boyfriend

my husband's niece and nephew were reported to have boyfriend&girlfriend - an update at the Raya open house gathering.
I thought of my own sweet niece ayesha, who gave me a shock a couple of months ago when she babbled about her friends at Smart Reader '..boyfriend kawan ayesha...' I was horrified when I caught the word 'boyfriend' - so casually uttered by the 5 year old, as if she was talking about the princesses and their shoes. or dress, I dont know exactly what piques the interest of these toddlers. "haa!! kawan ayesha ada boyfriend??' she seemed to understand that this is not something we adults like to hear about so she clammed up after that, giving me only her sweetest mischievous smile.

Last weekend - my fears have turned out to be real. My sister informed me that ayesha has a 'boyfriend' now, and he's called "Amir J" I was not too shocked this time, and maybe not hearing it from her own sweet little mouth helps. Hu Hu. I feel like crying :P
Some people might think it's no biggie, perhaps even encourage little kids like her to explore the notion of 'love', couplehood etc. How long can the world remain innocent for them? please tell me.

Makcik loves you ayesha, always pray that you will forever be protected by Allah the Almighty. we can plan, and Allah has the BEST of plans for you, ameen

aaahhh.. :p

failing

i am reading a very good debut novel by Janelle Brown - ha, i think i have just found another fav author (apart from Anne Tyler, MAeve Binchy and Carol Shields - Shields was my first fav but she died early so I can't hope for more novels from her, huhu). Ms. Brown's novel is called 'All We Ever Wanted Was Everything'

It's about 3 women - a mom and her 2 daughters - who are facing big failures, big problems in their respective lives.

I can relate to failing as I personally have experienced it 3 times, in my 31 years of life. When I look back, they are not really that big a problem - maybe because I was just so blessed and lucky I could fall back on the people who love me, but I know some ppl are at it on their own. no life lines, no 50-50 options like the game show!

And the feeling when you got urself into such a mess. hu hu. I was bailed out once, and for the other 2 big failures which were inter-related - I forgot now the pain of having my heart broken and ruining a good chance for a good future. But, but..it is in failing and in rising up again after the fall that you learn to be strong.
or in my case, to identify the sort of situation where I know I am not strong enough to face it, hence avoid the confrontation for now. hu hu. I know I dont need a break-down and affect my other ventures in life. It is indeed a very good idea to compartmentalize your life, and attack your challenges in a piece-meal manner. Heh!

cilok-ed pics of esha & adil

cerita untuk hati

(copy-pasted from a mailing list)

When the Muhajirun (immigrants from Makkah) arrived in Madinah, they did not have enough money to support themselves. So they were divided into groups of ten or twelve and were welcomed as guests of the families of the Ansar (residents of Madinah). Rasulullah, pease be upon him, stayed with Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him. Abu Ayyub was not a rich man, but he did everything he could for the comfort of Rasulullah and his group.

The Prophet's group had a few sheep. At night, they milked the sheep and drank it, saving for those who were not present at the time.

One night Rasulullah arrived late and found no milk left for him. The Sahaba (companions) had not realized that Rasulullah had not had any. They felt bad for forgetting to save his share. Though Rasulullah never ate very much, that day he was very hungry. He said, "O Allah, feed well the man who feeds me today."

Miqdad, may Allah be pleased with him, heard this and immediately spoke up, "O Rasulullah. I will slaughter my goat for you."

But Rasulullah said, "O Miqdad, please don't do that. Our need for milk each day is greater than our need for meat today."

When Rasulullah tried to milk the sheep, just a little bit came out. He drank that, thanked Allah and went to sleep. The companions reported that Rasulullah said nothing and showed no anger about their inconsiderate behaviour. Rather he thanked Allah for the little he had to drink.

[Recorded in Musnad ibn Hanbal]

*Tak ada yg lebih cantik sifat akhlak nya dan yang lebih menawan. May I never become one of those people who read about other leader personalities in history and are proud of the other leaders more than they are in awe of Muhammad S.A.W. They want to justify it as being leaders in different times or different fields, but Allah had sent us this greatest human, so why settle for less? :)

melayu dan islam

i currently work in a place where there's no other compatriot malay colleague around. I have just realised how liberating it is - in that i know i'm not here just because of some quota, coz they can terminate me anytime. A severe action has been taken on a colleague i mentioned earlier-she's not malay - and she is indeed a slacker as I have been told by a professor involved in our project - so basically this is a place where you either perform or get another job-portfolio. heh.

When I look back and remember all my past employments, it struck me that i have always gravitated towards a non-malay group - even in Tee & bee i was close to my Indian boss and indian technician. the malays there gave me hell, save for the kind ladies. Malay men are not easy to work with, especially in a situation where you work with them in a physically small environment. As for the ladies, unless you're in the same level in the hierarchy, it gets tiring after a while to put up with the same anak2,suami,baju,shopping,toot toot banter. Or maybe I am too intense & serious a person to keep up with? probably. I mean I do the handbag talk & shopping & sometimes artists gossip too; but most of the time I am concerned about real news.

Like the possibility of indonesia getting hit by another quake, this time 8.8 on the richter scale. If the experts are predicting awful repercussions to indonesian shores & cities & strong possibility of tsunami - surely we will encounter some losses too. and to think i just bought that condo unit on 17th floor!! in shah alam pulak, where it's not so far inland or near the banjaran titiwangsa to withstand the shock. But i dunno whether the builder have anti-quake technology when they build it.. I guess there's no point thinking we can live forever.

Allah says that: Did you think that We had created you only for play, and that you would never be returned to Us? '

Surah: 23, Verse: 115

And how do the unbelievers respond? -

1) They are in doubt

Surah: 44, Verse: 9
" yet they are in doubt, playing. "

2) They listen to the message of Allah while they are playing!

Surah: 21, Verse: 2
" no recent revival of the remembrance comes to them from their lord, except that they play with it as they listen"

3) And they are mocking!

Surah: 9, Verse: 65
"if thou dost question them, they declare (with emphasis): "we were only talking idly and in play." say: "was it at Allah, and his signs, and his messenger, that ye were mocking?"

So, what the Believers have to do with the Unbelievers?

1)If they kept their way, Leave them until they know the truth at the Day of Judgment

Surah: 70, Verse: 42

2)so leave them to babble and play (with vanities) until they meet that day of theirs, which they have been promised.

Surah: 43, Verse: 83

The "natural disasters" all are Signs from Allah. I hope I will never see the Signs of Allah in the point of view of disbelievers. and further, to glorify the disbelievers' opinion & celebrate it in fun & jest.. auzubillah.

May Allah guide me & the people i love, ameen

all in a day's work

This is probably the one and only time in my lifetime to meet & talk with the man. he he! I asked only 2 or 3 short questions.