah mampu ku di sini

wahai da’i
terus terus maju
bersama tegakkan benteng syiar Mu

rejabku

Rejabku penuh sibuk
Rejabku pantas berlalu
Rejabku hanya tugas bertalu
Rejabku jangan hilang begitu

Rejabku penuh pilu
Rejabku terusik qalbu
Rejabku khabar sayu
Rejabku jangan marahkan aku

Rejabku lihat dakwah sana
Rejabku disini dakwahku
Rejabku menanda tanya
Rejabku, apa yang dikejarkan?

Rejabku, luaskan dakwah ku
Rejabku, ikhlaskan ibadah ku
Rejabku, laksanakan amanahku
Rejabku jangan hilang begitu

Allahumma baariklanaa fii Rajab wa Sya’aban, wa ballighnaa fi Ramadhan

guru yang hilang

perginya seorang lagi guru
perginya seorang lagi alim
perginya seorang lagi pendakwah
perginya seorang yang berhati mulia

hilangnya kuntuman senyuman
hilangnya suara lembut dalam tegas
bertemu hanya sekali
tapi bagai guru yang disayangi

entah kenapa hati terusik pilu
sedih dan kesal
tersedar dari dunia materialis
mungkin ini teguran untuk kita dari Nya

dakwahnya tanpa henti
ajarnya tanpa letih
ilmunya tanpa rahsia
kenapa kita terus leka?

apa lakuku mencukupi?
untuk mendapat tempat bersama mereka?
untuk medapat redhaMu Ya Allah?
untuk mendapat syafaatmua Rasulullah?

Rahmati guru2 kami Ya Allah
Mereka yang tanpa lelah mengajar kami
Lindungi mereka Ya Allah
Mereka yang hanya ingin mendidik kami

Rahmati diri ku Ya Rahman
Lindungi diri ku Ya Rahim
Didik diri ku Ya Murabbi
Fa’fu ‘anni Ya Rabbi

*Perginya seorang guru Ustaz Md Ibrahim Md Kassim yang tidak ku kenali secara dekat tapi kehilangannya bagai menusuk ke hati. sungguh, kami yang muda ini tidak mungkin sama seru dakwah kami. Didik kami Ya Allah, didik kami ya Allah. didik aku ya Allah…