Lessons in Birthing; Lessons for Life

السلام عليكم 

There are spiritual lessons in birthing, even if the tool is a physical occurrence. There are also physical (dunya) lessons in birthing; needing to be taken and understood - since we are held accountable to answer for our worldly deeds. 

There are lessons in childbirthing, for those who will reflect, pursue and act upon it and repeat this learning process repeatedly. 

There are lessons in childbirthing for the spirit - and everyone has one, therefore everyone may derive a lesson from it, man or lady. 

Birth involves Tauhid Uluhiyyah and Tauhid Rubbubiyah. How? 

Because you can try and you can seek aid from "ANY other than Allah" when you are challenged with birthing, WHAT is the BEST and most POWERFUL to aid you? 

There are tools to obtain an end (patience, perseverance, energy, strength) and then there's The SOURCE of them.

And Allah is THE source. 

He is THE source, and not simply any source we say He is, He is not simply any name we want to give Him. Allah is not an entity according to our weak and limited human logic.

Being a slave, we must realize, accept and affirm that Truth COMES FROM Allah, and not the other way around!

Allah does not "reveal himself" in any other form, nor allows representations of himself i.e idolatry, paganism, polytheistic beliefs. He is Allah, and reserves the right to do as He pleases. And so, Allah has instructed man to recite and affirm verbally and behavior-ally life long, that: La ilaha ilallah, Muhammad Rasulullah.

And the question of truth being distorted and made complicated by man  and the followers of religion; my personal answer is- 

'Whether we like it or not, No man is an island and therefore what is bethrothed  upon us is not just accountability upon ourselves; but accountability to be TOGETHER and stay together as long as the person accepts the syahadah. Like it or not. C'est la vie."

For people who do not accept the syahadah, that will not be discussed here. But I assure you, if you accept the syahadah, they too are subjects within your responsibility. 

Returning to the subject, therefore, it is necessary for women to know her place and what is bethrothed / incumbent upon her (as a creation of Allah). 

Because THAT is the very tool with which she will receive true guidance for her problems and satisfying solutions to that which bothers her, whatever that may be- inside and outside of birthing. Everything comes from Allah and everything returns to Allah. 

Allah says in His Book: 

Chapter Ali Imran, verse 31

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Say: "If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Who is "me" in this verse? It is The Prophet Muhammad. In this verse, Allah is instructing Rasulullah to SAY to people, "If you love Allah, follow me"

The Qur'an was SENT DOWN and revealed to Muhammad Bin Abdullah peace be upon him through another messenger the angel Gabriel (Jibreel in Arabic). 

And so, Allah states that the source of guidance for man is these two- The Qur'an and the Mortal Man in which who the Qur'an is personified through him. 

Let's continue our journey as slaves of One, who is Ever Aware, Never Oppressive, Always Just and Unimaginably Merciful. Swift in Punishment with those who are consciously and arrogantly persisting in defiance, yet whose Mercy is beyond  the weak human's earthly logic. 

Is there anything to lose in this journey? There is - but that which we have to let go will only seem like a lost to our weak human's earthly logic. 

This internal struggle between man and accepting the truth- the reality of his weakness  and his utter need to humble himself to Allah as his master and to humble himself to Allah's laws for him- is a life long struggle. 

Self-actualization (as described by Abraham Maslow) is possible for everyone who will partake in its process. And everyone's journey is absolutely distinct, however minute in difference- it is distinct. 

One does not simply achieve it or achieve it with hardship in one struggle and remains steadfast with it life long. C'est la vie. It is merely a journey, not a destination. 

Happy struggling. 

Enjoy your life, and to my pregnant friends, have a happy journey getting closer to Allah. Over and over and over again, inside and outside of pregnancy and birthing, amin. 

Watch the video here: 

http://youtu.be/DCyiC3K8cME

Master & Slave

"Internalizing this is a life-long struggle"

You can say that again, ustadh Nouman. 

Photo credits: Green Bird Productions

Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/DCyiC3K8cME

Water to gladden the heart

To seek human validation means to suffer. Because humans are weak and do very little validating. 

