Doing our part - Solidarity Demonstration for LL4G

When i first read about the demonstration, i straight away told myself that it's impossible coz i have class,it was 2 days prior to the demo. That night i read the news on MV Rachel Corrie, the ship that continued to sail to Gaza in spite of Israel's attack on Gaza aid flotilla. That ship is named after a 23-year-old U.S. peace activist who was crushed to death in 2003 by an American-built bulldozer operated by the Israeli army. I clicked on a link to an interview with Rachel Corrie
2 days b4 she was murdered. After watching that video i was like... what am i doing here, looking around my comfortable room feeling totally useless. i should do more for Palestine.

The day before the demo, further details of the demo was published on fb. This time there's a strong desire inside me wanting to join it. I always condemn the Arabs for not doing enough for Palestine. Now there's sth that i can do and not doing it makes me feel like the Arabs. Alhamdulillah i have a friend with similar thought to accompany me. we decided to go. it was a difficult decision to make.

We had to consider a lot of things. Attendance, missing class, our parents, giving others the wrong idea that we care less about our studies, the risk of getting caught and losing our scholarships and bla... bla...bla...Even after considering all that i was still with my stand to go coz solidarity seems to be a more important issue at the moment.


we asked permission from our parents late that evening. i had a difficult time getting the permission but i got it in the end, not a solid one though. we adjusted a few things with related friends so that everything can be done as scheduled in our absence.

On the day of the demo, i got sms fr my parents. that morning asking me to change plan bcoz the demonstration is illegal, no permit. I just couldn't be bothered by the sms, i was so determined to go. I called my mom, telling her that we'll act smart, we'll go away if 'ade bende2 pelik jadi' and how important joining this to me and bla...bla...bla... My mom mmg tak bagi, she was very upset but i told her that we're going, pray for us. frankly speaking i don't know whether it's ok to go against my mom like that but continuing wit da plan made me feel better.

we set off from our college in melaka at around 8 am ,reached kl around 10.30, had breakfast, parked the car at my house and walk to lrt taman melati.At around 12.15 we were already wandering around lrt ampang park looking for tabung haji. At first we were like nape xde org pun kat tabung haji ni. rupenye kitorg kat bahagian belakang. kat depan org boleh kira ramaila. we each bought a mafla and enjoy tgk macam2 org kat situ.

Around 12.45 akhawat started to walk to surau PNB for solat zohor. time ni dah mule bermesra dgn akhawat lain. saya amat terharu dgn sorg makcik ni yang pegi toilet sekali. dia tunggu sume org sudah n gerak sekali back to surau smbl taaruf dgn semua. mane nak cari situation camni? dahla tak kenal. this is the power of ukhuwwah. i love it.

i'd been feeling a little unwell since reaching kl. mase kat surau makin teruk pulak. after solat, we walked back to tabung haji, on da way ade kedai, i bought myself potato bun n panadol. kat tabung haji, org tgh dgr khutbah. i ate my bun and took 2 tablets of panadol hoping i'd be fine for da demo. around 1.50 org mula solat.

At around 2, the crowds started to gather in front of tabung haji. at first takut jugak, dah la ade polis. tp tgk ramai2 turun jd semangat balik and so i joined the crowd.

while the crowds were gathering in front of tabung haji fliers on list of things to boycott was distributed. drinking water were also being passed around. then we started walking. Ikhwah first followed by akhawat. i was so scared of being separated from my friend. dah la kitorg berdua je. other people mostly datang ramai2.

i was so happy to see many people around. it felt great to be a part of the demonstration.

creative demonstrators made their own stuff for the demonstration. i like this one. mini mavi marmara

the policemen near the US embassy were equipped with shield and long stick.

Si comel pun boleh tahan mase demo ni. duk tgh jln tu tibe2 dgr dis one cute little gal said "ala tak aci", sebab banner org lain besar, tenggelamkan bendera palestin yg die lukis atas some paper that if i'm not mistaken smaller than A4 paper. then the girl membebel apetah, sgt cute. the mother pujuk die saying ' takpe2, Allah nampak. nak ambil her pic tp tak sempat. these r few pics of si comel lain yg smpt amik. saya termalu sendiri tgk kanak2 ni sbb diorg lg semangat. saya tak wat poster pun... dahla nak dtg pun fikir byk kali...

There was also a helicopter flying around. take pics kot...

alhamdulillah i was fine throughout the procession. another wonderful experience there was jumpe org yg dah kenal as well as kenal org baru.

we took lrt back to tmn melati around 3.30. i called my mom to tell her that we r safe. she's no longer upset,alhamdulillah. traffic was congested while driving out of kl n to seremban. We reached our college around 8pm. so 8am-8pm-almost 12hrs. The journey was really tiring n risky too not forgetting i took another 2 tab of panadol on the way back coz my temperature went up again. but it's nothing compared to what the palestinians r facing. all in all, it was absolutely a worthwhile experience.

from hani shahanom

A Reminder from Langkawi

It was a long journey back to Melaka from Langkawi. We reached our hostel around 4.30 a.m. I had a class at 8 a.m. and guess what? I overslept. I remembered hearing the alarm but I was too tired to wake up and the next thing I knew was it was already 7.53 a.m.! To cut the long story short, the lecturer had pharyngitis and so the class was canceled. We were just given tasks to be completed by the evening. After a long weekend I thought I deserve some rest, so even though I have a lot to do I decided to take a long nap. I woke up a few hours later refreshed yet still feeling lazy to do the things that I should be doing.
After I had my breakfast (or should I say brunch as it was already noon), I checked my phone and to my surprise there was the following message in my inbox, ‘ Askm. Alfatihah utk mohd firdaus b yusof yg tlh kmbali ke rahmatlh ptg semalam. kmpln 1 d bgkel kemhrn hdup. Tolong mklmkn rakan2. drp:sek keb k.teriang’.
KUMPULAN 1? BENGKEL KEMAHIRAN HIDUP? My cerebrum was trying to process those words. Only then I realized that the deceased was among the participants in a talk that our team organized as a part of our program in Langkawi (BISMI 2010). From the sources that I have, he drowned while playing with his friends at the beach the same day we had the program
The news somehow affected me. Death per se is nothing new but how often do we have the chance to be with a person on the day he took his last breath? Receiving the news when I was loafing around is like getting a direct reminder from Him to value life and prepare for death.

