Faith, Friendship, Family & Fun! "HaPPy NeW YeaR!"

Our five boys are here in Dubai. Last night we were all on-line, each on his/her own laptop and in conference chat with Angah in Dublin. Shirin happened to be on-line as well and was invited to join in....hehehehe. I hope she enjoyed having a peep into a corner of Idham's clan....

Yesterday was a lovely and an activity packed day. We had a breakfast invitation along with ten other families. Included in the menu were nasik lemak and laksa penang ....really brought us home to Malaysia!. Thanking our breakfast host and his family....
The breakfast was followed by a Friday morning Usrah by an uztaz. He spoke about 'keimanan'.....and shared his personal experience of being tested in his career. A few, including me shed silent tears.
Lunch was at another friend's house. Again, we were brought home to Malaysia with a delicious offering of sea-food tomyam and ikan masin dan sambal belacan with tempoyak! Thanking our lunch host and his family....
I am repeating....but, the Malaysian coommunity here in Dubai is just wonderful. Close, unpretentious, and really founded on basics.....Faith, Friendship, Family, Fun! And I am enjoying myself....

In running up to the new year, I sent out a survey to my six children - An advantage of having many children is I can do survey ad-hoc and be assured of good returns from my respondents!Hehehe ....asked them six questions and requested them to respond spontaneously. All six replied - and without any bibery too. Phewwwww.....what a sport! I get interesting insights....indeed. The survey was done in the spirit of - Family & Fun- !

The questions I asked were....
1. Apa yang paling menyeronokkan ?
2. Apa yang paling membosankan?
3. Apa yang paling merisaukan?
4. Apakah yang menjadi kenangan paling manis? / Pahit?
5. Apakah cita2 dan kenapa memilih itu sebagai cita2?
6. apakah barang kepunyaan sendiri yang paling bernilai / di sayangi?

Some observations were --Angah was the first to reply. Luqman asked me to translate the questions into English. Ermm, he didn't understand my BM questions. Look like more BM lessons at home is required. All have some humour in them...which was not really a surprise.

Here are their responces. I won't be saying which answers belong to which of my children.

Respondent #1.

1. Apa yang paling menyeronokkan ?
**main game,holiday ngan family.
2. Apa yang paling membosankan?
**sesuatu yang ingin dilakukan terpaksa batal atau tangguh
3. Apa yang paling merisaukan?
**bila result exam nak keluar..hehe
4. Apakah yang menjadi kenangan paling manis? / Pahit?
**kenangan pahit hampir lemas dkt water park sunway lagoon.haha..
**kenangan manis?macam banyak je.tak tau nak cakap cane.
5. Apakah cita2 dan kenapa memilih itu sebagai cita2?
**(deleted to protect identity) ...sebab?um,minat dan boley jadi lagi kaya dari doktor.bley terima ke?huhu
6. apakah barang kepunyaan sendiri yang paling bernilai / di sayangi?
**um,macam bnyak jer,first skali handset,pastu beg duit.hehe..

Respondent #2

1. Apa yang paling menyeronokkan ?
owh yg paleng menyeronokkan dapat makan mak masak!!! maken bulatlah diri hamba~hahahahaha
2. Apa yang paling membosankan?
lihat beatle tidak di bawa ronda-ronda..lesen takde..uwarrggh!!!
3. Apa yang paling merisaukan? Keje ooo keje di mana keje...
4. Apakah yang menjadi kenangan paling manis? / Pahit?
kenangan manis?muwahahah dpt dinner kat burj al arab...sure yg lain2 jeles..lawa wooo dalam tu..
5. Apakah cita2 dan kenapa memilih itu sebagai cita2?
Dulu ingat nak jadi pilot tapi sbb rabunkan...sebab jadi pilot nak berkenalan ngan stewardess...hehehehe dpt jalan2
6. apakah barang kepunyaan sendiri yang paling bernilai / di sayangi? oowhh wat masa ni...urmm kepunyaan sendiri tu yg beli ngan duit sendiri ke yg ayah belikan?wat masa ni kalo yg ayah belikan tentulah kelisa kuning ku...muwahahah tu pasal takmo kasi jual =)

Respondent # 3.

