Bazaar Ramadhan

Ramadhan Kareem!

Alhamdulillah, we had been successfully holding our very first bazaar ramadhan in history. The bazaar was actually to help collecting funds for Aman Palestine Road-show. So, half of the profits gained from the sales will be donated for Aman Palestine. Well, the bazaar was held for two days (last Wed and Sat). The responses from Malaysians, Indonesians, and Singaporeans were very good. Newnham Tce (aka Kampung Melayu Christchurch) looked so happening! Kereta berderet-deret tepi jalan. Macam ada kerja kahwin je... huhuhu...

Among the foods sold in the bazaar were like roti John, mertabak, rangka, caramel pudding, egg tart, kuih muih tradisional, cincau, cendol, etc. Tasted so good! :) I like! hehehe... Tabik pada Yazid. He was the one who tebar roti mertabak. Sampai I minta recipe mertabak daripada co-chef who was Zafran. hahahaha... Not forgotten Raja and Tengkuk who made people smiled after buying their roti John... Sedih sebab tak dapat merasa... :(

3S

Only today I remember that I haven't posted the news about 3S (Sembang-sembang Sisters) in Christchurch. Though it's been a few weeks ago (during sem break), but I still want to tell the story in this blog. Known as 'Usrah Jual Gelang' among sisters in Christchurch, it's gonna take long hours to tell the story on how we got the name, in fact there was a history behind the name. Me and my usrah group had been given a task to make a short movie by acting in a few days before the event. The title of the short movie is 'Nur Taubah' adapted from Malay drama 'Nur Kasih'. In fact, the soundtrack of our short movie was the same one as in the drama. Hehehe... This was all Kak Mun's idea... Anyhow, I'll put up the video of our short movie later on, insyaAllah. Wellaway, all shootings were made only around uni and Ilam Village. It was actually a bit stressful to go for the shooting as I had to finish up my lab report on that weekend. But needed to sacrifice for my usrah group. Alhamdulillah, everything went alright.

Below is a picture of me being one of the speakers at that night talking about Sahabiahs - Siti Khadijah Khuwailid. At first, I got butterflies in my stomach even tho' I know the sisters very well. But it got shrank gradually...

After the talk and movie show finished, we all gave away a present to one of our usrah members (Kak Sakina) who had been just going back to Malaysia for good after finishing her studies to become an ONG specialist. Salute her! She's a good example to all of us here. She never feels bored or enough to study. She's been to the UK, Europe, New Zealand, and now is thinking to land a job in Australia. Cukuplah tu Kak Sakina... Dah lama dah akak kat rantau orang. Tak rindu Malaysia ke....? :P You need to think about getting married now ok, Kak Sakina... Your friend dah nak kahwin dah dengan Malaysian astronaut (Dr. Syeikh Muzaffar) tu...You bila lagi??? :P

The following pic was taken with all of the sisters who came for the event =)

Ramadhan Kareem (See you again)

Alhamdulillah, I was given another chance to see Ramadhan again this year. I was among those who determined the first day of Ramadhan in New Zealand. :) Me and friends went for moonsighting up in Casmere Hills yesterday evening. I went there with Bro Zul, Majied and some other guys. As an actual fact, I was the only girl in Bro Zul's Estima. Bro Zul was the leader of the moonsighting. He taught us on how to determine 'anak bulan'. Quite number of friends went too to the site. At first, we thought we couldn't see the crescent as the cloud was too heavy and it was windy up there, plus dark. As the result of being more patient, ultimately we could see the crescent. But before that, only Nurul said he saw the crescent. Other people couldn't. But after seeing more attentively in the sky, then we could see it. Yeah, it was so small but got a little light below. It was like huruf nun (Jawi) and the one which was lit was the bottom curve of the nun. Very hard to see unless you gave more heed on it. For those who still couldn't see, thank God coz Bro Zul brought along his telescope. But I didn't try to see the crescent through the telescope as I could see it with my bare eyes. Alhamdulillah. Actually, before we got a chance to see anak bulan, we prayed for Maghrib in the cottage we used to see anak bulan. Felt like praying in a cave because the cottage was so cold and dark. A very nice experience! All in all, we had seen anak bulan and that meant tomorrow would be the first day of Ramdhan (which is today) :) After that, we straight away went to the White Pavilion to do solat tarawikh. Tho' not many people were in the pavilion for solat tarawikh, it really felt like in Ramadhan. Alhamdulillah, I could still pray tarawikh. As usual, throughout this Ramadhan, we're gonna have 8-rakaat tarawikh plus 3-rakaat witr and we're also gonna finish the whole 30 juzu' of Quran in this holy month. And we also have tazkirah after each 4-rakaat tarawikh. May Allah give me strength to go through Ramadhan and shower me with lotsa blessings. I really need those things right now. Amen.

