Dawn of a New Year, 1427H

Today is the 2nd day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, year of the Dog. To all my Chinese friends,

Gong Xi Fa Cai,

Wan Shi Ru Yi,

Nian nian You Yu!

 

It is also the Eve of the Muslim New Year, we are ushering in 1427 Hijrah. It has been 1427 years since Prophet Muhammad saw escaped Mecca to build a new life in Medina. Such significant move is fit to be marked as a New Year, A New Beginning.

Hijrah means Migration, it could literally mean, moving from one place to another OR it could also mean movin from one state to another (eg. from ignorance to knowledgeable, from sinful to faithful). What is so special abt tis migration? Let me enlighten u with a lil history, in my own words (if there is discrepancy, pls point out. i'm diggin the story from my memory embedded years ago by my teachers. hope it is pretty accurate. insya Allah.)

1427 years ago, the people who embraced the teachings of Prophet Muhammad saw was at the mercy of Arab tribes (Quraisy) who were against the religion. They tried all means and ways to stop the truth that Muhammad brought by endlessly torturing the followers as well as assasination attempts of the Prophet himself. But the followers resisted and had so much faith in God that they were more than willing to be punished,humiliated and tortured all in the name of bein faithful to their Lord, God. Then came a revelation for the Muslims back then to move away from Mecca discreetly to escape further human violations against them. Some escaped to Africa, while some escaped to Medina.

On tis very fateful day, God instructed that the Prophet too to move out from Mecca. He was to go to Medina. And on tis very day too, his house was surronded by assassinators, all waitin to kill him the moment he step out of his house, but by God's will, the Prophet was able to sneak out of the house after he recited some Quranic verses and threw sand at the Quraisy assasinators, they all became unconscious for awhile. While he and his best bud, Saiyidina Abu Bakar ra escaped, Saiyidina Ali ra, his nephew, slept on his bed, covered under his blanket. When the assasinators grew impatient, they ambushed his house only to find the young Ali.

They were furious and soon were chasin them on their horsies. A second miraculous escape of the Prophet and his buddy was when they were hidin in a cave called Tsur. His enemies were not able to detect them hidin inside because a spider has sealed the entrance to the cave with its web. To them, it was impossible for Muhammad to enter the cave without causin damage to the web. Had they looked harder, they would have seen the two companions. Abu Bakar got really really nervous, but the Prophet had so much faith in God, he reminded Abu Bakar..."Be not afraid, God is with us"

Once the path was clear, the two companions made their way safely to their new homeland, Medina, and was welcomed with open arms and peace!

Tis is no legend or make-up feel good story, it happened in history and we, followers of his teachings or not, can learn a thing or two abt God, the Prophet and some morals that comes with the event.

Hijrah teaches us abt the will of God (He creates Miracles, and He determines everything), and that whoever is fighting or struggling to uphold his faith in God, will beget help and mercy from his Lord. If God did not create miracles for His beloved Prophet, Muhammad saw would have died wayyy sooner. Hijrah also teaches us not lose our heads or freak out in times of troubles, instead we have to remain strong and think positively and pray to God for His help. It also teaches us that somehow, movin away from a current state is good. Look at how Islam flourish in Medina after the Hijrah(emmms read up abt it sometime)...Subhanallah.

So here we are, enterin 1427...i hope we will have a lil hijrah ourselves in one way or another. May our iman(faiths) in God be strengthened, may the Nur(light) of Islam shines brightly to guide us all in the right path, may we all be a more responsible, peace-lovin, successful & excellent practisin Muslim, contributin to the society and the World! Insya Allah!! Blessed u be, brothers and sisters! Allahu Akbar!!

Happy Awal Muharram!

 

Finally Yalla yalla!

Allo Ladies!

Finally finally...i am glad to announce LET's BELLYDANCE to FITNESS y'all!

Thank u to those who have asked and asked if i would be conducting any lessons soon. I can finally say "Yes i am"!!

A couple of u have inspired me to revamp my teaching method, for tis upcomin class, i will not solely focus on teaching u basic bellydance techniques, but to incorporate bellydance moves into a fun work-out session. I hope that through the lessons, we can motivate each other to be Warrior Goddesses! To get Fitter as well as discover and bring out the Sensuality that is within ourselves!

Here are the details for the class

Class commences: Every Sunday, 19th Febuary (6 sessions)

Time: 3pm-4pm

Location: Dance on Us Studio at Claymore Point

(Click here for location)

Class size: 6-10 students only

Fees: $60

NOTE: Registration closes on 31st January 2006

 

Please let me know ASAP if u r interested to join me alrite (u can PM me or call me). I can only take a small group at the moment. Lookin forward to hear from u! 

 

 

Slam Dunk the Funk, Wat Tough Love

"kalau gitu ngan babi, tak was-was babi boleh makan.
serupa tak bererti sama, no lard dosen't mean HALAL.
kalau semudah kita boleh buat kesimpulan seperti ini,
jabatan MUIS boleh scrap.
so next time jika kita ada persoalan mengenai was2 atau HALAL, HARAM,
tak payah look jauh2, "firestarlet" boleh menjawapnya.
apa2 beliau boleh tanggung dosa.


sori for not using any senses. it just come from the bottom of my heart."

