.: Beauty of Covering :.

A book review. 

I came across the book when I was having a casual conversation with the author herself, Sister Noorshin Ng. I had known her for quite a while, and every now and then, we would find ourselves crossing paths at certain events. Even so, I never knew she had published a book of her own. Intrigued to know more about it, I eventually purchased a copy for myself and delved into its’ contents. 

At first glance, the cover of the book has a beautiful illustration against a lovely shade of pink. For a hardcover, the book isn’t too bulky nor heavy. It was just nice as a coffee table book and even came with a pretty pink bag. As I flipped through the pages, one at a time, I discovered that the writings and pastel coloured illustrations had been cleverly arranged in such a way that each page looked pleasant to the eyes. As though I was looking at one of those classic Disney fairy tale storybooks that I used to read when I was a child. Needless to say, I was bowled over by the aesthetic elements of the book long before I even read her writings. 

Reading through the pages, I have to say the simple words and expressions used had made it easy to digest. Sister Noorshin’s writings had also perfectly described and addressed the struggles I used to have with the hijab. It will not be too far fetched for me to say that I could relate to some of her writings on a personal level. Moreover, certain sections of the book, particularly the reminders and stories had in some ways, given me a better understanding of the hijab and made it easier for me to explain it to others as well.

On my part, I honestly feel it is a good read for those who are relatively new to the hijab or the concept of being in hijab. These are my personal thoughts, and it wasn't written because I am a friend of Sister Noorshin. I strongly encourage those who may be interested, to flip through the pages of the book and pass their own judgment. 

Further information can be found here: Facebook 

Higher purpose.

11.01am, Malaysian Time

.: Path to Justice P1 :.

Large in numbers.

"When we love, we count tragedies with our hearts not our heads."

Harry Fear

As I had attended Tariq Ramadan's talk a few years back, it didn't take long for me to make my decision to attend another one of his talks. He has always struck to me as extremely eloquent in his speech and complex in his thoughts. The plus side of it is this talk will also feature Harry Fear, an equally inspirational and intellectually stimulating individual. 

Foams in the sea.

12.55 noon, Malaysian Time

.: Morning call :.

Ho Chi Minh.

I was woken-up by our neighbours. All sorts of amazing smells were coming into my room. Somehow rather, I had left the window open, the night before. 

Fascinated by the smells, I scrambled for my glasses and took a look at my cell phone. 4.30am? I took another look. Yes, 4.30am. When did my neighbours start cooking? How early did they wake-up from their slumber? Why am I still in bed asking all these questions to myself?

With my head still up in the clouds, I went to the balcony and peered over. A few aunties had set-up a few tables, right at their doorstep. Noodles, rice, meat and vegetables. A sumptuous spread. The tables were filled with a wide variety of food, just waiting for people to buy. Every now and then, I could see motorcyclists making a quick stop to grab a quick bite. 

Hearing all the chatter. Seeing the warm exchange of smiles. Smelling the wonderful aroma of each delectable-looking food. All of these reminded me of the morning and night markets that I used to frequent to when I was in Malaysia. 

I just had to experience it, the Vietnamese way. 

12.38 noon, Malaysian Time

.: Journey of Faith P3 :.

Final share.

May it be beneficial to you and your loved ones:

1. Surah Al-Fatihah is a dua.
2. You are having a beautiful dialogue with Allah when you recite Surah Al-Fatihah. So don't rush into it. Savour the moment. 
3. As long as your dua is not a sin, it will be answered. Allah is All Hearing. 
4. Surah An-Nur talks about modesty and chastity but in the middle of the surah, Allah said that He is The Light of the sky. The light of Allah can be attained by being modest and guarding your chastity. 
5. Only in Surah As-Saffaat that Allah did not mention the west after mentioning the east. That is because Allah is talking about the rise of Islam and that it will never stop rising. There is no mention of the west since it is the side where the sun sets. 
6. Wisdom is to put things at the right time and its rightful place.
7. The problem with da'wah and educating Islam now is that people only hear it but do not see it. We must put Islam into practice! 
8. Your akhirah begins once you die.
9. Sleep is the minor death. Sleep should make us reflect on death. The dream that we have is different from one another and the emotion in it is physical. The effect of it is also physical. Just like whatever we will experience in the grave is physical. 
10. Reflect on the seed, how it can grow back when planted in earth even if it is a hundred years old. We will also sprout back from our death from the end bone of our backbone. 
11. When you believe in the hereafter, it will make you strong, motivate you to strive for goodness and stay away from sins.
12. If you are conscious of the hereafter, no disturbance will bother you.
13. Just because Allah knows everything, it doesn't mean that He doesn't give us choices. He knows what will happen and if things were to be done differently, than how it will be. 
14. The choice is ours. You can't blaim the qadr for your actions. 
15. You can't claim that you love someone for the sake of Allah if you don't make dua for them.
16. Give rights to your body/health, to your family and to Allah. Balance it all. Politely decline to people's request in order to follow your schedule. 
17. Seek 70 excuses for your brother and sister when you are in doubt. Shaytaan will always make the situation seems worse than what it really is.  
18. Say good or remain silent. If you have an opinion, it doesn't mean that you have to say it. 
19. Statistically, there are only 1% harsh people but we always make it seem like it is 50%. 
20. The brotherhood in faith is stronger than in blood.
21. When you are merciful to each other, Allah will be merciful to you.
22. Make dua for orhers, you will get it too.
23. When you love your brother or sister, tell her. Brother to brother. Sister to sister.
24. Your love to someone should be proportional to their closeness to Allah. But for the sinners, you must still love and make dua for hidayah and goodness for them. Hate the sin, not the sinner. 
25. Do not mock people. Are you making fun of the creations and the Creator? 
26. Everyone deserves to get knowledge. Share it! 
27. Learn one thing of everything. Learn everything of one thing. 
28. Seek your afterlife but do not forget about your share in this dunya 
29. When you ask something from the dunya, tie it with the akhirah. Eg: ask for provision so that you can spend in the way of Allah. 
30. You can have dunya in your hand but dunya should not have you in its hand. 
31. Shaytan will always trick you with the "all or nothing" trick. So you will not do good deeds if you don't have at least an hour of free time.  
32. Consistent small deeds do make difference in your life. 
33. Prioritize your goals. Write down what you need to do. 
34. Get good companies. Surround yourself with those who will remind you of Allah.
35. True friends are those who want you to enter Jannah. 

If time stood still.

4.43pm, Malaysian Time

.: Lapsed reality :.

努力不放弃。

It was one of those days. A friend asked a favour from me to interview some parents. 

Friend :: Some of them can only speak Chinese. That's where you come in. :DDD 

I didn't know what to expect. I was speaking to the teachers in English when the parents came in. 

Parent :: Sorry ya. I don't speak good English. At home we speak Cantonese. My daughter teach me English. She oso teach her grandfather. Always sing one~ 

The parents put in so much effort to speak in English that I didn't have the heart to tell them that we can conduct the interview in Chinese. Plus it was heartwarming to see the interactions between the children and their parents. 

Language isn't always a barrier.

10.53am, Malaysian Time

.: Good morning :.

Vietnam.

A place to stay.

We need a place to stay.

The taxi driver brought us to a bustling neighbourhood. We saw children running along the streets, and adults handling their wares. Everyone spoke in Vietnamese. We were beginning to wonder whether the taxi driver had brought us to the right location. 

At a distance, we saw an old lady smiling at us. Dressed in her traditional attire, she gestured for us to come closer to her. Tired, hungry and feeling utterly restless, we had no idea who she was. We had just arrived in Vietnam and we didn’t know whether to acknowledge her or to just walk away. Upon seeing our hesitation, she started to speak to us in the little English that she knew. We could barely understand her English, but we eventually came to the conclusion that her nephew had sent her to pick us up. 

She brought us down a narrow alley. Occasionally a couple of motorbikes would pass by, and we had to give way. After walking for about 10 minutes, we reached our apartment. 

“You must lock house. People steal motorbikes. Must lock house,” said the old lady. 

And she left.

12.57noon, Malaysian Time

.: Shifting priorities :.

A new life.

To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.

Bill Bryson

Begins now. 

9.02pm, Malaysian Time