Islam Awareness Week

Stressed out + exhausted... That's all I can say.

Monday - Got to be in charged at the booth. Met this one guy when he asked me something about Islam i.e. about God (Allah). I gave him an analogy about one source of energy which is the sun and there are two holes on a roof, where the sun light comes through the holes and we can see two shadows or we think that there are two sources of light, but in reality, there is only one. Same with God. There's only one God, but he creates many things in this world. - Helped friends frying sausages to be sold for Palestine Fund Raising. Hot pies, really! Finished quickly! :) - Amar bought me and friends some sausages. Best! Free sausage! There was a non-Muslim who was very generous to donate $2 for the fund without even getting the sausage in return. Thank you so much! - Wearing purple baju kurung + orange scarf.

Tuesday - Just went to the booth for a few mins, and went back home to do lab report. Found Ryan at his office but he was out. He went to the booth to find me, instead my friend took the vouchers from him. Thank God! But I wished to see him again. - Wearing orange baju kurung + orange scarf (new one).

Wednesday - International Food Festival! Hihihi... Met handsome Ryan! I helped friends selling nasi Briyani, ketupat, kuah kacang, kuih muih, etc... Many people love Malaysian foods! :) Ryan asked me, between nasi briyani and ketupat + kuah kacang, which one was better for him to buy... And I said, compressed rice + nuts gravy, 'course! It's more Malaysian. And he replied, "Yeah, I want to be more Malaysian!" Hahahaha... So funny of you, Ryan! Again, hot pies! Our foods sold quickly! We got loads for Palestine Fund Raising. Non-Muslims are also very generous to donate :) - Distributed flyers for IAW and Food Fair to coursemates. They thanked for that. - Wearing green baju kurung + green-tinge-black scarf.

Thursday - Second day of International Food Fair. Sold nasi minyak, nasi tomato, apam balik, puding pelangi, cucur goreng. Finished quickly too. Whoa, ppl really love Malaysian foods! Malaysia is a food paradise! Proud to be Malaysian! But this time we set up the stall under central library coz it was raining. - I bought apam balik for coursemates. Just wanted 'em to sample Malaysian food. Some of 'em looked at me strangely. Maybe they wondered why was I being too nice? They all said thank you to me after the lecture. - For the first time I ate during a lecture. Felt too rude, actually when the lecturer looked at me, with food full in my mouth. Fortunately, I was sitting the most behind with Calvin and Kimberly. We shared the food together. I even brought along my nasi minyak to the lecture. Sengaja sebenarnya... Nak menunjuk makanan Malaysia. - Along the way to the class with apam balik in my hands, ppl surround me looked strangely at me... Buat tak tahu je... Just smiled.... :) - Catherine asked me in the class, "Wow, yesterday you wore green one, and today, this one. How many clothes do you have?" I said, "I have many." She asked again, "Many?" Then I said, "Yeah, you can borrow it from me if you wanted to try it out." - Had a meeting with a lecturer. In R.Siemon building, June Walter saw me wearing a purple-tinge-grey baju kurung and purple-tinge-maroon scarf. She said " Wow, you look so fabolous! Fuhhh..." She looked at me upside down. And I said, "No...." That was all I could say... Hahhahaha... People like that baju kurung of mine. Everywhere I went to, ppl would look at me. - Katie and Katherine also praised my clothes. Katie said, "Anis, I really love your dress." And Katherine said, "Do you wear this for the event (IAW)?" Yeah, Katherine was right. I offered to 'em "If you guys want to try out this dress, you can simply borrow from me. And yeah, our size is just the same" They all laughed with that answer of mine.