To try to remember, and seek ONLY the attention, reward, validation, appreciation of Allah.... Is best because Allah is :

Words of the human

Sometimes when I listen to songs; I hear the writer talking to me. Perhaps trying to reach out, connect, ask a question or relating their feelings. Why do we judge them, instead of help them? 

Fitnah-fitnah akhir zaman

Dunia akhir zaman. 

Syiah

Anti-hadis

"Human" rights (how about Allah's "Rights"?) 

Kita sangat2 perlukan kepada panduan Allah agar benar benar mengikuti jalan yang benar2 lurus kepada Allah dan tidak di seleweng kan oleh syaitan yang licik dgn 1001 strategi dan serangan.

 Panduan Allah perlu di minta dan di cari dengan susah payah belajar mencari ilmu, di nilai, dan di ulangi proses ini berjuta2 kali. Jom berusaha dan berdoa dan saling mendoakan, agar kita mencari, berjumpa dam berpegang teguh pada jalan lurus itu. Dan tidak termasuk dalam golongan yang di sebutkan dalam surah al kahfi... 18:104:

الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا

"Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works?"

Official statement IKRAM mengenai golongan anti hadis

KENYATAAN MEDIA MENYANGGAH PANDANGAN DR KASSIM AHMAD DAN PENGANJURAN SEMINAR PEMIKIRAN DR KASSIM AHMAD

Sekretariat Ulama IKRAM melahirkan rasa kekesalan berhubung dengan  pandangan Dr. Kassim Ahmad yang dipaparkan dalam blog beliau (kassimahmad.blogspot.com) bertajuk “Dua Jenis Islam” bertarikh 17 Jan 2014 yang turut disiarkan dalam ruangan rencana portal the Malaysian Insider pada 17 Jan 2014.

Dr. Kassim dengan terang-terang mengatakan bahawa amalan berselawat dan juga lafaz shahadah ke atas nabi Muhammad sebagai satu penyelewengan. Beliau turut menolak fungsi Hadis dalam menafsirkan al-Qur’an.

Sekretariat Ulama IKRAM berpendapat bahawa  kenyataan seperti ini  boleh menjurus ke arah  kekufuran yang nyata kerana:

Pertama: Anjuran berselawat ke atas Nabi Muhammad adalah perintah dari Allah yang terkandung dalam al-Qur’an (lihat surah al-Ahzab:56)

Kedua: Lafaz shahadah ke atas Nabi sebagai seorang Rasulullah adalah selari dengan ayat-ayat al-Qur’an yang jelas menegaskan kedudukan beliau sebagai seorang Rasul (lihat al-Imran:31, 144;). Allah sendiri yang memerintahkan agar ketaatan diberikan kepada beliau sebagai seorang Rasul (lihat  al-nisa: 59; al-Nur:54). Lafaz ini diucapkan semasa al-Qur’an masih diturunkan hingga kewafatan baginda. Ianya diteruskan oleh para sahabat dan menjadi ijma para ulama tanpa sebarang bantahan.

Ketiga: Al-Quran mesti difahami melalui kaedah Bahasa Arab yang tinggi nilainya seperti  yang ditafsir oleh para ulama mufassirin yang diakui kehebatan mereka (muktabar)  bukan melalui kefahaman individu yang tidak mempunyai kemahiran khusus.

Keempat: Adalah menjadi kesepakatan ulama bahawa Hadis adalah sumber hukum kedua selepas al-Qur’an berdasarkan nas-nas yang jelas dari al-Qur’an sendiri (lihat al-Hashr:7; al-Nisa: 59). Maka, menolak hadis bermakna ingkar kepada salah satu dari sumber asas yang yang membawa kepada kekufuran. (lihat Fatwa Kebangsaan dan Negeri-negeri di e-Fatwa.gov.my).

