A Few Minutes Before Iftar

Assalamualaikum wbt and peace be upon you,
.
Hi. I'm currently waiting for the Maghrib adzan to be called. I've had my Maths exam this morning. made a lot of mistakes on the easy questions, basically all the no brainers. I admit I panicked a bit this morning. Couldn't think straight. My lil sis had her HOTS. The questions were about how to clone some extinct animals, what type of cells should the scientists collect to clone them, etc. I guess the National Geographic junkies could pass with flying colours.
.
Tomorrow I'm having the Science paper. I've been revising while mom helped with some of the answers. Last exam I got 93%. Mom said maybe I can get 98% for this exam.
.
Dad went to the clinic to get his MC for today and wasted RM30 for the consultation and medicine that he's not going to take. My mom said dad might as well just ask for an Emergency Leave from his company. Tomorrow he has to carpool with his friend, Uncle Ony who lives a few doors down.
.
For Iftar today my mom just cook rice, spinach, salted fish, sambal belacan and fried tempe. I told you we eat simple food for Iftar. My mom said, we should eat like the poor during Ramadhan coz that's the whole purpose of fasting, that is to experience how the less fortunate live and to be thankful to Allah for all the food that's on our table. Some people eat lavishly during Iftar and my mom said it defeats the purpose of Ramadhan.
.
I forgot to tell you earlier that my neighbour, Aunt Su's daughter passed away last Friday. She was 22 and was working in a bank. She had been suffering from brain tumor for the last 3 years, most probably due to the excessive use of mobile phone. She died alone in her flat that her mom gave her. Her roomate did not realize she was dead until much later. When paramedics came, she had already bloated and all her blood vessels had burst under her skin. Because of the tumor, she always suffered epilepsy. Maybe she had an epilepsy attack which killed her. She was a very beautiful girl. My mom said she's the most beautiful girl in our neighbourhood. She died on Friday, in the month of Ramadhan and on the Nuzul Quran day. and she was fasting. People say she died in an auspicious day, auspicious month, and while she was making an ibadah. Let's pray that her soul will be rewarded the Jannah.
.
My mom was asked to organise the final rites for her. It's the first time to be held in our musolla and it's also the first time for my mom. The rites include, reciting the Yaasin for her, bathing her, covering her in the proper shroud and finally performing solat for her before she was sent to the grave for burial. All the ladies came to help the poor family and to perform solat for her.
.
To think back about the girl, she had all the world in front of her. She was beautiful, she had a handsome fiance, she had a good career in a bank, she already had a flat and her own car, and she had just opened her own boutique. Now, all her dreams had dashed. Nothing remains except for her good deeds.
.
That's all for now.

Love and peace Daniel Zaydi

Dad Met With An Accident and Lil Sis's Hots

Assalamualaikum wbt and peace be upon you,
.
I forgot to tell y'all that my dad was hit while he was coming back home from work yesterday. He suffers bruises, cuts and a swollen ankle. Apparently he was on his motorbike and had stopped at the traffic light when another rider came from behind without stopping and hit him from behind. The bike collapsed on to his leg and twisted his ankle. The rider, my dad said was a girl in a man's dress (what we call a confused female- a cross dresser) ran away at the first opportunity. My mom said if my dad had a chance, he should just pound on the girl until he-she wails like a little girl, just to make her change back into a girl.I think my mom didn't really mean what she said.
.
Tomorrow my dad said he had to go to the farewell party of a Morrocon consulate or something so he wouldn't want to take a MC but his leg is already swollen. So I accompanied my mom outside to get some Noni leaves (mengkudu) in front of our house. It was 12 midnight (after my dad came back from tarawih and tadarus). Not the best time to take medicinal plants, my mom said. But it was an emergency. So we gave salaam to the plant and ask its permission to take some leaves to treat my dad (my mom said plants can understand us and feels pain too, and they are God's creatures too, so we must give salaam and ask permission and treat them as gentle as possible).So my mom heated the Noni leaves on the stove,  pounded some ginger, and put the ginger on the swollen area and wrapped with the leaves. before that the cuts were treated with sea cucumber oil. Then she put a stocking on my dad's foot.
.
My big sis, Lil sis, and I have been drilling into our Maths books like mad with my mom trying to explain all the answers for the Maths problems. Can I cramp 40 topics in one day? To tell you the truth, I've given up already. But my mom made a mathematical calculation based on past year questions and tell me that I need to revise 20 topics only and concentrate mostly on the top 10 topics. We have been going thru all the problems on Statistics, Circles, Teoram pythagoras, Algebraic, ratios and whatnot that I literally become dizzy. Luckily my big sis helped a lot too coz she's a Maths wizard. And my mom who is the best student in her school during her time drilled me on the formula and applications and whatnot, so much so that I can see stars swimming in front of my eyes.

