Small for Us, Big for Them

Assalamualaikum, in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,

all praise to Allah, the Supreme Ruler of the world, and Salawah upon Prophet Muhammad PBUH.

I bet some of us didn't even bother to pick up a 10 cent by the road side. Not some, but most of us. However, today I saw one lady, an indian muslim lady, suddenly bend down and pick up a coin at pavement as she walked. That suprised me, as I never thought that coin would valued much. We often see that small coins have small value, in our materialistic eyes. But for them, it is big, large enough to spend some effort, by bending their stiff backbone just to collect some penny. Amazing how different we see the world is it?

The same here for us, sometimes we see the small ibadah is very simple to do, like sadaqah. But if you know how much is the benefit we will gain upon it, masya-Allah, we will never restrict ourselves from doing it. And of course, Allah will see it to the tiniest detail, according to your intentions. :)

We tend to forget what someone had done upon us in the past. Let us race to do good deed, and benefit others. :)

Illaliqa'. Wassalam. :)

Travelog: Holy Makkah

Assalamualaikum, dengan nama Allah, yang Maha Pemurah, lagi Maha Penyayang,

Segala pujian bagi Allah, Tuhan Sekalian Alam, dan Salawah buat junjungan besar Nabi Muhammad S.A.W.

Bermulanya dari Madinah, aku siap2 pakai kain ihram, naik ke bas dan menuju ke tempat miqat umrah. Masjid Bir Ali, persinggahan sementara kami, dengan menaiki bas sebelum meneruskan perjalanan ke Makkah yang jaraknye lebih kurang 490km. Masjid ni besar, serius boleh sesat. Dan cantik. Masya-Allah. :)

Dengan masa perjalanan selama 7 jam lebih, bermacam2 dugaan yg berlaku. Bas rosak, dan berada dlm 13 larangan ihram sangat2 menguji kesabaran. Sepanjang perjalanan, amalan yg menyejukkan hati adalah talbiah. Sepanjang perjalanan aku melihat padang pasir arab yg kosong, panas. Allah, rindunya pada Madinah, rindunya pada Rasulullah. ;(

Sampai di Makkah lebih kurang pukul 9.30 malam. Bayangkan, penat badan tak hilang, dugaan datang lagi. Bilik hotel kami yg sepatutnya berada di Haneen Firdaus (300m dari Baitullah) telah ditukar di Taibah (400m dari Baitullah). Yes, package yg disediakan oleh Tabung Haji melibatkan jarak hotel. Kalo hotel yg lagi dekat macam Movenpick Makkah (bawah Tower Clock tak silap), lebih mahal. Obviously. Masya-Allah, dugaan berat, betapa banyaknye istighfar diucapkan malam itu.

Siap meletak bag, rombongan kami diketuai oleh wutawif bergerak menuju ke Baitullah utk mengerjakan tawaf dan saie. Alhamdulillah, mutawif kami seorg indonesian dan baik. Ok ni nak ckp la, tak semestinya orang yg tak sama kenegaraan itu buruk perangainya. Aku pernah jumpa indonesian di asrama Iprom, lebih mesra drpd orang malaysia itu sendiri. Dan di Makkah, mutawif indonesia ini, sanggup bersama kami utk ibadah umrah, bagi kami tips2 dalam rumah Allah dan briefing secara detail. Mutawif drpd Malaysia? Depa masuk bilik, tido dulu baru buat umrah. Membiarkan anak2 rombongan mereka terkapai2 dalam beribadah. Boleh nilai la macam mana tabiat orang Malaysia, tak semuanya bagus. Harap je nama ustaz, tapi masya-Allah. Haha, marah pulak. :/

Kami habis tawaf dan saie pukul 2.15 pagi. Masya-Allah, penat sangat. Seriously, orang tawaf dan saie lepas pukul 11 ni ramai sangat. Pack habis. Penat kami. Pulang ke bilik dan alhamdulillah, bilik kami ditukar ke Haneen Firdaus semula, kerana pembayarannye berbeza. Bukan sebab duit, tapi hak dan amanah itu lebih berat drpd alam ini, dan mereka yg akan dipertanggungjawabkan.

ramaikan, masya-Allah.

