appreciate what we do have

(via weheartit)

but sometimes we have to let go to appreciate what there is to hold on to.

Allah is the best of planners; continued

so, for my dear readers who happen to stumble upon yesterday's entry would know that my day yesterday ended off on an awesome note. alhamdulillah. :)

what started off as an oh-so-emotional day (no surprises there, november is a melancholic month for me), ended with dearest cuzzie, Nadiah asking me to tag along to her ustaz's class.

it all started with her sending me an image of Barney Stinson (shall not elaborate on him today.. if you watch himym you should know.. shall not elaborate on himym also.. see, i always digress on nonsense things like this) & how he is getting more awesome despite everything else.

and then me replying to her on how emotional i am at that point of time because of something not-so-important but at the same time not-really-that-irrational (to me). am very thankful she understands this nonsensical emotional roller-coaster ride that i have at times. *hugs*

to cut the story short, the watsapp conversation ended with her asking me to join her for class @ al-falah after maghrib. and i agreed since i have nothing on at night & the class sounds interesting -- "The 10 Promised Paradise."

the moment i stepped into the class, the first thing that struck me was why were there so many Chinese people in this class. somehow it did not strike my mind at that point of time that Muslim converts comes from all races.
(this is what happens when you always go to classes full of makciks & pakciks.. 
you start to think that orang Islam = orang Melayu.. hahahahahaha)

so yes, i was in awe really to be surrounded by these converts. honestly, i would love to know each & every one of their story. what made them convert to Islam? how did they find Islam? was it challenging being a non-Malay Muslim? etc etc etc. you get my drift.

so these questions were just playing at the back of my head as i listened to the ustaz's presentation. my full concentration was on him, until someone diagonally behind me said something & i swiveled my head to look at that direction & noticed a guy with his whole left arm covered with tattoos (!)

and at that exact moment, pride & awe overcame me. this guy, with an arm full of tattoos (!) is attending this class!

(ermmm, you can say that i was a bit jakun la actually.. as i said my class always full of makciks & pakciks hence to get such a vibrant class is a bit overwhelming i might say.. hehehe)

so yes, once i got over myself, i managed to continue listening to ustaz's presentation.. he presents in English by the way, but of course. and this was the other (little) problem i had as i am very much used to other ustaz presenting in either Malay or Bahasa Indonesia.. i literally had to translate (in my head of course) some of the things he was saying to the Malay language.. hahaha..  
very kental i know!!!

like for example, caliphates = khalifahs, shroud = kain kafan, and then there's forbearance, magnanimity, emoluments & well, you get the idea.. hehe.. maklumlah, cikgu Melayu.. ;p

so yes, all in all it was really an awesome experience to say the least. :)

and something happened too (right after cuzzie asked me along) which made her said,

"alhamdulillah, see better things happen when we decide to do good things for ourselves :D"

so to you, i wanna thank you too for making my day with that sweet (but cheeky) message of yours. good luck with the making of the video montage. i miss you today.
(and who this person is? that, i shall not say, for now. hehe.)

to end this off, again i reiterate.. Allah IS indeed the BEST of all planners. :))

Allah is the best of planners

(via thesunalwayssets)

sometimes, we just need something to happen to be reminded of God's grand scheme of things.
After all, He is the best of planners. (Surah Al-e'Imran, Ayat 54)

like for me, today happened.

and i'm still delirious from the awesomeness of it all. syukur alhamdulillah. :))

story will have to wait till tomorrow.
for now, this lady needs her sleep.

toodles everyone!

Friday prayers in Kazakhstan

(via lordsfavors)

i sooo cannot imagine praying in such cold, freezing weather.

brrrr..

 #gratitudefriday

gratitude towards Allah

"Allah’s generosity is connected to gratitude, and gratitude is linked to increase in his generosity. The generosity of Allah will not stop increasing unless the gratitude of the servant ceases."

- Ali Bin Abi Talib (R.A.) -

(via thebeautyofislam)

Ramadhan 1432H post #5

Let's be thankful today that we can fast without having to hide it from anyone.

Because some people don't have it that easy.

-----

"Even though my family knows I converted to Islam I am still hiding my fasting. Alhamdulillah! I’ve fasted every day so far without them knowing!

Working makes it super easy to keep from breaking my fast. I make my “lunch” the night before and I eat that for suhoor the next morning. Then I take the empty containers with me to work so that when I get picked up for work it looks like I ate my lunch at work. Our family usually eats super late so its not hard to make iftar on time. I offer to cook dinner a lot this month too.

Sundays are going to be more difficult because my family usually likes to cook something special and eat it pretty early in the day. At least earlier than we do on non “special” days. Its special because its church day. Anyways this Sunday my prayers were answered and it was made easy! We didn’t go to church because my mom had a really bad toothache and didn’t get any sleep the night before. Alhamdulillah I appreciate any break from church I can get. So I didn’t eat at all and around 4 my sister started talking about dinner so I talked her into watching her favorite movie with me. That killed two hours. I stalled the last two hours by “helping” her cook dinner. Or basically taking a one hour job and dragging it out to a 2 hour job.

Alhamdulillah please make dua’a that the next 3 weeks can be as easy as this week was, insha’Allah."

I <3 Ramadan :]

 

(via perica786)

panjatkanlah syukurmu kepadaNya

Rasul Allah (SAW) said: “Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every affair of his, and this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a believer: For if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks (Allah), thus there is good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shows resignation (enduring it patiently), there is good for him in it.” 

[HR Muslim]

A Muslim is thus truly blessed, regardless of the circumstances of his/her life. A non-Muslim considers himself fortunate only if he is healthy, wealthy, happy and more.
But a Muslim is lucky all the time.

This is because he/she is accruing reward for Jannah whether they are healthy or terminally ill, prosperous or needy, relaxing in palaces or rotting in jails. This is indeed a unique favour of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) to his pious servants. Just remember and turn to Allah always.

(via islamicthinking)

a teacher's life

wow, it has been a while hasn't it since my last update.. hehe.

well, many things have been happening definitely. some good, some not so good, but mostly good. alhamdulillah. :)

had my 1st-hand teaching of the 1 Express students earlier today & alhamdulillah it went well despite the fact that i mis-judged the time & ended 10 mins earlier.. haha.. but thank god, i know how to membebel until the 10 mins was up.. LOL!

school has been great, colleagues so far so good, some colleagues are really god-sent. :) 

students are adorable really, not the cute kind of adorable but very baik & smart adorable.. i'm loving them already.. or maybe i should not speak too soon.. hehe..

all in all, i'm just really really very grateful for everything that has been happening..

may Allah continue to bestow good things upon me.. and if He wishes to test me, may i be given the strength to overcome it with patience.. may WE ALL be given the strength & patience to go through anything that is thrown in our way.. insya-Allah.. amin..

have a good week ahead everyone! :)

never forget your thanks

"Be thankful to God

because though you never had everything

at least you never had nothing."

(via leilockheart)

very true.

at least you never had nothing.

ALWAYS be thankful.

alhamdulillah. :)