Friday - Met Rory on my way to uni in the morning. Didnt realize it til we reached the zebra crossing in front of Ilam School. So embarrassing since my kain was a bit annoying due to the wind at that time. But he's just too haughty to say hi... That's alright. - I didnt help friends selling kebab, currypuff, noodles, etc. at IAW booth since I was having a drawing test in the afternoon. I just bought a tupperware of noodles for lunch. Too busy to do a last minute revision for the drawing test. - I was being an emcee for Converts' Night. Whoa, so stressful + nervous. I never prepared for it. Only a few mins before the event started, I was busy preparing the Qs for the converts. I just finished my test at 5pm. Very mad at some ppl... Sabar je lah... I did more on impromptu for the night. I think I looked totally dumb and numb for the event. But thankfully, with the help from Allah, at least I could get the words to tell ppl. I didnt realize that I'd made jokes during the interview session. Selamba sangat I ni... Dah lah kena speak in english... Impromptu pulak tu... huh... Only God knows how nervous I was. Really hope Zayid was not there. I actually didnt see him. I only saw his bro, Aunt Jumaiyah, and Unc Jones. - Got another quarrel with Omar. As usual, I shouted at him. I just don't like his idea of tying me to the secretary position. No matter what, I must resign from the position! He thought I like his way!? No way, Omar! - Makan nasi Afghan. Sedap!!! Full tummy. Alhamdulillah. Gaduh pasal siapa nak basuh periuk belanga. Finally, the boys volunteered to wash the big, heavy pans, wokes... Thanks, guys...

I Cry

I don't need a friend.
I just need Allah, my Love.
I also need my parents.

I know, people will never like my pace of life.
Ad nauseum, recluse, eccentric.
That's me.

My friends like laughing, having fun, being happy.
But I like crying, keeping myself home, being blue.
No one included my parents know that I'm a crying 'baby'.
I cry when I'm all alone in my room.
No one to soothe my feelings, but Allah.
Allah sees me, knows what is actually in my heart.
I know it's not that bad to cry.
Allah loves His servants to cry more than laugh.

I am a genuine actress.
I show a happy face outside the room.
But cry inside the room.
I am not crazy.
Cry does not always mean sadness.
Happiness can also make someone crying.
Every drop of tear is a witness of my emotion.

Dah lah...
Jangan asyik menangis je...
Bengkak dah mata tu.
Astaghfirullahal'azim...

I'm proud of being a Malaysian Muslim!

Malaysia today is not the same old Malaysia. It has been going through many steps of evolutions, thus, making it the most respectful developing country in the eyes of the world. It is not merely in an aspect of economics stability, but the success is measured ranging from political stability, Malaysians unity, environmental safety, religions and races sensitivity, educational integrity, as well as international diplomacy. It is true that this is the result of an efficient government that rules the country right now. Nevertheless, we can never deny that the folks also help in ensuring the success of Malaysia. The combination and alliance between government and folks form a smooth, nice structure of Malaysia.