Bagi perempuan, kalau yang tak pernah solat jumaat, kat Makkah ni perkara biasa. So, ni boleh jadi pengalaman la dengar khutbah dalam bahasa arab. Tapi umat yg solat jumaat ni masya-Allah ramai yg luar biasa. So, kena cepat la nanti tiada tempat.

Untuk lawatan, i just put some photos. enjoy :)

 jabal nur

 my mom at jabal rahmah. she is gorgeous kan?

padang mina. banyaknye khemah.

ladang unta

kalau lawatan ni, akan berakhir dekat salah satu masjid miqat di luar makkah, so sape2 yg nak buat umrah sunat tu, boleh la bawak siap2 kain ihram tu. Ada sekali time tawaf sunat tu, aku buat kat tingkat dua. Masya-Allah, penatnye yang amat, dikatakan satu pusingan di atas, menyamai 3 pusingan di bawah. Mak aih, sejam setengah berjalan, penat eden. Bibir basah dengan kalimah2 suci mengesakan si Dia. ;)

 nilah clock tower. di bawahnye ade berbagai2 hotel, dan ade yg hotel 25000 riyal semalam. aduh, kering poket.

 ni kubah di tingkat 3 Baitullah. this is women restricted area.

yang ni hotel lagi satu dalam package tabung haji, murah skit dr movenpick Makkah. tp still mahal.

Bagi sesiapa yg nak shopping dekat Makkah ni, korg bleh berbahasa melayu. Tapi guna yg mudah2 la. Jangan nak berbunga2 sangat, pak arab tu mother tongue die bukan bm, tapi arab. Pernah sekali, aku pergi burger king, "Nak Chicken Royale satu, set medium." lek je aku cakap bm, sbb customer sebelum ni orang Malaysia juga, so, aku follow juga. Oh ye, berdasarkan perbualan dgn orang Malaysia tu, package dari Andalusia boleh tahan murah, tapi flight naik Saudi Air la, bukan Mas. So, bagi sape2 yg nak datang sni, make comparison, pastikan puas hati. :)

Kat Makkah ni banyak makanan unik2. Ade nasi mandy, yang sedulang boleh makan 4,5 orang, untuk badan orang arab la. Ade kambing & ayam. Sedap, tapi banyak sangat dan membazir. So, kalo ade sape2 yg nk bli nasi ni, pastikan korg skip 1 meal sebelum tu, bagi lapar baik punya. Pastu makan la 5 orang satu dulang. Makanan feveret aku kat sini adalah ais krim. Ade banyak tempat jual ais krim, semuanya sedap. Slurp2. Puasa2! haha.

nampak je sikit, tapi 5 orang malaysia pun tak habis tau. seriously.

First time aku kat depan Kaabah, aku rase nak menangis. Air mata da menjenguk2 nak keluar. Allah, susahnye nak sampai ke sini, menjadi tetamu rumah-Nya. Aku lihat pintu multazam, makam ibrahim, hijr ismail, rasa sayu, gembira dan terharu. Alhamdulillah, hajat aku tercapai jua. Even now, aku termimpi2 kaabah, betapa rindunya aku pada rumah-Mu ya Allah. Ada seorang kenalan, namanya abang Shah, dari Penang, kerja sbg tukang masak kat Clock Tower tu (gaji dia menjangkau 10000 even for a cook), first time bawak aku solat depan2 kaabah, ajak aku pegang kain kaabah. Waktu dia ajak tu, waktu asar, panas gile beb. Aku cam "serious ke ni? bapak panas. masya-Allah" tapi bile sujud, sumpah sejuk. Abang Shah belanja kitorg makan tengah hari. Sedap alhamdulillah. Igtkan tak jumpa da lauk-pauk Malaysia kat sini. Asyik2 makan lauk arab je. Hehehe.