Sekretariat Ulama IKRAM juga turut kesal dengan penganjuran Seminar Pemikiran Kassim Ahmad: Suatu Penilaian yang dianjurkan oleh Sahabat Pena Pak Kassim di Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana pada 15-16 Feb 2014. 

Kehadiran mantan Perdana Menteri dalam merasmikan seminar tersebut juga amat dikesali.

Justeru, Sekretariat Ulama IKRAM dengan ini:

i.  Mendesak Dr. Kassim segera bertaubat dan kembali kepangkal jalan.   

    ii. Meminta permohonan maaf dari pihak penganjur, perasmi dan pembentang-pembentang kertas kerja pada Seminar Pemikiran Kassim Ahmad: Suatu Penilaian kerana menguris perasaan umat Islam. 

iii. Menggesa JAKIM dan Jabatan Agama negeri-negeri mengguatkuasakan fatwa anti Hadis.

iv.  Menyeru kerajaan Pusat dan Negeri mengambil langkah-langkah tegas bagi membenteras aktiviti kumpulan ajaran sesat anti-hadis ini sepertimana tindakan diambil tehadap Syiah dan pengikutnya.v.  Meminta orang-ramai agar sentiasa merujuk kepada ulama-ulama yang muktabar di dalam isu-isu  agama yang sering diputarbeliti oleh pihak-pihak yang tidak bertanggung-jawab.

Dr. Zulfakar bin Ramlee

Pengerusi

Sekretariat Ulama IKRAM

Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia (IKRAM)

18/2/2014

1 thing for those 50 and above

People have been circulating this around and I have felt a strong need to comment on number 4:

"Excellent Reminder:

 Ten Commandments for Those Over 50 Years Old For those that are already 50, start practicing.

 For those almost 50, get ready. 

For those where 50 is a long way off, help your parents by sharing these gems with them. 

1. Focus on enjoying people, not on indulging in or accumulating material things.

 2. Plan to spend whatever you have saved. You deserve to enjoy it and the few healthy years you have left. Travel if you can afford it. Don't leave anything for your children or loved ones to quarrel about. By leaving something, you may even cause more trouble when you are gone. 

3. Live in the here and now,not in the yesterdays and tomorrows. It is only today that you can handle.Yesterday is gone, tomorrow may not even happen.

 4. Enjoy your grandchildren (if blessed with any) but don't be their full time baby sitter. You have no moral obligation to take care of them. Don't have any guilt about refusing to baby sit anyone's kids, including your own grandkids. Your parental obligation is to your children. After you have raised them into responsible adults, your duties of child-rearing and babysitting are finished. Let your children raise their own off-springs. 

5. Accept physical weakness, sickness and other physical pains. It is a part of the ageing process. Enjoy whatever your health can allow.. 

6. Enjoy what you are and what you have right now. Stop working hard for what you do not have. If you don't have them, it's probably too late. 

7. Enjoy your life with your spouse, children, grandchildren and friends. People, who truly love you, love you for yourself, not for what you have. Anyone who loves you for what you have will just give you misery. And you'd probably know that by now. 

8. Forgive and accept forgiveness. Forgive yourself and others. Enjoy peace of mind and peace of soul. 

9. Not trying to be morbid, but befriend death. It's a natural part of the life cycle. Don't be afraid of it. Death is the beginning of a new and better life. So, prepare yourself not for death but for a new life with the Almighty. 

10. Be at peace with your Creator. For ..... He is all you have after you leave this sojourn on earth."

My bilingual comment for point number 4:

Saya mahu mengulas point Nombor 4 dengan panjang lebar. let your children be parents of their own person, research and style. Setiap parents ada "zaman" dia, dan setiap anak ada zaman dia. Setiap orang, ada journey tersendiri dia, ada ups and downs dia. 

Cuba kita fikirkan, apakah kesan kita cakap dengan cucu kita "Ummi/abi tak kasi takpe, nenek kasi". Kesannya ialah Kita secara indirect mengajar cucu kita, "you don't have to listen to your parents." 