Wherever I go in New Zealand, people can easily notice that I'm a Malaysian. Perhaps, the style I wear my scarves differentiate a Malaysian with Arabs and Indonesians. Most of the people I met up, they told me that they have been to Malaysia and they love Malaysia. Some of them like the foods because Malaysia offers varieties of delicious foods tho' a few are very sweet. Some others said that they love traveling all over Malaysia in that we have many unique attractions that give different experiences. There were four old folks I met during last eid. They like Malaysian costumes. They said our costumes are colourful and have beautiful patterns. The kiwi ladies like our scarves. Very modest, yet pretty. But don't be surprised to hear the reason why western men love Malaysians. Hehehe... Most of the men that I talked to, they told me that they dream of searching for Malaysian wives. I was speechless when I heard that. But I asked them to come to Malaysia and seek for the women they love to make as their wives. To my surprise, when I was in Christchurch City with a friend at Art Gallery, suddenly came an old man passing by us. Then, he reversed back to our seats and asked us about our nationality and the like. After that, he praised both of us. He said, "You both look so beautiful. I like your dress." After a while, he was about to dismiss, but not forgetting to shake hands with us. He even unwore his gloves to shake hands with us tho our hands were still covered with gloves (thank God). He added, "Nice meeting you girls!".

Alhamdulillah, all western people that I met up so far are all friendly to me, including my coursemates. They all smile when seeing me and say hi or hello. I like that way of relationship. Some of my coursemates can even remember my name and they say hi and smile to me whenever we see each other. Honestly, Malaysia is popular among international people. We display good behaviours to them. They like our national foods, costumes, and attitudes as well. Malaysia students are very popular in universities. People respect us and our country's name is always uttered in any occasions going on all around the globe. What more right at this time, when Obama himself praises Malaysia too much that he's considering of discussing world issues with Malaysia and would also like to know Malaysia notions about international issues. Many developing countries have made Malaysia as an example country. Malaysia has also become trusted by the first world countries. We should be thankful to Allah for showering Malaysia and its inhabitants with full of blessings. InsyaAllah, if Malaysia keeps spurring and standing on Islamic foundation, it's not impossible for Malaysia to be the most successful country in the world like Medina (during Prophet's time). While Islam is renowned as a terrorist religion by the Westerners, it's undeniable that many more people want to get to know in depth about Islam. Whatever people's opinions about Islam, as a Muslim we should always portray good attitudes and characteristics in front of those people. Our appearance is an external outlook of Islam itself. Don't make people confused about Islam. The confusion will only make people hate Islam.

I am proud to be a Muslim and a Malaysian! :) Thank you, Allah!

Ketika Cinta Bertasbih

Tiba-tiba hati ini berasa sayu. Walau bagaimana kuat dan cekal aku menahan sebak di hati ini, namun kugagalkan jua. Aku tenang dan tersenyum mendengar cerita-cerita tentang pemergiannya daripada sahabat taulan. Mungkin aku boleh berpura-pura di depan mereka, tetapi aku tidak mampu menipu diriku dan Allah yang Maha Mengetahui. Terlalu banyak rahsia antara aku dan dia yang aku tak pernah bercerita kepada sesiapapun. Aku sempat meninggalkan beberapa baris kata sebelum pemergiannya. Pemergian itu bukanlah sementara tetapi untuk selama-lamanya (sekurang-kurangnya bagi diriku). Aku bersyukur ke hadrat Ilahi kerana telah menemukan aku dan dia, lalu berhijrah dengan redha-Nya. Dia banyak memberi panduan untukku menjadi insan yang lebih baik. Namun begitu, pemergiannya diiringi pandangan-pandangan buruk tentang diriku. Memang sengaja aku buat begitu, biar terus pudar ingatannya tentang aku. Maaf 'awak' kerana saya tak mampu meneruskan perjuangan 'awak' di tempat ini. 'Awak' tak dapat memahami saya dan saya juga tak berupaya memahami 'awak'. Muslimin dan Muslimah lain di tempat ini akan meneruskan ijtihad 'awak' itu, insyaAllah. Selamat mendirikan baitulmuslim! Harapan saya agar 'awak' dapat melahirkan lebih ramai pejuang sepertimana yang 'awak' inginkan selepas ini.

"Bila kita rindukan seseorang itu, tak semestinya orang itu pun rindukan kita. Kalau rindu, tak semestinya perlu bersua kerana ingatan di qalbu itu boleh menjadi penawar jua. Sesungguhnya, rindu itu anugerah Allah. InsyaAllah."