My lil sis is also having a HOTS exam tomorrow. We don't know what it is, coz it's the first time we've heard it. My lil sis said it stands for Higher Order Thinking Skills. My mom told her in order to achieve a higher order thinking skill, we should lead a LDLS (Low Density LifeStyle) first. Without the balance, one would never achieve HOTS. My mom told my Lil sis to tell that to her teacher. But my lil sis did not understand, so my mom told her to simplify, use her imagination, visualize and creative thinking. I hope my lil sis can pull it through tomorrow coz we can't help her much, coz we've never heard of such exams before.
.
Btw, happy birthday Lil sis :) I love you so much even though you always quarrel with me :p
.
Love and peace
Daniel Zaydi

The Beginning of The End...?

Assalamualaikum wbt and peace be upon you,
.
I can feel chill travels down my spinal cord when my mom says last year (2012) is most probably the start of the beginning of the end of time.What if my prayers and taubahs are no longer acceptable by God? What if I'm not prepared to face God? What if ...there's a lot of what ifs going thru my mind right now.
.
My mom says we are too worried about the end of time of the world when our own "beginning of the end of time" has started ticking the second we were born into this earth.
.
My mom says the most misunderstood person on this earth is our own self, so before we worry about the fate of this world we should first understand ourselves so as to understand this world. And to understand ourselves we should make comparison with other creatures especially the plants coz we are most similar to the plants, coz the plants grow from soil and we are from the soil too.
.
Tomorrow is my PMR Maths Trial exam and my mom was coaching me when we got into this topic. So, if the beginning of the end of time has started, why should I waste my time to study Maths. Shouldn't I just spend my time in Sujud?
.
Well, no, coz studying is also a form of Ibadah and every good deed that we do including studying will be counted.
.
Yes, but the people in Syria and Egypt are already fighting and killing and mass massacre is everywhere. Link it with Prophet Muhammad's prophecies and...guess it for yourself.
.
My heart and soul are in turmoil right now.
.
Can't you feel it out there?
.
Can't you hear the clock ticking madly already?
.
Can't you see the gaping mouths and wide open eyes looking at the terror crushing them?
.
We are we to run now?
.
No where is safe anymore.
.
I want to scream. I want to shout. I want to cry.
.
I want to escape.
.
But there is no door.
.
There is no way out
except one...
.
( !!!!!)
...

Is this what we want???????????????So why the fightings? Can't we all say our thanks to God and seek forgiveness and live in peace???
.
For heaven's sake PEOPLE, STOP FIGHTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
Love and peace
Daniel Zaydi

To Read Allah's Thoughts....

Assalamualaikum wbt and peace be upon you..
.
This is the month of Ramadhan, the month when the Quran is revealed to our prophet Muhammad s.a.w. It is also the month of when all the other Books were also revealed to other prophets such as Isa (Jesus), Musa (Moses), Daud (David).
.
During this month, Muslims are encouraged to leave other activities and to concentrate on reading the Quran. The Quran is Allah's verses, sayings and thoughts. To read the Quran is to pick at Allah's thoughts. How can I describe it in words? How else can a feeble human being like us pick on God's thoughts except by reading and truly analysing  the Quran's contents. And God has made it simple for us humans to understand it, in the language that we can understand.
.
Alas, even though I can read the Quran, it is not in my language and thus it takes a lot more effort for me to understand it. I pray that Allah will give me the knowledge to understand its true meanings and to apply the knowledge in my daily life and lead me on the straight path. Ameen.Fogive me if I'm wrong. This is just my humble thought.
.
love and peace
Daniel Zaydi