Menurut abang Shah, perempuan2 kat sini tak boleh kerja. Kalo kerja pun paling tinggi pun cikgu je. Dahlah tak kerja, dapat elaun 2500 sebulan. Best kan? Kalo nak jadi warganegara Arab Saudi, kena menetap at least 99 tahun. Alamatnya susah la. Haha. Kalo nak kata sekolah, boleh kira dengan jari je kat Makkah ni. Kat Makkah ni banyak pengemis, ade juga banyak pencuri, terdesak punya pasal. Hati2 barang2 anda. Kat sini, hudud dilaksanakan. Ok, kalau kat Malaysia, orang yg masukkan duit ke ATM machine kat mall tu, bawak senapang, sampai 3 orang gitu. Kalo kat sini, seorg je, tu pun tak bawak senapang, bawak tasbih. Lain kan? Tengoklah betapa undang2 Allah buat manusia takut. Ok, pencuri tu lain ceritanya.

yang ni gambar2 hotel kat sepanjang Abdul Jalil road. Jalan ni memang sibuk dan sentiasa ramai orang. Tak berhenti orang ulang alik ke Baitullah. Dalam 4,5 tahun lagi, dah tade da hotel2 murah ni. Sebab, akan dirobohkan, dan akan digantikan dengan hotel baru untuk menampung kebanjiran tetamu2 Allah, dan shopping complex underground. By that time, mungkin harga bilik akan melonjak naik. Wallahua'lam. Harap2 tak.

Masjidil haram ni, sangat2 la besar. Struktur bangunan yang osem, dan terbaek. Kat mana2 pun boleh dapat air zam2. Oh ye, orang2 kat Makkah ni ade access air zam2 kat rumah dorg. Kalo kita kat Malaysia, air zam2 ni precious sgt, utk minum je, orang2 arab ni buat mandi, ambil wuduk, dan mungkin basuh pinggan mangkuk. Rasa sayang sangat kan? Alah, air zam2 ni kan takkan putus, mukjizat dtg daripada Allah. Subhanallah!

 budak perempuan isi air zam2 dalam botol.

Waktu nak balik rumah, terasa sangat2 sedih. Buat tawaf wida' pun sambil bergenang air mata. Solat sunat tawaf pun nk sujud lama2. Rasa nak sangat tinggal kat tanah suci. Tapi apakan daya, perpisahan itu satu yang pasti. Insya-Allah kita akan berjumpa lagi Kaabah. Selepas solat sunat tu, korg kena cepat2 keluar dari Makkah, ada pantang larangnye dan ade damnya. Tawaf wida' ni wajib bg siapa yg nk bermusafir ke luar dari Makkah. Pulang ke KL, menaiki flight di Jeddah. Alhamdulillah, semoga umrah diterima-Nya. Insya-Allah.

"Aku pergi ke Paris, aku lihat Islam tanpa Muslim, aku pergi ke Kaherah, aku lihat Muslim tanpa Islam." Sheikh Muhammad Abduh.

sampai di sini sahaja la kot. banyak pengalaman yang diperolehi daripada journey kali ini. Insya-Allah bermanfaat. :)

p/s: gadis2 arab cantik2 semuanya, susah nak jaga pandangan. ohoi. -,-"

Illaliqa'. Wassalam.

Ramadhan Who?

Assalamualaikum, in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,

All praise to Allah, the Great Ruler of the world, and salawah upon Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Knock, knock knock,

Who's there?

Ramadhan!

Ramadhan who?

Ramadhan al-Mubarak.

Cliche isn't it, with multiple people kept saying ramadhan is coming, ramadhan is coming, 

and yet with never we intend to manifest ourselves with this great months granted upon us.