1. Apa yang menyoronokkan?
hmm... susah tu... bila ngan kwn2 lah kot, kalau tak pun, bila bual ngan kwn2 online/sms =)
2. Apa yang membosankan?
membosankan... duduk rumah tak tau nak buat ape...
3. Apa yang merisaukan?
masa depan
4. Kenangan manis/ pahit?
manis- masa pindah dari Jeddah... pahit - masa pindah dari Jeddah [it's complicated] hehe
5. Apa cita?
Cite2: entah lah... most probably into science kut, tak pun into computers... strong subjects
6. Apa kepunyaan yang paling bernilai?
laptop ku... beli sendiri tau... kumpul duit lama tuu

Respondent # 4

1. Apa yang paling menyeronokkan ?
hmm...main bola dgn kawan...family...etc =]
2. Apa yang paling membosankan?
membuat survey mcm nie...haha
3. Apa yang paling merisaukan?
bile org tibe2 sakit..
4. Apakah yang menjadi kenangan paling manis? / Pahit?
leaving my friends...
5. Apakah cita2 dan kenapa memilih itu sebagai cita2?
xder cita lagi...xper..awal lagi kan?? :P
6. apakah barang kepunyaan sendiri yang paling bernilai / di sayangi?
phone.... =D..lol...unles friendship counts as an object... =]

Respondent # 5.

1. Apa yang paling menyeronokkan ?
- bersame family lah..(btol ke nie ...hahahaha)
- dpt result yg best..alhamdulillah :D
- kalo dpt keje kat sini..hehehehe
2. Apa yang paling membosankan?
- bile xde ape nak buat..kan bosan tuh..hahahaha
3. Apa yang paling merisaukan?
- camne lah nak jaga anak2 nanti yer..memandangkan keadaan sosial skang..hahahaha (berpandangan jauh btol anak ayah ni!!)
- kalo x dpt result yg best..huhuhuhu
4. Apakah yang menjadi kenangan paling manis? / Pahit?
- g holiday ngan fmly..amik gambar bebanyak..hahahaha
- yg pahit rahsia lah..hahahaha
5. Apakah cita2 dan kenapa memilih itu sebagai cita2?
- cita2??hmmm ( deleted to protect privacy of respondent ) semestinya menjadi berjaya..
- ingat nak ade bisnes sendri..tapi ayah bagi modal bleh??hahahahaha
6. apakah barang kepunyaan sendiri yang paling bernilai / di sayangi?
- ade ker?anak ayah ni buka pencermat orgnye..nanti xleh dpt brg baru...hahahahaha..


And here is from LuqMan....

1. What makes u happy?
my parents
2. what makes u bored?
my brother!
3. what make u worry?
all cars out of gas
4. what are ur sweet memories / sad memories?
sleeping together and laughing\when i got sick
5. when u finish studying - what do u want to be?
exercise-a police or auther
6. what things u have do u like the most?
computer,parents

In summary,
- Everyone of my children finds happiness from being with people they love. People rather than PS2 makes them happy - which is a wonderful thing!
- Spending time having holiday together featured highly as a source of happiness and sweet memories. This knowledge encourages me to save more for future holidays - before they all fly out of my nest!
- What bore them is 'inactivity'. This is just great!
- They are so forward looking, and worry about exams result, getting a good job, and their future! Ain't that too is simply good to hear. My young Luqman is worried if our cars are out of gas....I could only relate this to how often I have driven to near empty tank - and made everyone anxious whether we can get to the next petrol station. Ok....ayah will modify behaviour here!

- On the question of ambition, they are free to choose what they love to pursue. From their current interest, it looks like we will have enough skills to form a corporation! InsyAAllah...
- Computers are treasured possessions! It is heart warming to see one of them says he treasure friendship. And so sweet of Luqman to say, he want to treasure his parents! hehehe....Thank you boys and Angah for responding to the survey. Now it is your turn to ask ayah six questions each - which ayah will answer and post as an entry too. Cool??!!


