Two decades and six years.

I remember Egypt. I was there in 2010 with my sister. Historical place. Kind people. Interesting culture. If there is one word to describe my trip to Egypt, it would be a real BLESSING. I was there at the time of President Mubarak. And what is happening in Egypt right now is just plain heart-breaking :'( May Allah give President Morsi of Egypt the strength, courage and patience to go through these tough times. May Allah protect the righteous and innocence people in the country. May Allah give them victory. Allahumma Aamiin.

On a different note, I officially turned two decades and six years old on July 6th. My baby sister is twelve today. Alhamdulillah thumma Alhamdulillah. Thank You Allah for Your Entire Blessings. You have given me so much. You have never failed me. Regardless of the countless times I fall, Your Mercy still remains. You, the One who was there for me when everything and everyone else deserted me. You, the Only One who truly understands me. I am where I am today because of You. All that I was, all that I am, and all that I will ever be, is from You.

I hope and pray that my heart will always want to be close to You. I hope and pray that I will never give up on You. I hope and pray that I will do what I do for Your Sake and Only Your sake alone.

One fine evening in Egypt in June 2010. We were on top of a Jabal (mountain) overlooking a stunning view of the city. 

Until next time, insyaAllah. Assalamualaikum.

xxoo

"What is taken by Allah is NEVER lost" - Yasmin Mogahed

Today is the 3rd of Muharram 1433. Alhamdullilah, another year, another opportunity to be a better slave of Allah. Marhaban 1433! A lot has been going on. A real lot. Something very special and precious was stolen from me. I wasn't home when it was stolen. It happened during one of the weekdays. I remember exactly the date and day when it happened - Tuesday, November 8th. A day after Aidiladha celebration. How can I forget...

After work, I had pizzas with the cousins after which I went to Jame mosque for maghreb prayer. There was a few number of miss calls and a text message from mama. I was worried. In my mind, she must had something important to tell. Otherwise, she wouldn't call me again and again. Oh, I forgot. Earlier that day, I received a wall post from adik. She posted a sad face :( on my wall. I was worried. I had no idea what was that about. So when I received a few number of miss calls from mama, I thought something happen to adik. I gave mama a call. I remember she asked where I was. Then she told about my stolen stuff and about what happened to our home. I also remember she said something, "Redha kan saja". I was okay at first but slowly tears fell down my cheeks. I cried. I couldn't help it. I remember telling myself to calm down.

12th September 2007 - 8th November 2011. I had it for quite a long time. Had it with me for all the years while I was in university. Blessed, alhamdullilah. Allah knows what is best for me and enough is Allah for me. I know and I believe with all my heart that whatever had happened or will happen is all good for me. Allah is the One who created me from nothing to something. Allah is the One who loves me best like no others. Allah is the One who gives me everything that I need. He is the One who is the Most Kind, the Most Loving, the Most Merciful. He does not take anything away from me except that He meant something good for me. He does not take anything away from me to see me suffer or in pain. He only does what He does to help me, to give me the opportunity to be near to Him so that in my heart there will only be Him :)

It was saddening at first. When I tried to digest the information, and to learn of the fact that it was gone... just like that. That was saddening. But when I remember that everything will be gone eventually; all will diminish; not a single thing will last, my heart was at peace again even though there was still a few drop of tears flowing down my cheeks. Alhamdullilah thumma alhamdullilah. Thank You Allah for everything. Everything :)

"No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that" - Prophet Muhammad S.A.W (reported in Bukhari)

"Don't be sad if He separates you from something/someone you love. If only we knew about His plans, our hearts would melt with the warmth of His love" - Unknown

Until next time, insyaAllah. Good night. Salaams xx

A light in the dark

Just when I thought I had a bad start to my day. My nasi was almost hangus (not because I don't know how to cook nasi but because I forgot to check on it while I was outside). And then my supposed to be half-boiled egg for breakfast didn't turn out to be the way I wanted it to be. It turned out to be fully boiled instead. So instead of having half-boiled, I had fully-boiled egg for breakfast. And I thought to myself while peeling the egg shell, "baru jua pagi..."

And then my phone rang. The screen showed number I'm not familiar with. Answered the phone and boy, I was speechless after I hung up. I can't describe in words what I was feeling right then. I was happy, scared, thankful, nervous, excited at the same time. It all mixed up together. It was like when I saw a person who I had a crush on. That feeling of seeing that one person you like and you then would get all cold and hot inside. It was like that.

Despite the mixed feeling, praises be to the One Who is The Most High, The Most Powerful. He makes the Most of Excellent Decisions. Whatever it is that He has given me or will give me, I believe it is for my best.

