HUGS N KISSES

May peace be upon you

.

Give somebody who needs a hug , a big warm hug today. 

Especially to those who are feeling a little bit under the weather....

LITTLE ALI

Dengan nama Allah yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang.

Ali ialah sepupu dan sahabat karib sepanjang hayat [insyaAllah] anak ku Amir. Bagi Amir, Ali lah 'sifu'.  Berumur 10 tahun, Ali hanya tua setahun daripada Amir. Hampir tiap2 bulan, Amir mahu pergi ke rumah Ali. Kalau tak  kerana traffic jam yg teruk, pasti kami pergi ke rumah Ali selalu.

Sepanjang tiga hari lepas, Ali tinggal bersama kami. Sebelum Ali datang lagi, Amir sudah tak sabar2 menunggu kedatangannya. Berulang2 kali dia bertanya, "bila Ali nak datang?"....

Ketika Ali tinggal di rumah kami, suatu perkara yang menarik yang aku perhatikan tentang dia. Tiap kali berkumandang sahaja ayat2 suci al-Quran dari masjid berdekatan rumah kami, Ali sudah nampak gelisah. Dengan segera dia mencapai jubahnya dan mengajak anak2 lelakiku ke masjid. Hebat sungguh dia!

Semasa kami masih sibuk dengan hal dunia, Ali mengajar kami tidak ada yang lebih penting daripada panggilan Ilahi.

Ramai daripada kita merasa bangga dengan pencapaian akademik anak kita tetapi berapa kerat sahaja yang melihat pencapaian anak kita dari sudut pandangan Allah swt. Berapa deretan 'A' kah yang diberi Allah untuk anak kita?

Ali telah pulang ke rumahnya tetapi dia telah meninggalkan kesan mendalam dalam hati kami. Syabas Paksu dan Maksu!

 Ali, Amir misses you and you're welcome to our house, anytime...

MY BIG, HAPPY FAMILY.

May peace be upon you.

In 2012, my big family had our first family day in Wadi Samrah, Janda Baik, Pahang. We sure had loads of fun, as evident in this video. Three generations of my family - anak cucu Tok Haroon gathered in this beautiful, awesome place. To be precise there were four generations - my mom, my siblings and I, our children and grandchildren [well, my older brothers' and sisters' grandchildren}

 'Keluarga' means family in Malay and this is what it is all about. I am so blessed to have them as my family. 'Keluarga' means unity, respect and love for each other irrespective of our different lifestyle.

We're planning to have another family day soon. Hopefully it will be better and more successful. But most importantly it will instill and strengthen our love for our big, happy family.

 May Allah bless us. Ameen..

TRUST YOUR WOMAN, MAN.

May peace be upon you.

One day a wife, a husband and their children were traveling in their car. They arrived at a stretch of a road, when  all of a sudden, a motorcyclist started to honk at them. He was trying to get their attention. The husband, who is the driver, immediately pulled over to the side of the busy road.

Apparently the man alleged that one of their car tyres was on fire! He said several other motorists were also honking at them. He also alleged they probably didn't hear the honking because the husband was speeding.

Surprise! surprise! the man knew of a good mechanic which happened to be nearby. Somehow, the husband believed the man. When the wife raised her suspicion, the husband said, "he doesn't look like a con-man.."

 His wife couldn't believe her ears! "How does a con man look like,... like Leonardo DiCaprio (remember he played the con man in the film 'Catch Me If You Can'), or they look ugly, like the Hulk?' (the green one not the WWE smackdown one but they do have similarities).

 The husband being the typical 'macho' man chose to brush aside her suspicion. He believed in a total stranger than his own wife. Unbelievable! The man said to follow him to his friend's garage which of course conveniently situated nearby. The man then went ahead.

The wife knew she had only 10 seconds to convince her husband that the man was a fraud. After all she was a lawyer by training. She put to him, a con is when what is alleged, does not corroborate with the facts.

 Firstly, no one in the car heard  all the alleged honks from the other motorists , except the ones from the man.

Secondly, no one in the car smelled anything burning. Burning tyres have disgusting smell which you just can't ignore. There was also no smoke at all.

Finally, you never ever speed. Buses and lorries go past us all the time.

Slowly within that 10 seconds, the husband came into his senses. They bade farewell to the con man who was waiting for them at the side of the road as they continue their journey. Checks afterwards revealed no tyres were on fire.

This is actually a true story. So be careful to all Malaysian motorists who pass along the road near the old Istana Negara.

Guys....have respect to your wife. Trust them more! After all they are the one who is gong to be your caregiver if you're sick. The one that gives you all the pills to make you better. So, you better trust them now...

I would like to wish all women in the world, HAPPY BELATED WOMEN'S DAY!
  

MUHASABAH CINTA

Dengan nama Allah yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang

Wahai Pemilik nyawaku...

Nasyid ini yang dinyanyikan oleh kumpulan Edcoustic sudah agak lama tetapi dengan mana2 nasyid, ianya sentiasa 'evergreen' kerana ia menyentuh soal ketuhanan, Allah yang kekal abadi.

Liriknya puitis dan penuh makna. Acapkali kita alpa betapa indahnya nikmat sihat sehinggalah kita tersungkur sakit.  Betapa banyaknya dosa kita. Apakah mampu pahala kita mengatasi dosa2 yang menggunung.  Semoga diampuni segalanya Rabbi yang kurindui...Rabbi yang Maha Pengampun.