"Those who rely on others for happiness are often saddened by things imagined, and those who search for happiness from within will find one so everlasting....May God bless you!"
-no one's quote. I just made it up.

Benazir!

"Benazir Bhutto - misses you!"
Amran received the sms, and smiled a wicked smile. He looked behind and around him to make sure no one was watching. He plucked the single red rose from the front garden of Mrs Grey and quickly hid it under his heavy overcoat. He quickened his steps towards the end house along the Radford road. The door was opened at the instant he rang the bell.
As soon as the door was opened he darted inside.
"I have this for you!" He passed the red rose to the girl he fondly called Jie.
Norjiehan was a Malaysian but looks Pakistani. Norjiehan was indeed a beautiful lady!Her oval face, silky smooth fair skin, an ever ready smile worn on her luscious lips, and a pair of eyes....full of twinkles under those long lashes! She would swear that both her parents were pure Malays, and got frustrated every time Amran mocked that she was adopted from Afghanistan. Both Amran and Norjiehan were students in the Midland of England. During winter they would build snowmen together, and walk in the open fields looking for daffodils in the springs. The meadows of the Midlnd have been their play-ground. He was an ardent photographer, and she a willing and beautiful model. Photography was a passion for him, a subject he was studying in the University. Modelling was never in her ambition, but for him.....she would pose to his commands. Their love story never got off the ground. From casual flirting to serious attempts from Amran, they just could not transcend the level of being platonic friends. In fact very close platonic friends. Jie's feeling towards Amran was that of a twin sister to her twin brother. If he was down, she felt the pain and when he was happy she was the one who was ecstatic. The reverse was also true. Amran treated Jie as his own sister - often attempted to hug her as a brother would for a sister, but always got pushed away politely by Jie. For all of her modern and liberal views, Jie was always strict when it came to matters of 'what was right and what was wrong'. And to her - holding and touching between a man and a woman were for married people.

"Benazir wants you to buy her a Fish & Chip with salt and vinegar!"
He received the above sms when he was actually stuck in extra long queue at the Tesco supermarket due to power failure and the teller machine failed to work. It was just the excuse he needed to give up the long queue. He rushed off to buy two take away Fish n Chips and cycled quickly towards Jie's house. When she opened the door, there were tears in her eyes.
"What happened?" Amran asked, curious and concerned.
"My dad is very sick, just got a call from my mom. What do you think I should do?"
"Buy a ticket and go home. You only have one dad!"
"You think I should?" She wanted reassurance.
"Yes". Amran was brief and sure.

Norjiehan took a flight to KL the day after. She only carried a hand luggage as her intention was to return to the UK in a weeks time - in time to prepare for her final exams. But as fate had it, she never returned. Her dad died the same day he arrived and she stayed back to keep her mom company. From a plan to stay for one month, she changed it to two and then extended until the next semester.....and when she fell in love with a business man who swept her off her feet she forgo her education for matrimonial bliss. They were married within three months of knowing each other. Amran bought tickets to fly back for the wedding, but accidents happened at the most inconvenient time. He was knocked off his bike by a motorist and was hospitalized with a leg and a few ribs broken. He called to congratulate her on her wedding day. "Now I supposed I won't be getting anymore sms from my Benazir Bhutto!" he teased.
"I supposed so....Benazir has been sent to an exile!" She said of herself - but also speaking the truth of reality. It was the year when Benazir left Pakistan under a self-imposed political exile. Amran stayed on in England pursuing his PhD in fine arts. Despite many suitors, he decidedly remained single.