Please , grandmothers and grandfathers , jangan jadi sebab indirect cucu2 derhaka kepada ibubapa mereka suatu hari nanti sebab mereka tak perlu obey rules mak ayah mereka sebab kehendak mereka di iya kan nenek, atuk, makcik, pakcik, etc mereka. 

Kedua, setiap anak ada zaman nya dan tahapan nya, mungkin kalian lupa, jadi jangan lah guris perasaan anak2 dan menantu dgn kata2 seperti "dulu anak2 kami masa kecil takde perangai macam ni". (Perangai  macam ni: panjat sana sini, lompat sana sini, etc. Please rujuk point di bawah pasal makanan bergula)

Really? Anak kecil ialah anak kecil, kalau ya pun obviously orientation hidup zaman 80s dulu lain dengan orientation hidup zaman 2000 ke depan, we are all trying to make the outdoors safer and more secure for kids to play in, so if you have grandkids, and want them to play inside the house, kena faham lah inside the house akan jadi macamana bila ada anak kecik di dalam nya, dan macamana perangai anak kecik terkurung dalam rumah. 

Kalau suka cucu datang rumah, kena jadikan rumah "child friendly"... Kalau tak jangan la pulak nak anak dan menantu awasi cucu tu 100%, dan tak rela pula ada barang yang terkorban kepada cucu. Saya cakap macam ni, bukan saya tak admit memang ada ANAK dan MENANTU yang memang ZERO PARENTING SKILLS AKIBAT PANDAI SANGAT BELAJAR DI UNIVERSITY kerana ITU LAH ORIENTATION ZAMAN 80s dan 90s for SOME families. They were teens and young adults who were asked to focus on studying and end up not getting other valuable things besides "good grades". Not sorry to say. Or perhaps they're just still learning to become parents, so relax lah. YOU ALL WERE LIKE THAT TOO masa baru anak satu dan dua dan perhaps masa  tiga juga. Being quick to be judgmental doesn't help another person to improve. We all start small and ignorant, at many stages of life and roles! 

Last sekali..... Saya kena cakap.... Kena perhatikan makanan BERGULA. Gula putih satu hal, lain2 jenis "gula" juga. Zaman 2000 ke depan ni ialah zaman baca dan FAHAM dan cerna label makanan. Bukan sekadar "sugar", tapi kini semua yang ending "-tose" dan kini juga "substitute sugar"; and all kinds of issues yang confusing mengenai all these kinds of sugars and ITS EFFECTS on your grandchildren! You CANNOT have your cake and eat it too! You can't become the "favorite granny" who lets your cucu have all the yummy stuff THEN EXPECT them to sit still after having all those SUGARY FOOD?!?!?!? It's 9pm and you relent to your 2 year old cucu to have a bar of FAKE chocolate and expect them NOT to panjat2 till 12am?!?!?!? The worst bit of it is that you will complain that your menantu is not looking after your cucu when it is YOU who GAVE PERMISSION to your cucu to have sugary food at night! 

Conclusion ; if your child and menantu have the decency to become informed parents , then RESPECT YOUR BOUNDARIES as grandparents unless you observe your children as really doing something truly wrong, un-islamic, detrimental and abusive to your grandchildren. If your children seem clueless parents, then encourage them to attend aplenty seminars and workshops nowadays that guide young parents. All in all, i am more prone to say, as it has been a journey of rich mistakes and lessons  for you, then realize that it is exactly that for your children now; and in fact since your life is not over yet, there are still aplenty of lessons in life for YOU too! Every stage has its lessons, I'm sure and in fact I personally love to reap pearls of bountiful wisdom from those aged 50 and above. But in this, sometimes I notice that "new grandparents" are also learning to become grandparents - and it takes them time to learn their new role, responsibilities, limits, lessons to learn and share. 

Jalan-jalan cari Tuhan

Jalan-jalan cari Tuhan

Jalan-jalan bina iman

Jalan-jalan

Merubat hati

Yang hampir mati

Getting noticed

Did you notice that Allah lets us know that none of our good deeds goes unnoticed by Allah the Ever Aware? 