Salaams xxx

PS: You know that phrase "good things come to people who patiently wait", well guess what? It's true. Patient and not giving up are crucial ingredients to success. You need to have both. Not just one. I know sometimes it's just so hard to remain patient and not give up. When things just go all wrong, and there are all too much for you to take. You feeling all hopeless and unworthy. That is when you need to be EXTRA strong, try EXTRA more, and pray EXTRA hard. Just never lose hope. Allah is always there. Always close. Have faith in Him, and smile (:

Strong, we will be

For myself, for Adik. And everyone else.

Do not give up hope when things do not go according to your likings. Do not give up hope when things get low. Remember that as human, we can only plan what we want to do and what we want to achieve. In the end of the day, His plans will overpower us, always. Manusia merancang, Allah SWT mentadbir.

Dear broken hearts, take the words of Allah SWT as a source of motivation. There are no words that are more comforting to the hearts but His words. And His words and promises are true.

"Allah TIDAK membebani seseorang melainkan sesuai dengan kesanggupannya..." 2:286

"Dan Kami TIDAK membebani seseorang melainkan menurut kesanggupannya, dan pada Kami ada suatu catatan yang menuturkan dengan sebenarnya, dan mereka TIDAK dizalimi (dirugikan)" 23:63

"Hendaklah orang yang mempunyai keluasan memberi nafkah menurut kemampuannya, dan orang yang terbatas rezekinya, hendaklah memberi nafkah dari harta yang diberikan Allah kepadanya. Allah TIDAK membebani seseorang melainkan (sesuai) dengan apa yang diberikan Allah kepadanya. Allah kelak akan memberikan kelapangan setelah kesempitan" 65:7

SubhanAllah. Three verses in the Al-Quran saying "Allah tidak akan membebani manusia melainkan sesuai dengan kesanggupannya." He knows we will question stuffs. He knows we will be wondering why such and such things happen to us. He knows it all. To help us calm down, He tells us that whatever it is that we are facing, it is not something that we cannot handle. He only gives us something because He knows we are capable of managing it. See how much love He has for you and me?

"Maka sesungguhnya bersama kesulitan ada kemudahan, sesungguhnya bersama kesulitan ada kemudahan. Maka apabila engkau telah selesai (dari satu urusan), tetaplah bekerja keras (untuk urusan yang lain), dan hanya kepada Tuhan mu lah engkau berharap" 94:5-8

MasyaAllah. Allah janjikan kemudahan selepas kesulitan. He mentioned this in surah 65. He mentioned it again twice in surah 94. Janji manusia berubah-ubah. Tapi janji Allah atu pasti. Kemudahan selepas kesulitan, insyaAllah. When we are finished with one thing, go on to the next. Don't be discouraged when the first one didn't go according to our likings. Just be sure that we try even harder for the next one. We give it our very best. And then enough is Allah SWT for us to put our hopes on. Whatever it is, janganlah layan sangat the sedih feeling. Janganlah give up. Jadikan janji-janji Allah sebagai pembakar semangat untuk terus tabah, terus go forward.

"Tidak ada suatu musibah yang menimpa (seseorang), kecuali dengan izin Allah; dan barang siapa beriman kepada Allah, niscaya Allah akan memberi petunjuk kepada hatinya. Dan Allah Maha Mengetahui segala sesuatu" 64:11

Allahuakbar. Allah SWT is the Most Loving. He even tells that He will show you the way! Provided that you are faithful to Him. Apa lagi? Strive hard to be a good slave of Allah. Mesti mesti mesti cuba! Kalau mau Allah SWT tolong, tolong diri kitani sendiri dulu. Tolong diri kitani sendiri untuk jadi sebaik-baik hamba kepada Nya.

"Dan kehidupan dunia ini hanya senda gurau dan permainan. Dan sesungguhnya negeri akhirat itulah kehidupan yang sebenarnya, sekiranya mereka mengetahui" 29:64

Does it worth it crying your hearts out, feeling all down because of this world when it is only a senda gurau and permainan? It is not the end of anything if you do not get what you want IN THIS WORLD. Do not ever feel like you are losing just because you do not get what you think you deserve or what you want IN THIS WORLD. This world is just a temporary place. Do not let it rules over your soul, your heart. You SHOULD be worried if you are not preparing to win for the life in the Hereafter. And even if you are losing (after you do your best) then that is still okay. You do not lose anything if you are doing it for the sake of Allah SWT. Allah SWT will give you reward for every sweat, every pain that you go through in order to please Him, insyaAllah. People may not appreciate what you did. They may not see or know how hard you tried. But remember that Allah SWT is the Most Appreciative and He knows and sees everything. And cukuplah Allah SWT for us kan? :)

Wallahu'alam.

Let's face the trials and tribulations in this life with Allah SWT words always on our minds, in our hearts. Let's face them with a strong heart. Salaams.