Tonight, Amran was walking down the avenue towards the University Library when he received an unexpected sms from Jie.
"Benazir - shot dead!"
He smiled and paused under a lamp post to punched in his reply.
"That is funny.....what a way to say hello from a lost twin!" He pressed the send button and smiled happily. His face flushed with warm thoughts of Jie. Just the knowledge that she was thinking of him brought some nice flutters to his heart.
Another sms came in.
"Noooooooooo!!! The BENAZIR is DEAD! pls see the news...but yes, HELLO stranger!"

Amran wanted to call but decided against it. He instead went into a nearby cafe....to get a peek of the latest news. There were already small groups of Pakistanis huddling and visibly in deep and passionate conversations.
Amran briefly stopped at the cafe entrance, and as he listened to the news flash he silently offered a prayer and recited the Al Fatihah for Benazir, a Muslim leader who has given her life for her political conviction. But Amran did not stay long, he walked on to the library without stopping. His mind was not on the death of the Benazir - but he was sufficiently distracted by another Benazir - one very much alive and very much missed!

-The above short story was written from idham's imagination.

Sacrifice?

Haziq and Luqman - doing the floss!
guests young and old - happy a jolly time.
photographer's family + yatie & daughter
what a get together! TQ Matt and Yatie!

Eid - where do I go from here?

Eid Al Adha is about Hajj and about Sacrifices. We know of one husband and wife couple who went to perform their Hajj. The husband's parents came from Malaysia to look after their grandchildren! In my view a sacrifice on their part.....

Another husband and wife friends of ours Mr FND were also in Mecca performing their Hajj. Their children were looked after by Mr F's family. May mr FND and wife get Hajj Mabroor, and may Mr F and family receive blessings from God for their help.

Sacrifices? Some do so knowingly while others doesn't even know they were doing some great sacrifices - But God is all knowing!

I have a school friend who was paralyzed from his waist down after he was hit by a fallen tree during a thunderstorm. That was eight years ago! His wife has been by his side, and at the same time turned into a lone bread winner for the family. She transformed into being a mom, a wife, a nurse, a chauffeur, and an ever present soul-mate all at the same time.....Her sacrifices are of the highest order! But mention the word sacrifice to her, she will shrug it off with a smile and words of love beyond measure, "It is his sacrifice for all of us, being stuck to his wheel chair while trying all the time to keep us happy".

Sacrifice? The meaning of 'Korban' and the spirit of it goes beyond paying some amount of money to slaughter a goat. To sacrifice is to give the best part, to give up the thing we value the most and to do so solely to get God's approval and blessings. In this material world of today, a 400 ringgit is of no consequence to many people - but time is! Therefore we have seen many well to do people who easily pay money to participate in ''Korban" but only to elect a representative to be there on his/her behalf because he/she was too busy with something else which he/she was unwilling to sacrifice! I salute those people who due to scarcity of resources, willingly and sincerely sacrifices their time, their effort, and some even their pride in order to please God.....

Sacrifice? Victorious are people who are able to sacrifice their whims and fancies in favour of His acceptance. Glorious are those who are able to sacrifice his own needs and desires to please people they love. I know of one lady, a well known and successful person in her own right. She was a regular to a TV network with her motivational programme. In pursuit of spiritual excellence - after her marriage failed, she gave up every worldly things and moved to Mecca. What did she sacrifice? In the eyes of people like myself who is a mere observer, she has sacrificed everything, even being away from her own parents and children in order to pursue a higher order love - and that is her Love for Him.

I reflect long and hard - on this fourth day of Eid. Sacrifice? I will start with sacrificing something from within my list of desires, whims and fancies......ermm.....it is not going to be easy to give up blogging, or chatting, day dreaming about a Porsche, a Range Rover, a twenty million dollar villa some of these naughty list things on my mind.

To Haji FND and Hajjah, Haji Faizal and wife - Welcome back! You too have sacrificed in search of His blessings.....

Di sini, ada satu kisah benar 'korban'.

Matt - dan ayam percik!

Bismillah......makan nasi kerabu!

Juadah terhidang!

Sembang-sembang selepas lunch.

Gambar2 lunch at Yatie's and Matt's - Eid hari ke empat.