"so if u don't like tis kind of sarcasm better to watch out the language.
persoalan halal haram dan lain2 mengenai agama jgn dipermudahkan atau ambil sambil lewa.
kalau anda tidak menghormati agama seseorang, ada patut orang lain menghormati anda.
ini hanya satu teguran di dunia semasa kita masih disayangi. kalau mati esok kena tegur ngan Munkar dan Nangkir dah tak beguna"

"well bang alot can talk abt hadith sunnah dan lain2.
cakap tak mempraktikan, sama seperti irama dan lagu dipisahkan.
lahir sebagai Islam tak semestinya seseorang itu Muslim.
sebab itu saya rasa lebih prihatin jika agama saya tidak di pekecil2kan atau diperolok2kan.
perkataan saya memang pedas tapi sekurangnya saya berani menyuarakannya.
cuba tolong jgn permudahkan atau memperkata soal2an agama jika kita tidak pasti."

 

initially i wanted to blog in abt my trip to Mustafa Centre wif my mum today, but upon discoverin the above in one of my contact's journal, to which I WAS THE CAUSE of such harsh words & sarcasm, my heart wilted. seems like i potrayed myself as a smart-alec and take-religion-lightly kinda person...next time, i must really watch wat i say before suggestin anythin dubious or outrageous. 

sepandai-pandai tupai meloncat, jatuh juga ia ke tanah...

 

Epok-epok....Goreng Pisang....

It's been rainin the WHOLE day! In fact almost tis whole week of January felt like December.

Curry Puffs & Banana Fritters Hot hot, please!!!

*wish that they were sold door-to-door like loooong time ago*

R.E.M.I.N.I.S.C.E

Hopin & Wishin

it's not a malignant tumour that resided inside her.

pls God, let it not occur again and tell me not it's a cancerous situation.

be gone cyst, tumour watever...

heal & get well Mother

 

P.S. Thank u Dee...guess i must learn to listen more to my instincts. U drive me, no words of gratitude can say what i felt for ur help. *smiles* 

Not Meant to Be

Supposed to be a dinner for Hafi but she had to rush off to attend to a friend in distress. So it became a dinner without a cause which turned out to be a pretty fun makan session. So all is not lost. yeay!

Her Engagement

30th Dec 05: Gotten news that Kak Ekin will be having her solo photograph session on Saturday but there isn't anyone who can do her make-up. So cuzzin Sitz was roped in last minute, and after our Dessert Session@NYDC, we slept over at Kak Ekin's & Liz's place. Kak Ekin looked sleepy but we had fun experimentin colours on her face and Sitz made a total disaster with her brows! hee...actually not, after some practise, she looked real good. After that, watched Amelie till 4am and i found myself tossin & turnin on Liz's bed

31st Dec 05: I woke up the earliest, by 6.45am i was out in the living room, watchin tv. I "travelled" to India, Medan & Russia before i went off to dreamland at abt 7.30am. Woke up at abt 10am then off we went to Pasar Geylang. I was pretty inappropriately attired to market...Jeans & Shoes..Yikes! I ended up foldin up my jeans and for once, don a Minah style so that it won't smell fishy afterwards. ahaha! For so many years in my life, i have not stepped into a market...so it's like a new experience for me, my aunt was like leadin an excursion. I learnt what is Daun Turi & Ulam Raja & i got myself yummy Chendol & jackfruit! My aunt bought for Sitz a skirt! No fair! Marketing is no child's play ok, the load we had to carry...Foooh...bananas, noodles, chicken, longan etc..Hmmm weight liftin session in the sun is quite an experience! We had to go straight to the kitchen after that, my nephew and i deshelved(is tis the spellin??) prawns, Sitz handled the chicken & ewww my hands stink! Sitz failed her frying chicken session!! Wahahaha, guess u r better at dollin kak Ekin up! Well well, gotta practise more ah! So after our kitchen work, we take a look at kak Ekin, she was made up by another cuzzin but cuzzin Sitz touched up & modified the make up abit and she looked camera ready. My role here is to help her don the headgear...very elegant in white & gold. So tis day, she was really the star but she KAKU lerr! haha...needed much teasing before she warmed up. left me worn out at the end of the day.

01 Jan 06: Started the day wrappin up pressies for Hafi & Missy Liz. Met Rafeeqah at abt 1 to go over to Hafi's lunch invitation. had good food there and catch up with the Minah kacang yg bertudung (for once). Realised that Hafi's extended family is pretty small & her grandad was really hyped abt World War 2 cos at that time, there was tis show called Embun depicting war time. After that, headed to my cuzzin's engagement. First, i was the flower girl, givin out "bunga rampai" to the guy's side, then the cuzzins had to take over the kitchen and help out in packin food for guests to bring home. Another 1st kitchen experience and it was noisy, hot & fun! but the moment the aunties entered the kitchen, ooooo everyone rushed out and no one returned to the kitchen! Hahhaa..ended up posin for pics and do wat we do best, chit chat & catch up with one another. Aunties kept hinting that i'm next in line...but hmmm, i juz told them....wait long long! haha!

Overall it was a joyous occassion with enrichin experience.

Congrats kak Ekin...we'll see u on the Dais soon!

Hip Hop HooRay!

4 sessions flew by so quickly!
although it wasn't enuff to make us slick & groovy but nevertheless, it had been sweaty good fun! Thank u for the Company gurls, hope u had fun too :)