As a normal warm-blooded human being, I am not ashamed to say that I crave "attention" and "validation" just like any other normal human being. Everyone does. What makes us different is if we have mastered the way to lower our need for human validation by increasing our trust that none of our deeds goes unnoticed and unrewarded by Allah. Then we would do every single small and big thing, all minute and collossal deed with great sincerity - because we would like to redeem our rewards only from The only One capable of the best rewards, Allah. 

Have I achieved such things? 

No. 

I actually feel that it is nearly impossible if not somehow "undesirable" for me. This is worrisome :(

Why? Because that means my iman is very low and at the point of suffering. My iman is sickly and suffering. Because to seek human validation means to suffer. Because humans are weak and do very little validating. 

Sigh. 

I need motivation and reminder.... 

Mencari

Aku dulu mencari

Kemudian Allah temukan aku

Tetapi aku katakan kepada Allah,

Bukan yang ini

Dan selepas ini, 

Adakah aku mahu mencari lagi? 

Di tanya sekarang 

Jawapan nya berubah setiap minit 

Ya 

Tidak

Ya

Tidak

Begitu lah hati manusia

Ya 

Tidak

Ya

Tidak

Ya; kerana alangkah indah nya jika di temukan

Tidak; sakit nya sebuah pengharapan dan penantian

Itu lah manusia...

Itu lah aku.. 

Aku manusia... 

Biasa....

Lorong-lorong (walkways)

Aku pernah melalui lorong-lorong gelap

Bau di sana busuk

Hancing

Pering 

Tapi aku memaksa diriku mengatakan ia wangi

Memang pelik

Pelik memang pelik

Pada suatu hari

Aku di lahirkan

Aku di ajar membaca

Dan aku pun membaca 

Membaca dan membaca

Dengan penuh lahap dan dahaga

Aku mengisi kelaparan mindaku

Dengan makan sepuas hati aku

Aku membaca

Kemudian aku menulis

Sayang sekali, aku terfikir untuk mencari

Pembaca tulisan ku

Lalu aku kecewa

Kerana apa aku membaca? 

Lalu kerana apa aku menulis? 

Kerana apa aku mahu orang membaca nya? 

Mungkin sekadar, aku mahu mencari teman

Yang memahami bahasa hatiku

Tidak pernah jumpa

Kecewa

Lorong-lorong itu

Aku pergi ke lorong-lorong itu

Kerana aku mahu merasakan kepahitan

Astargfirullah

Tapi ia sudah berlalu

Setelah itu aku pun keluar

Dan lari .......

Lari....

Aku lari..... 

Bernyanyi..... 

Mencari

Menulis

Melukis

Tapi

Aku sudah terkesan dengan kekotoran

Lalu aku serik dan takut

Membuat kan aku bertindak atas ketakutan

Mungkin sekali aku tersalah niat

Iya kah? 

Atau, iya kan? 

Kini

Aku berdiri

Di sebuah jalan baru

Melihat kedepan...

Kosong...

Tapi juga hutan 

"Jungle"

Undiscovered

Menakutkan

Tapi aku bakal memasuki nya dengan dua mata terbuka....

Iya kah? 

Apa kah nasib aku kali ini? 

Masih kekal kah dalam lorong cahaya..........

Jaminan masuk syurga

Kita sekadar mematuhi peraturan

Peraturan yang Allah tetapkan, bukan jaminan masuk syurga

Baru kita tahu, buatlah sesuatu kerana Allah

Kerana kita hamba

Kerana kita tahu hakikat dunia

Kerana ya- kerana bila transfer ke sana (akhirat), kita mahu Redha Allah kerana kita telah menggembirakan tuhan dengan kepatuhan kita, dan dengan redha dan rahmat Allah itu, kita di beri kan tiket hidup selama-lamanya dalam kegembiraan. 

Huraian panjang lebar. Supaya kau faham:

Pergi surau bukan jaminan kau akan masuk syurga

Pakai tudung bukan jaminan kau masuk syurga. 