I just felt like I need to achieve something, 

something different than the past ramadhans,

as this year is a whole new ramadhan to me.

I knew ramadhan since I was a kid,

the start where father and mother nowadays encourage their kids to fast,

by giving them money each day they completed fasting,

obviously a trend.

Well, since I was a kid, I always celebrate ramadhan in school,

fasting with friends, in class, in lecture,

I bet you know the feeling of exhausted,

however, this year, I have none of those,

friends, class, nor lecture,

simply put, no more Fasting in School.

For 30 days, insya-Allah, I will spend the following days,

fasting at home, not that I will hibernate myself,

of course I will meet my friends, maybe iftar together-gether,

but somehow, I believe this is different than the rest,

or else, I would be wasting my ramadhan.

To be honest, not many ramadhan that I treasured,
one which matter most, it was the last ramadhan for me in semashur,
I still remember, 
the Nuqaba' gathered and ate behind the surau, or the second floor,
and ustazah brought us food, for the tahlil,
how we enjoyed our ukhwah together,
not only that, my last project,
where I organized majlis khatam al-Quran,
for the batch.


another one was during my time at KMKN,
my friends and I khatam the Quran less than a month,
I finished the Quran twice, alhamdulillah,
and the last night I missed my tarawih prayer,
for a plane ride,
but I missed my parent so much,
because I never went back during the ramadhan, Allah. ;)


and third, during my first year study in UniKL,
almost every day, my friends and I broke the fast at the surau,
next to our hostel,
free food, who would likely reject it right?
the tarawikh was long, but meaningful,
plus the tazkirah after maghrib,
that I love so much.

I just watched Ustadz Nouman Ali kuliyyah,

about ramadhan, as he translated from the Quran,

why Allah put ramadhan in that particular surah, what comes after it, and what lay before it,

it's all perfect commandment,

how I envied Ustadz Nouman, as he can see what we normally missed,

how he terjemah the Quran, in a whole different concept,

than most of us translated,

it's more than that, I cursed myself,

for not mastering arabic and the Quran.

I admit, it's quite long, but believe me,

it's worth it,

how he relates the Bani Israel and ramadhan,

as Quran told us,

mesmerize me, drag me away from the darkness,

alhamdulillah,

I'm not a good person,

but I want to make this ramadhan a history,

take ibrah from it, and become a new person,

which Allah pleased and satisfied,

I'm not going to post more about "How to Benefit Ramadhan" and stuff,

thousands others can be found from uncle google or his friends,

but hey, lets enjoy ibadah in this holy ramadhan.

p/s: oh yeah, advice from penaja, beware of hadiths maudhu' about ramadhan. it's many and don't be absorbed by it. I know you readers are good muslims, but don't be such naive. :)



aku khuatir, ini ramadhan terakhirku,
aku risau, ini ramadhan terakhirku di tanah air,
aku bimbang, rinduku padamu ramadhan kian pudar,
aku takut, aku tiada minat lagi padamu, ya ramadhan,
pikatlah aku wahai ramadhan. ;)

Illaliqa'. Wassalam.

Travelog: Baraqah Medina

Assalamualaikum, in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,

All praise to Him, the Supreme Ruler of the world, and salawah upon our Great Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.

Pernah sekali dalam tahun 2008, kawan2 sebatch aku mengajak aku ke tanah suci, tika itu hati tidak pernah terfikir, boleh ke aku pergi? Bagaimana beribadah di sana? Syok ke?

Mereka pergi dan balik, dengan penuh gembira, dapat melihat Baitullah, bukan melalui kaca televisyen, tetapi dengan retina mata mereka sendiri. Terserlah kepuasan dalam diri mereka, dan bersemaraklah perasaan cemburu dalam diri ini, dan menyalahkan diri, "kenapa aku tolak pelawaan mereka dahulu?"

