.: Afterglow :.

Wings of your imagination.

Yesterday was one of those days where I sat on my desk, looked out of the windows and stared at the leaves and branches dancing gently to the soft whispers of the breeze. The sky was clear, and not a tint of gray was in sight. As I sat transfixed in my solitary moment of peace and tranquility, I heard the sound of pearl drops coming from the corner fountain. Other than that, there was nothing. No car honks, no bickering couples, no head-splitting rock music. All that was present was just nature at its best form; God’s gift to mankind.

If we can understand the language of the leaves, the branches, the breeze and even water …

Whatever are they saying …

11.30am Malaysian Time

.: Healing hearts :.

Anticipating Ramadhan.

There hasn't been any updates on the Fiqh An-Nisaa' class. Meanwhile, I've decided to continue with Arabic at Al-Diwan after Eid, Insha'Allah.

Moving along, Ramadhan is 2 weeks away!!! *euphoria! euphoria! Alhamdulillah!* Hence I'm sharing a couple of Ramadhan-oriented programmes I came to know during the weekend. Please feel free to share these around.

• Bengkel Ambang Ramadhan [The Coming of Ramadhan Workshop]

Date : July 31
Time : 9am - 4.30pm
Location : PERKIM Musolla, PERKIM, Jln Ipoh, KL.
Speakers : Ustaz Hj. Ahmad Dasuki Abdul Ghani, Ustaz Hj. Mohd. Farid Ravi Abdullah & Ustaz Kamaruddin Abdullah.

Taken from Ustaz Amran's Blog

• Fast 2 Feed

Organized by Muslim Aid Malaysia; spread the joy and blessings of iftar and Ramadhan by sponsoring an orphan.

RM30 sponsorship includes a meal, moreh and green packet for an orphan while RM50 sponsorship enables the sponsor to break fast with the orphan. Contact Muslim Aid office at 03-22881996 for more info.

Taken from Fast 2 Feed Muslim Aid Blog

• We are in this together : Muslim Youth & the Future

So I messed up at the very end. This has nothing to do with Ramadhan, but I just can't resist the itch to post. For more info, please visit the Facebook event page: MPF Youth Camp. I'm giving this a miss as I'm attending the workshop at PERKIM. Prolly will go for the next one.

Every bit of effort counts! :)

11.28am Malaysian Time

.: Racial Harmony Day :.

Who's Your Neighbor?

The only barriers we have are the ones we erect by ourselves.

Racial Harmony Day is a day for schools to reflect on, and celebrate Singapore as a harmonious nation and society built on a rich diversity of cultures and heritages.

- ~ -

The flu bug has safely landed on yours truly, so I'm working from home today. Despite the occasional sneezes and throbbing headache, I am taking this break to wish everyone "Happy Racial Harmony Day!".

Try celebrating racial harmony on a daily basis; regardless of your position and religious beliefs.

Unity in diversity.

9.14am Malaysian Time

.: Illustrating alleyways :.

Penning memoirs.

Calligraphic scroll by Mohamad Yusuf Chen Kun; Lanzhou China. 2001 AD/1421 AH.
Click to enlarge.

I tried to find Him on the Christian Cross, but He was not there; I went to the Temple of the Hindus and to the pagodas, but I could not find a trace of Him anywhere. I searched on the mountains and in the valley and across the deserts, but neither in the heights nor in the depths was I able to find Him. I went to the Kaaba in Mecca, but He was not there either. I questioned the scholars and the philosophers but He was beyond their understanding. I then looked into my heart and it was there where He dwelled that I saw Him; He is no where else to be found, for words are useless (specially sentences) and life defies definition.

Rumi

Bought this from the IIAM Museum Shop. Not sure whether they have anymore of it. With regards to the calligraphist, I found an article but it's written in Malay; Muhamad Yusuf Chen Kun, Penulis Khat Cina Yang Terkemuka [Muhamad Yusuf Chen Kun, Renowned Chinese Calligraphist]. Drop me an email if you want an English translation and I'll work something for you, Insha'Allah.

Beautiful Monday.

9.48am Malaysian Time

.: Hush-hush enigma :.

Evaporated.

There was a particular incident that happened not many months ago. I was in the LRT *subway* when a group of boisterous high school boys came in. They were joking in Chinese among themselves, and although I didn’t have the intention to eavesdrop, they were too loud! Hence any desperate efforts to block my ears were entirely nullified.

Throughout the 15mins journey I understood some of their jokes, but I had to bite my lips because people will undeniably think I’m insane if I started laughing hysterically by myself. Two stops away, one of the boys said;

“I think she understands our jokes” and looked straight at me.

At that juncture, it felt as if I had other eyes on me. As if I was suddenly awakened from a perpetual slumber, I knew it wasn’t just a feeling when his friends shifted their gaze to match his and they began talking about me. All I could do then was do an instant 180 degrees turn and implored to God; “What should I do?”

Intercom :: "Wangsa Maju. Wangsa Maju"

Saved! As soon as the LRT doors opened, I slipped through the throngs of commuters and dashed to the taxi station.

Sis :: What happened?
Me :: Biting didn’t help. My eyes were tearing up, and I couldn’t contain the chuckles. It’s like they have an unlimited supply of jokes! Maybe they already know that I can understand them, and they’re intentionally doing it. I feel so embarrassed!