Kita berbuat ikut arahan

Kerana kita hamba yang lemah

Tidak tahu sepenuhnya semua rahsia dan hikmah dan ilmu

Kita buat kerana Allah suruh

Kita buat kerana Allah suka

Kalau Allah suka dan Allah nilaikan sebagai benar2 ikhlas,

Dan di susuli dengan rahmat Allah, 

Baru dapat masuk syurga

Tapi tak boleh ikut otak sendiri

Akal sendiri

Lojik sendiri

Jangan bermimpi pulak kita ni semua nabi

Kita di jadikan manusia sosial, itu lah fitrah

Nak tak nak syura

Kena juga bercampur gaul manusia dan mengambil dan menolak

Dengan baik

Kalau tidak dengan baik, nanti berbaik pula

Tidak ada masalah

Ada al-qur'an

Ada sunnah

Ada hidup sosial

Itu lah hidup di dunia

Sekali lagi, kita manusia lemah

Susceptible kerana syaitan 

Tidak ada mudharat nya syura 

Tidak ada mudharat nya berdoa 

Sedangkan nak turunkan Al-qur'an pun

Allah menentukan aturan nya ialah 

Allah- jibril - rasulullah 

Jadi kenapa takut di sesatkan manusia? 

Allah kan ada

Yang menjadi takut kalau sentiasa nak pakai pendapat sendiri saja

Kerana mana ada sendiri saja atau bersama tuhan saja

Syaitan pun ada 

Bukan nak menghukum

Bukan nak judgmental 

Tapi itu lah hukum tuhan juga 

Ada baik, ada buruk 

Rasulullah pun syura 

Manusia memang syura 

Allah saja tidak syura 

Kerana Dia Tuhan

Raw

Raw, bare and core

Can people handle it

Do they want to

Tame ?

Do they want to become

The nurse

For the wounded and broken

Raw

Reality

I do

Want to become people's nurse 

Because i am them 

And they are me

But perhaps

You don't feel the same

You are god-ly

Pure and white

And special

While i am just like them

Raw

Dirty

Soiled 

Broken 

Needing meticulous repair

I will be with them

Because i am just like them

I am broken 

But still good

A light at dusk

Nobody can use language against you UNLESS you allow them to

Nobody can use it against you unless you allow them to. Language is merely a tool. If someone used a certain language to subjugate you, then don't let THAT PERSON cloud your ENTIRE PERCEPTION OF A LANGUAGE. The Malays say, "kerana nila setitik, rosak susu sebelanga", don't let that happen to you- don't allow someone to destroy your perception of a tool so useful as language. 

If you do, you would have done YOURSELF much wrong and loss. Language is as neutral as any tool; it can be used, and abused by anyone - the question is; will you let them use it against you? 

If you avoid and belittle any other language above another, then your enemy has won. The only language deserving of such high and elevated status is only - Arabic. It is the language of the final and pure revelation and the language of the paradise dwellers. 

Haiwan Jahat? ("Bad" Animals?)

Please don't teach your child that animals are "bad". Animals are not "bad". They are WILD, not bad. Animals follow Allah's design (software/ instinct) for them 100%. 

Question is; do we? 

Reflect, research and answer to yourself. 

Kehalusan bahasa doa Nabi Musa

Instant no-cook play-dough: cornflour and hair conditioner

السلام عليكم 

The first time I tried this recipe (2 cups cornflour, 1 cup hair conditioner), i was worried because it was very sticky and never reached the consistency of play dough. 

That's until i added another 4 cups of corn flour and another 1/2 cup of hair conditioner to balance it out. 

It felt nice and smooth once it was well kneaded albeit a tad stickier than cooked play doughs (sticky to surfaces). But after a while (being kept) it leaves a flour-ish residue on your hands and gets a bit harder to knead. 

So i guess it is true that non-cooked play doughs do not keep as well as cooked ones. But if you ever need an instant fix of play dough, i would recommend this recipe. Once well kneaded it is so nice to play with and very, very smooth. If you mixed in a little bit too much of hari conditioner and it's too soft but not too sticky, you can pull one apart and see the effect: soft serve "ice cream". Hehe! 