THE TABOO!

                                              May peace be upon you

 

My mom has so many taboos that I could write a book on the subject. But, there is one taboo that drives me completely bonkers! 

A few days ago while my mom was having her breakfast, I opened the front door.
"Don't go out while I'm eating." she said firmly.
"I just want to fetch the newspaper, mom." I replied.

I was about to take the first step out when she said something that immediately stopped me on my tracks.
"If you go out... you won't be able to see me before I die!"
THAT WAS THE ARRGH.. TABOO again.
If you were in my shoes, would you take that first step out?

[My mom believes that if you leave the house whilst your relatives are having their meal, you might not be there for them just before their demise].

Now, my mom is 84 years old, with no teeth. No dentures. So..imagine how  long I have to wait for her to finish her breakfast.

It's okay mom, I can wait. I can always fetch today's newspaper together with tomorrow's newspaper edition...

I do not believe in the taboos but I do believe in respecting my mom's wishes. The taboos are sometimes illogical and definitely scientifically unproven. But sometimes they do send a message of love and caring.. somehow.

Most importantly, I DO LOVE YOU SO MUCH, 'MAK'!

BUAT ESAQ

Dengan nama Allah yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang.

Segmen blog in ditujukan khas buat anak saudaraku, Esaq Khairiq.

[Esaq Khairiq terlibat dalam satu kemalangan serius beberapa bulan dahulu. Kemalangan itu meyebabkan kecederaan di bahagian otaknya.]

Dear Esaq,

Masih Makcik Ita ingat kunjungan kalian ke kota Cardiff, tempat Makcik Ita belajar. Semasa itu Esaq dan abang2 masih kecil lagi. Makcik Ita masih ingat lagi bagaimana Along, Angah dan Esaq memanjat pokok Apple Blossoms di tengah2 kota Cardiff. Semasa itu baharu sahaja masuk musim bunga. Rasa2nya kalau mama dan abah mengembara keseluruh negara di dunia, habis semua pokok kalian panjat.

Nasib baik kalian tidak memanjat bumbung rumah Pope semasa kalian berkunjung ke Rome.

Siapa Pope? Tanya mama. Bukan Penyanyi pop tau...

Esaq yang berani,
Walaupun ketika Esaq masih koma dan terlantar di hospital, ternyata jelas daripada wajah Esaq kesungguhan untuk sembuh.  

Esaq yang tabah,
 Meskipun sukar untuk Esaq mengingati, namun dari mata Esaq ada kesabaran untuk tidak berputus asa. Pasti ingatan yang hilang itu kan datang semula bak ombak2 kecil.

Esaq yang cekal,
Pada hari Makcik Ita saksikan langkah2 kecil yang diambil oleh Esaq di hari persandingan Nadia, ianya bukti kecekalan Esaq untuk berjaya... bukan sahaja untuk sembuh.

Esaq, ada seluruh dunia terhampar di hadapanmu. Kasihsayang menyelubungimu.
Wajah isteri dan cinta lembutnya sentiasa menyambutmu.
Mama dan Abah yang sanggup berkorban apa saja untukmu.
Curahan doa daripada abang2,adik2, makcik2, pakcik2 dan sepupu2 mengiringmu.

Kami pasti Esaq akan sembuh sepenuhnya. Kami pasti Esaq akan berjaya! Kerana Allah sentiasa berada bersama hambanya yang sabar dan tidak berputus asa.

  

GIVE A GIFT

May peace be upon you.

I used to have long talks with my good neighbour, Mrs. S, who is a Christian, on many subjects. One day she told me something that felt like somebody gave me a punch on my face. She bluntly said,"Muslims do not like to give gifts..." I said, "you mean Malays?" She replied," No, I mean Muslims as a whole. My sister who converted and married a Saudi and staying in Saudi Arabia told me, Muslim there do not like to give, too."

I was shell shocked. Like a bomb just exploded in front of me!

I informed her that in the Quran, Muslims are greatly encouraged to give whether, in good times or in bad times. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him [pbuh] loves to give and encouraged Muslims to give.

Muslim and Muslimat, have we failed our beloved prophet [pbuh] ?

The Quran stated that you will not become poor if you give especially to the needy instead Allah will give you bountiful more. A friend of mine, who is generous, told me, one day she had only $10 on her. Suddenly, she saw a donation box for an orphan home. It took a colossal effort for her to take out the money and put it in the box because she was convinced that was the last money she had for the month. However, she remembered that God had ordained Muslims to give in wealth and in hardship.

Suddenly, that very evening, her sister gave her $700! It was rent money from their family home and it was her turn to receive it. It was totally unexpected. She said to me, didn't Allah promise to give us bountiful more if we give.

The same thing happen to my brother in law. He was walking with some friends when a homeless man who looked drunk asked them for money. He said he was hungry. One of them said, don't give him any because he will just buy liquor. But, another friend reminded them, the Prophet [pbuh] gave to anyone who asked him whether that person was poor or rich and that they should not judge people.

They gave him what they had, which was just a few ringgit. That evening after prayers, out of the blue, a rich man gave them $200! Believe it or not.

 Hence, don't ever be afraid to give. You won't lose anything.