I had forgotten about this incident but the story doesn’t end there.

The car was in the workshop so I had to take the LRT for the past 2 weeks. On one of those days, I was responding to a text in Chinese when I felt a towering figure behind me.

“I was right. 你还記得我吗?”

Literally shocked with his presence, I blasted this at him ... "吓死我了!!!".

Note :: “你还記得我吗?” means “Do you still remember me?"; "吓死我了!" means "Scared me to death!"

And he wasn't alone.

3.27pm Malaysian Time

.: Pavilion of dreams :.

At the International Islamic Arts Museum.

“Roam the Earth and observe how the creation was initiated. Thus God will establish the final creation. God is capable of all things.”

Surah Al-Ankabut verse 20

These photos were taken on my second trip to the International Islamic Arts Museum [IIAM]; specifically from the China, Qur'an & Manuscript, and Coins & Seals permanent exhibits. We came in a group, so we had a guided tour mixed with a hodgepodge of other activities. Apart from visiting the permanent exhibits, our itinerary included a visit to the "Behind the Scenes: Conservation in Focus" special exhibit and an introductory workshop to Arabic Calligraphy (Khat). Since our schedule was quite packed, I couldn't visit the special gallery which was held concurrently; "A Common Faith: Steve McCurry's Travels through the Muslim World".


The thing I love about going to IIAM is the extensive amount of Islamic artifacts they possess in their collection, and you can expect various special exhibitions. Additionally, it has a close proximity to Masjid Negara, the Islamic centre, the bird park and Lake gardens.

Insha'Allah I'll be going there again with another friend to visit the "Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals" special exhibit to be held from July 31st until Dec. 30th. My friend has never been there before, thus we thought it'd be cool to spend an entire day there than hanging out at the shopping mall drinking bottomless coffee.

Definitely a good place to unwind.

11.43am Malaysian Time

.: Versatile Salma :.

The Versatile Blogger Award.

Beloved Sister Salma from the Sole Sisters Collective has been sweet enough to bestow me with a blog award.





The conditions of this award are that:

1. The recipient must thank the bestower of the award.

Thank you so much love!. It's very kind of you to think of me in this sense. I always thought I write nonsense most of the time. :)

2. Share seven things about self.

1. I love food. *what's new?*

2. I love food photography. *To my FB friends; there's more to come!*

3. I'm trying to make it a habit to eat on time.

4. I'm reading a lot about India and Terengganu lately. *work-related*

5. I'm still learning Chinese; seriously taking my own sweet time.

6. Insha'Allah, my cousin and I will attend religious classes together.

7. I managed to curb my compulsive obsession to purchase books.

3. Bestow the award on 15 newly-discovered, or followed blogs.

I can't possibly choose 15, so I'm giving it to everyone in my 'Noteworthy Blogs' list.

And I just realized there's another award. Aahhh~~~ Silly, silly me!

There are two (2) rules for accepting this award.

1. I have to sum up my blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience in 5 words:

I suppose this blog is a space consisting of random thoughts for literary immortality.

2. I must pass on the award to 10 other amazing blogs.

Passing this to my 'Noteworthy Blogs' list. Everyone is amazing in their own way.

Thanks again Salma. :)

11.05am Malaysian Time

.: Luminary spectre :.

Enlightened.

Taken at the Wakaf Raja Abdul Aziz Ain Aziziyah,; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Several months after I transferred to a school in Malaysia;

Me :: Dad, can I enroll in a religious school? Like after school, religious school?
Dad :: Sure, but is there any particular reason?
Me :: I didn’t know what the teacher was talking about. She mentioned ibadah, akhlak, aqidah and stuff. It’s as if she’s speaking in an alien language and I felt totally out of place.

3 years later;

Dad :: So you’re quitting religious school?
Me :: My grades are much better now, and knowing the basics is more than enough.

14 years later;

Dad :: Since when have you started to learn about Islam again?
Me :: Since coming home from Hajj.
Dad :: But nobody is grading you anymore. :)
Me :: ...

Awakening.

8.28pm Malaysian Time

.: Fiqh An-Nisaa’ :.

Islamic jurisprudence.

Several weeks ago I told a brother I wanted to learn about Islam. *weird huh?* He directed me to his alma mater, UIA (International Islamic University of Malaysia) and even suggested I take up the courses on a part-time basis. However, I'm not able to commit myself for a 3-4 years course due to current circumstances. *I have a highly unpredictable schedule*

Then he said, "Why don't you go the mosque? You can listen to the lectures plus sometimes they organize events and short courses." Sooner than later, I forgot about it. Until I went through the newspapers yesterday and noticed a small article about "Fiqh An-Nisaa'" to be held at the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Mosque, UIA. Without further ado, I rang them up and pre-enrolled myself. Alhamdulillah, the first class starts next Friday, insha'Allah.

- ~ -

UIA was one of the universities I chose to further my studies in. One can hope and dream, but I ended up studying someplace else. *everybody has a sad story, don't they? coughs*

In those days, friends and family used to tell me stuff like,

"If you go to UIA, you have to wear the hijab and learn Arabic.",

and I thought,

"I can live with that. In fact, I should live with that, shouldn't I?"

Didn't expect it'd take me almost 10 years to step foot there although it takes less than 20 minutes worth of driving to reach from my house.

Alhamdulillah, nonetheless. :)

11.53am Malaysian Time