Then, in the year 2011, my mom asked me, whether I have the intention to go to Arab Saudi, to perform Omra. I was exaggerated, and obviously excited. Inside me, I planted to perform the ibadah from my deepest desire, which I long ever since. However, from the question of intention, it changed to, do I have the courage to go alone, as my mom didn't has any extra leave for the year. Frust, despair accumulated within, as I knew, my innermost desire had to be postponed to when I never should knew.

A few months past, around February 2012, my mom took me to her office, where a Tabung Haji office lay a couple blocks away. That particular moment, I realized, never did Allah put me aside from inviting me to His holy land, just a little bit delay with of course blessing in disguise. Alhamdulillah. All praise upon Him.

Aku fikir, tarikh2 yg dihamparkan kepada aku oleh Puan Mama, amatlah sempit. Aku mempunyai kira2 3 bulan cuti selepas tamatnya pengajian ijazah tahun pertama aku. Aku khuatir, jika pada tarikh aku pergi, bagaimana kalau Mara hantar surat pelbagai ke rumah? bagaimana jika ada briefing dari universiti? bagaimana kalau ade offer letter sampai ke rumah? Aku fikir, syaitan sengaja mahu meletakkan keraguan dalam diriku, membina satu dinding agar aku fikir aku tidak mampu melepasinya.

"Ah, tawakkal jelah! Bukan mudah nak diundang ke tanah suci. Bukankah semuanya Allah yang rancang? Yakin itu juga satu bentuk iman, membentuk kepercayaan kepada Allah!"

Mom withdrew a few thousands ringgit from my bank account, and I just prayed to Allah to have me on His Holy Cities. I told very few close friends of mine about my holiday planning, for I was afraid that I might over exaggerated and accumulating riak along the waiting time. Some people act as the devils, asking me what would happen if there are something like offer letter or briefing meeting during my leave. I don't care, I just believe in Allah. What I most afraid is, what if Allah ask me why I don't have the intentions to perform my obligation in the Holy Cities, instead of having focus to pursue my study in oversea? Irony isn't it?

Tarikh yang ditunggu2 akhirnya tiba, alhamdulillah, syukur tiada apa2 kekangan yang berlaku, dalam hatiku, aku biarkan sahaja apa yang akan terjadi, redah je lah. Allah kan ada, dah cukup dah. Awal pagi 2 Julai aku berangkat ke tanah suci. Perjalanan selama hampir 9 jam ke Madinah sangat2 melesukan badan, yelah dah la duduk je, nak jalan2 dalam flight pun bukan ade ape sangat pun. Tapi yang bestnye makan nak dekat 3 kali sepanjang penerbangan, wah, alhamdulillah kenyang perut!

Setibanya di sana, melalui kastam selama sejam lebih, dan tiba di hotel, makan lagi. Aiseh, hidup untuk makan je nih. Haha. Bermalam di Anwar Movenpick selama 4 hari 3 malam ternyata membentuk kepuasan tak terhingga. Ditambah2 lagi kedudukan strategik hotel, bersebelahan dengan Masjid An-Nabawi, 5 minit turun sampai lah.

The one which I need to adapt most was the wheather, temperature possibility up to 50 celcius was a little bit too much for me. My mom had her headeache upon arrival and me had mine on the next day, due to the degree of hotness in Medina. Subhanallah, what a pain it is to suffer such a small illness when you were abroad, different 180 in almost everything. But alhamdulillah we overcame it with patience and virtue.

this is outside Masjid Nabawi. Beauty isn't it? Taken with D3100. A. Razak, please jeles :P

Masjid Nabawi is huge and wide. Taking a circumference walk around it would spend you for about 20-30 minutes fast walk. What magnificent for me is the mechanical means like umbrella it used to shade the place when the sun is rising. Do watch the following clips:

Kalau nak cerita pasal lawatan tu, memang banyaklah tempat kat madinah ni. Kami pergi ladang kurma, jabal nur, bukit uhud, Masjid Quba', Masjid Qiblatain dan sebagainya. Tapi apa yang paling best sekali ialah perasaan ketika menjejakkan kaki pertama kali ke Masjid Nabawi. Tika itu, aku bermonologue, "ya Rasulullah, saat ini aku hampir kepadamu, berilah peluang aku untuk bertemu denganmu dan keseronokan beribadah." Mungkin orang kata habis macho kalau jatuhnya permata2 kristal dari mata, tapi aku tak kisah, sebab perasaan itu hadir tanpa aku sedari, sebab aku hamba yang hina ni boleh sampai jejakkan kaki di mana Rasulullah pernah jejak suatu ketika dahulu. Masya-Allah rindunya perasaan itu. ;/

umbrella like shade

Arabians di hadapan salah satu pintu Masjid an-Nabawi.

Anwar Movenpick sebelah kanan gambar ni.

Selain itu, sepanjang kat Madinah ni, aku tak berpeluh sangat, mungkin disgusting skit, tapi aku pakai satu jubah dan 2 baju dalam je sepanjang berada kat Madinah ni. So, korang tak payah nak bawak baju banyak sangat kalau ke Madinah. Basuh je. Cepat je kering. Cuaca yes panas ceng2, tapi udara dia kering, so air banyak gila minum, dan bayangkan sampai2 je kat sana, bibir aku nak pecah sana sini. Alhamdulillah, bekalan air zam2 diangkut dari Mekah setiap hari, dan itulah air feveret aku, and then mulut aku cam tak jadi nak pecah! Magik kan? Taklah, kuasa Allah semuanya. :)

What amazed me was how they (the arabs) solah. If about 5 minutes more to azan, all shops will be closed, prior. And the iqamah is about 20 minutes after, giving everyone ample time to walk towards the Masjid. You can solah wherever you want inside the Masjid, and when the 5 prayers, there will be saff automatically, no need to mark with line like Masjid in Malaysia. If you don't straighten the saff, the arabs will scold you. If you wish to visit Rasulullah, you have to be patient as hundreds of people, non-stop have the same intentions as yours, walk along the flow, and be humble along the path. I saw various people, crying, praying in front of Makam Rasulullah, restricting the flow. Without my notice, clear stream of liquid flowed across my cheeks. Allah, how I missed those sensations! T_T

There were various challenges I have faced during my stay in Madinah, although not quite as hard in Mekah (to be told later). First thing is, how you control your emotion, either angry, patient or sad. We tend to be impatient when everything went without our planning and consciousness. From that, anger will take its part, and it might cost your day and mood. Everything will interrelated and has its toll. If you ever done a bad things in Madinah, you will have these bad feeling and Allah's anger will fall upon you.

"When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it." Sherlock Holmes

That's why, patience is needed to prevent things from bad to worst. I saw old people, mak cik pak cik having their hard time to move and adapt to the hot whether due to their weak immunity and age. So I advised all the readers, to plan early and pray to go over there, in your youth. Don't take your busy issue upon this, because if you don't plan now, how Allah will help you? Just tawakkaltu alallah. 

"Daripada Ibnu Umar r.a., dia berkata,"Rasulullah s.a.w. memegang bahuku, lalu beliau bersabda, 'jadilah engkau di dunia ini seolah-olah orang asing atau pengembara.' Ibnu Umar r.a. pernah berkata, 'jika engkau berada pada waktu petang, maka janganlah engkau menunggu pagi dan jika engkau berada pada waktu pagi, maka janganlah menunggu petang. Gunakanlah waktu sihatmu sebelum datang masa sakitmu dan waktu hidupmu sebelum datang masa matimu." (Hadith Riwayat Bukhari (6414), Tirmizi (2333) dan Ibnu Majah (4114))

I believe, that's all the summary I learnt in Madinah, and for Mekah, insya-Allah on the next post. Illaliqa'. Wassalam. :)