Ahlan Wasahlan Ya Ramadhan

Assalamualaikum wbt and peace be upon you,
.
Ramadhan has finally dawned upon us Muslims like a lovely purple tulip about to bloom.So, to all my dear Muslim brothers and sisters everywhere in this world, I'd like to wish you a prosperous Ramadhan and may all of us receive the Lailatul Qadar insyaallah.
.
At my place, so far, we have performed three terawih prayers and the musolla is illuminated with beautiful lights and merry faces of my neighbours, all eager to reap the benefits of Ramadhan and to outdo each other in our worship to Allah.
.
I'd go to prayers with my dad and lil sis every night, then have supper at the musolla before coming back home. My dad however continues the tadarus with the other brothers in Islam. I do not perform the tadarus at the musolla coz we have it in our school. Everyday at 9.40-10.00am I'll be reading the Quran with my friends Danish, Ikhwan, Hafiz and Riaz.My mom and big sis have opted to perform the tarawih at home this year. This is quite a surprise coz they have never missed the jamaah prayers before. My mom performs the tarawih after the Isya' prayer whereby she finishes one juzu' of the Quran in the prayers every night. My big sis goes to sleep first. Afterwards she'll wake up and perform the prayers at midnight.
.
This year, the climate has changed drastically and it has somehow affected our fasting positively. As I've told you before, the hot season usually continues until September or October, but after the recent haze and the solatul Istisqa performed by Muslims in Malaysia, it has rained almost every single evening without fail. Even if it doesn't rain, the weather would be cool and this has definitely makes us feel less tired when fasting.
.
Charity goes hand in hand during Ramadhan. This year, my mom has launched a campaign among her sisters in Islam to donate for the setting up of a Darul Tahfiz in Gaza, Palestin. They have collected quite a substantial amount of money already. My mom's friend who is going to Cambodia will also come to collect some donation to buy the al-Quran as well as rice for the poor Muslims there. Our musolla also passed around a donation box for a Maahad Tahfiz in our area, where the students become our Imams during Ramadhan. We are also going to have a big and modern mosque which is planned to be built next year. So far, people have started to donate a lot of money and expertise to make this project a success. My mom also plans to paint the house of some poor people in our area to cheer their Ramadhan and Eidul Fitri. And as a routine every year, we will visit orphanages, provide the breaking of fast dinner for them, donate money, visit the old folks home and send them donation and talk with them to cheer them up. I hope my brothers and sisters in Islam elsewhere in this world can share with me how you do charity at your place this month so that we here can emulate you.
.
About the Breaking of Fast.
Alhamdulillah I'm born as a Muslim in Malaysia where Allah has shown His generosity in every single aspect of my life. We here have an abundant of food that most people are quite baffled as what to choose for their breaking of fast dinner. As you know, we break fast at the sound of the maghrib azan. In my home, my mom cooks simple food for us. First we make dua. Then eat dates with fruits like grapes or watermelon.My parents buy the dates in Makkah every year. We have all sorts of dates on our table like the Prophet's dates which my dad buys to last us for a year as well as other dates which I don't know their names. Then, we'll have our drinks either cold or hot. Then we'll eat a bit like rice or bread. My mom cooks simple food like meat, fish or chicken, accompanied by veges. Then we pray Solatul Maghrib, ba'dal Magrib and solatul Awwabin. then we rest, take a bath and wait to go for the Solatul Isya' and tarawih prayers at the musolla. My neighbours would also come to give us food and drinks that they have prepared or bought. Then my mom would replace with another type of food for them.
.
About the Sahur.
Muslims are encouraged to eat before fasting in the morning. In my home, we wake up at 4.30am to eat. My mom usually prepares two types of food for us. Those who wish to have a heavy meal will take rice and its accompaniment. As for me, I like to take light food, so my mom would prepare pasta or mushroom soup with bread for me and my lil sis. Then we perform the Solatul Tahajud and Witr and then wait for the Solatul Subuh. I'd be ready to go to school by then. My dad would perform the Qabla Subuh at home, then proceed to pray Solatul Subuh at the musolla. Then he comes back to read the Quran.
.
Counting the Minute.
As a Muslim, we would count every minute of our deed this month. My mom has a special diary for this month where she notes down all her acts and deeds for the day. My dad watches the Islamic programmes on TV until late at night and make notes on what the speakers said. As for me, I'd be counting my deeds in my head. My big sis would sit for hours in her secret garden just staring at the plants (I think she must be thinking or doing tafakur or whatnot). My lil sis makes a to-do list either in her notebook, on the phone or on a piece of paper and left it lying around for all us to see and have a good laugh at it coz it's soo funny.
.
I guess that's all for now.
.
Be happy wherever you are. remember, no problem is too big when you have Allah in your heart.
.
Love and peace
Daniel Zaydi

ON BEING A MUSLIM.

Assalamualaykum and peace be upon you. :D

Watch this video before you read this whole post. :D

 

Well, all this time, I was wondering, kenapa orang membenci sesorang individu atau sesuatu kaum kalau mereka adalah 'MUSLIM' ?

   Saya ingin berkongsi cerita pak cik saudara saya sewaktu dia berada di Piacenza , Italy ... rasa-rasanya lah. ( Maaf kalau tersalah information. :D)

   Okey, saya skip saja bahagian cerita lain (yang sebenarnya lagi MENARIK!) yang pak cik saudara saya ceritakan tu... Apa yang saya nak ceritakan ni, betul-betul berkaitan dengan apa yang selalu orang anggap tentang 'MUSLIM'. Lebih-lebih lagi,  tanggapan dari orang dibahagian barat sana.