Note: playing with play dough, kneading it is so therapeutic for me, i feel like recommending it as a relaxing tool for laboring moms! 

Note at 10pm that night:

This is the consistency of the instant playdough at night: (musa was trying to mix a ball of it with brown food coloring)

BUT....

I tried kneading the others and behold they were soft!

See for yourself: 

This is before i kneaded the blue and red ones: 

And this is after: 

And oh by the way, when they become crumbly and no longer soft enough to kneaded, just add water just enough to make oobleck :) 

Let's play!!! 

Musa and the Matryoshka

السلام عليكم 

Musa demam semalam dan hari ini. Semalam tidak buat apa-apa di rumah melainkan main senapang mainan. Jadi hari ini mewarnai patung Matryoshka dan membaca...

It gives me peace in my heart to play with him and to see him love reading...

I had him practice in a book a few times 

Can you make out the drawing in the book?

Here's the blue print 

He took this book to show me how the clothes should be coloured (white robe, red belt)

Here's the first one

Then i altered it to give it a more traditional matryoshka look to it 

He chose these books to read and surprised me with the ability to read words with "ng" in it; i.e kacang, panjang, singa and ungu

Here are some of his drawings. I love them :) why? Because i like the way he puts details into his drawings. Ah, let's not be analytical, i just love it :)

If you're wondering who this is, this is saifuddin qutuz of the mamluk era (lion of ain Jalut) 

Language is merely a tool

Language is a powerful tool with which you can use for dakwah. If you choose to. The choice is yours. 

People can use it against you, but it is merely a tool, which means, anyone can use it and everyone can use the very same thing - it is merely a tool. 

Nobody can use it against you UNLESS YOU ALLOW THEM TO but at the same time, be careful when making assumptions lest you should read into something which is not there (Su-u zhon : having a bad or wrong assumption/judgement/perception on someone)

Islam as a painting

Turn your comprehension into a painting. What would it look like? 

Positive affirmations 101

The very door into islam is made by making an affirmation: 

La ilaha ilallah, muhammadur rasulullah

Conscious Parenting, the conscious muslim child-parent and judging parenting choices

Sunday Morning Tadabbur

Topic: Conscious Parenting, the conscious muslim child-parent and judging/criticizing parenting choices

It seems very amazing to me how parenting is in fact, indeed, a conscious decision.

Sepertimana pilihan untuk menjadi muslim ialah satu proses pemilihan dan membuat keputusan setiap masa dan pada setiap perbuatan, perkataan, mimik muka, makanan yang di makan, pakaian yang di pakai, etc etc, rupanya parenting juga termasuk dalam nya sebagai pilihan "saya adalah ibu muslim".

It is never "i do this or I'm doing this because my parents did this" BUT it is always "i do this or I'm doing this because i know it is good by islamic teaching" and this includes or excludes what was done by our parents before us.

It is never "i do this or I'm practicing this because i turned out fine or healthy or clever or whatever" but "i will follow what is good because i have done enough observation and research and it is proven to be good by my Deen-guided research/observation/experiment"

And please notice that the above statement can lead to a plethora of one act or thing to be seen from different views and in fact leading to different results - both negative and positive. Because this world is full of variations and diversity.

Shouldn't we, as muslims, be very sensitive to the fact that something should be "viewed" or "criticized" according to individual case or at least specific case and not -or if i may say never very often -spoken of through generalizations because the nature of "generalizing" often does not apply for every single individual ?

And most importantly, it seems to me that "delaying judgement" or "delaying critique" is a behavior very central to the Prophet's personality and islamic teaching. As well as not overly examining details which are not central to the issue at hand.

What has all this to do with parenting in islam?

Instead of explaining it all, i do not wish for you to comment on what you think the relation is, but i would love for you to just reflect about its relation.

Hint: parenting and making judgements of people's parenting styles or what is overt of a couple's parenting

Wallahua'lam