Wishing everyone a Happy Eid Al Adha!

HARI RAYA KETIGA

Morning - we were in a festive mood so this morning we went to the Emirates Mall to buy present for each other. It was an idea I suggested and taken enthusiastically by everyone. Last night we picked our draw to see who will each of us be buying a present for. Each has a budget of AED150 to spend. At the Emirates Mall everyone went separate ways - and we are supposed to keep the present and who are the receipients as secret until we get home. It was a lot of fun...The gifts shown below were bought by Amirul for LiL, Fariz for Haziq ( Webcam ), I bought shoes and shirts for AD, and Haziq gave toys to Luqman.

Fariz's leather sandals bought by LiL and my Arabic Perfume presented to me by Luqman are not in the picture.

Afternoon - lunch at Izam's house. Then we have a game of football, before going to visit Hasnoal and family and Puan Faridah and Family.

HARI RAYA KE DUA!

Makan Nasik Dagang di rumah Nik for brunch, kemudian ber picnic di rumah Dr Rani di University Sharjah.

Nasik dagang lauk kari ayam dan gulai ikan Aya ( Tongkol ) sungguh enak. Picnic potluck di laman rumah Dr Rani was a very happy occassion for everyone.Later in the evening merima kunjungan Hasnoal dan keluarga.

(Pictures below are courtesy of Nik - from his Nikon camera )

Posing at the entrance of Sharjah University.

Luqman & I - di Laman Rumah Dr Rani.

Above - Rumah Dr Rani touching the clouds.

Below - Picnic and Lunch started. Lots of food and lots of fun.

Luqman and his friends.

Below - Makan makan nasik dagang di rumah Nik. Sungguh sedap hingga menjilat jari!



HARI RAYA PERTAMA

Di pagi Raya Eidil Adha kemeriahan di rumah Haji Fuad (Berjubah putih berkaca mata gelap ), owner of Singapore Deli Restaurent- Kali ini 47 ek0r kambing telah di korbankan. Jalan-jalan Raya ke rumah Kaptain Busri ( Emirates Pilot ).





MALAM RAYA!

Menerima kunjungan Hanif, Zarir, Matt and their families. It was in fact a potluck dinner with a difference - husbands were supposed to cook and gave a treat to wives. Hanif ( with help from wife Marina ) masak Lasagne, Zarir masak spaghetti, Matt bawak desert, and I as host masak oxtail soup and LiL contributed with her sambal udang.

SEHARI SEBELUM RAYA!

LiL was busy in the kicthen cooking rendang ayam, satey and kuah kacang, and also sambal udang. MIL was of course a great hep too. The men of the house took over the kitchen at 4pm to cucuk satey, masak sushi, and also cook the oxtail soup. Even Luqman wanted to get involved, and he helped with potong halia...

I want to wish everyone big and small, young and old, males and females, friends and foes - A wonderful Eid Al Adha – Maaf Zahir Batin!
For those who are being hunted by the lSA brigade, make sure you say your Raya greetings before you all kena cekup!
For Malaysian residing overseas, bersama-sama lah berhari raya di rantau. Dekatkan Sillaratul Rahim dengan berkunjung mengunjungi.

For anak-anak yatim, luang kan masa walaupun sejenak - untuk mengingati ibu bapa kita yang telah pergi terlebih dahulu dari kita. Sedekahkan lah Al Fatihah....
For those affected by flood in my home state of Kelantan and other parts of Malaysia, my prayers and best wishes for a safe return to your normal lives soon. Nasib baik you all di Kelantan ada Tok Guru Nik Aziz tu sebagai Menteri Besar – dapat juga berteduh di rumah beliau dengan selesa. Dia juga sempat jenguk-jenguk you all sebab YB Tok Guru tak la sibuk nak ke overseas untuk meresmikan pembukaan restoren baru di australia sana ka....

For free men and women out there – freedom comes with a price! You determine for yourself, how much you are willing to pay.

Sheikh Haziq

Sheikh Luqman