 (Saya singkatkan cerita ini.)

   Pada waktu tu, pak cik saya cerita ... orang kampung di Piacenza, Italy tu tak membenarkan anak dia sama sekali untuk bermain dengan pak cik saya dan budak-budak yang mengikuti rombongan tersebut.

   Tapi, seminggu selepas tu, orang kampung itu mula membenarkan anak-anak kecil mereka bermain dengan pak cik saya dan ahli rombongannya kerana orang kampung itu kata dia melihat budak-budak yang dibawah rombongan pak cik saya ini, berkelakuan dengan penuh hormat, tidak ganas, baik dan bersopan-santun. Bila jumpa dengan orang lain di tempat itu, ahli rombongan tersebut selalu ucap selamat kepada mereka. Itu yang menyebabkan orang kampung tersebut tersalah anggap terhadap orang Islam.


     Tapi, kita sama sekali tidak boleh salahkan mereka kerana tersalah anggap terhadap orang Islam kerana di tempat mereka, mungkin media massa dan internet serta akhbar di negara mereka menyiarkan cerita yang buruk tentang agama Islam. Itu yang menyebabkan mereka tersalah anggap.

     Kenapa pula kita sebagai seorang muslim hendak bersikap ganas sedangkan Rasulullah S.A.W sendiri bersikap lemah-lembut, bersopan-santun dan Rasulullah sendiri menyuruh kami sebagai Hamba Allah S.W.T untuk bersikap berlemah-lembut dan bersopan-santun dalam setiap urusan dan kegiatan seharian kita. ... dan bersikap ganas sama sekali tidak diajar dalam agama Islam.

      Di dalam video yang saya post-kan di atas, anda semua, tidak kira seorang Islam ataupun tidak, perlu membuka mata, bahawa kami, sebagai Muslim juga mempunyai hak untuk hidup di Bumi Allah ini sehinggalah tiba masanya untuk Allah mengambil hak kami, iaitu mengambil nyawa kami.

      Kami juga manusia sama seperti kamu yang membenci kami. Kenapa kamu tidak membenci agama lain dan mencaci, serta berkata kepada mereka , " Kamu jahat, Kamu tidak layak hidup di dunia ini, Kamu patut dibunuh seluruh ahli keluarga mu!!!" ???  Kenapa kami sebagai Muslim yang mesti kamu berbuat demikian? Kami sebagai muslim juga menerima cacian, hinaan kamu terhadap kami sebagai ujian Allah kepada hamba-hambaNya.

      Saya lebih tersentuh melihat keadaan sauda se-Islam kami di Palestin. Ditindas, dibunuh, didera tanpa mereka tahu apa silap mereka. Kenapa mesti kamu berbuat demikian? Adakah kanak-kanak, wanita dan lelaki , orang-orang tua dinegara tersebut tidak layak hidup atau terlampau hina bagi kamu ? Saya tanya kamu semua, jawab soalan ini dengan ikhlas dari hati bukan dari keegoan masing-masing.

   " Apakah silap mereka, dan dimanakah silap mereka sehinggakan kamu tergamak membunuh, menindas mereka? Dan kamu berbuat demikian hanya kerana kami merupakan orang Islam?"


     Tidakkah kamu  mempunyai rasa belas kasihan / hati nurani? Dan adakah agama kamu juga mengajar untuk kamu bermusuhan berbuat jahat kepada agama lain? Tidak, bukan? Dan, jika kamu melabel kami sebagai ' Terrorist / Pengganas' , apa perasaan kamu jika berada di tempat kami? Dan, jika kami memang betul-betul adalah terrorist / pengganas seperti apa yang kamu katakan, adakah kami sebagai Muslim ini membunuh kamu , menindas kamu , mendera kamu dan membuat kacau bilau di seluruh dunia sedangkan kami boleh berbuat demikian? Tidak, kerana kami tahu yang kamu juga manusia, dan kamu juga layak hidup di dunia ini.

Renung-renungkanlah, buka mata anda terhadap perkara sebenar. Kami sebagai Islam juga manusia seperti kamu. Inginkah anda mengalami peperangan sementara anda hidup dengan aman ini? Dan kasihanilah warga Palestin yang ditindas. Mereka juga manusia dan mereka tidak bersalah dan tidak melakukan kesalahan terhadap kamu.

                         

  

               I'M A MUSLIM AND I'M PROUD OF IT.




Sincerely, Love and peace,
DANIEL ZAYDI
A muslim.

p/s: Thanks to Encik Abdul Razak bin Abdul Rahman (my uncle) for sharing this wonderful story of yours. :D