It is well known that we can die anytime and anywhere and we should prepare for it but most of the time that knowledge remains just that - knowledge - without any practical impact. When I reflect on myself, I remember the times I make mistakes deliberately thinking I’ll correct them in the future. We always hear people say ‘mude2 ni enjoyla dah tua nanti taubat’. But what if we die while doing those sins? What if we die young? It’s not like death will wait for us to be ready.

For me, knowing death alone is not enough. That knowledge only becomes significant when it touches our hearts and is reflected through the way we live our lives. That’s why I really need this kind of reminder as it touches my heart and motivates me to live life right. However the enlightenment can fade. I’m sure everybody has experienced this. One day we are enlightened to do something right and the next day we repeat the same mistakes. Alhamdulillah, The Aware Al Halim, The Forbearing keeps on reminding us again and again by various signs in every possible way. May our hearts be clean enough to see these signs.

I personally think that death is the third best reminder or even motivator after Al-Quran, the words of our Lord and the story of our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. However, in spite of having those powerful reminders we can still be absurdly forgetful. We’ve been enlightened countless times on life and death yet it takes us only a while to forget and again act as if we will surely live tomorrow. We allow ourselves to be carried away by worldly pleasures and succumb to laziness and procrastination. I believe it is so because we humans are not holding on to our promise to bear witness that Allah is our Lord (Al-A’raf, 7:172) while the satan is strongly holding on to the promise to mislead us (Al-A’raf, 7:16-17).

Nowadays it is very sad to see many people are caught up in matters which have no value at all in the Eyes of Allah. It is often said that we only live once and therefore we should enjoy life to the fullest. Is it true that we only live once? The truth is we die once but live twice. We have one life here in this world and another in the hereafter. Since we have only one chance in this world to prepare for our death and next life, we ought to make full use of our time here. There is so much to do in so little time. If we are still not clear of our purpose here, we are likely to be led astray and die unprepared.

We are here for two main reasons; to worship Allah (Adz-Dzaariyaat, 51:56) and to be a caliph (Al-Baqarah, 2:30). Playing our roles as a servant and caliph can be extremely tiring and hectic but if we do it right our death can be a satisfying rest. So brothers and sisters, let’s not waste time on anything that has no contribution to these two.

And call not those who are slain in the way of Allah "dead". Nay, they

are alive, only you perceive not. (Al-Baqarah,2:154)


al-Fatihah for the late Mohd Firdaus b Yusof who passed away on 4th April 2010

            al-Fatihah for the late Mohd Firdaus b Yusof who passed away on 4th April 2010

Daurah: A' Famosa Resort

On the night of 11th May 2010, we participated in a daurah held at A'Famosa Resort, Melaka. We were blessed to have met wonderful friends from UTeM at the resort, who have cooked an absolutely delicious dinner for us. We were also blessed with the presence of the ever-charming Wafiy, Kak Asma's lovable baby boy, who entertained us to no end with his smile and hyperactivity.

After maghrib prayers and relieving our hunger with a wonderful dinner meal, we gathered around Kak Sumayyah to listen to her talking about the significance of Seerah in Islam. It was certainly touching to hear just how enthusiastic the companions of the Prophet were in those days. They managed to spread the word of Islam all over the world, with strong faith and excellent understanding of the teachings and spirit of Islam. Never did any of them gave any excuse to delay their duty as da'ie, despite the hardship that they went through.

Solehah and Damia then shared the Seerah of Abdullah bin Huzafah as-Sahmiy, and Anas bin Malik r.a. with the rest. The intelligence and strong will of Abdullah bin Huzafah as-Sahmiy in facing the kings of Rome and Persia was certainly nothing short of magnificent, so was Anas bin Malik's profound love for the prophet. The session finished at 11.15 p.m., and we then made our way back to the MMMC Campus in Melaka.

Mukhayyam: Gua Batu Maloi

From the 1st of April to 3rd of April 2010, some of us were fortunate enough to join the Mukhayyam (camping) activity held at Gua Batu Maloi, Negeri Sembilan. We encountered a few glitches in the form of getting lost, but alhamdulillah with His grace, we managed to reach the destination at around 10.15 p.m. A quick scrumptious meal cooked by the "cream of the crop" chefs followed, and soon after we found ourselves walking in the woods at night. We were blindfolded and had to follow a roped track with our hands. The night ended with everyone sleeping in the tent in exhaustion, but in content nonetheless. We took turns for Hirasah (night watch) in order to ensure that everything is well.

The next day began with Qiyamullail, followed by Fajr prayer, tazkirah and ma'thurat. After breakfast, an ice-breaking session  was held, consisting of fun but challenging games, each with own lessons to be learnt. An aerobic session in the tune of "Ar Ruhul Jadid" energized us for the coming activities, in which we welcomed fellow akhawat from Kuala Lumpur. We sat down together and had a sharing sessions on the ups and downs of being a da'ie, and to share experiences and opinions on many things.

After a hearty lunch, we made our way to the most challenging activity in the whole mukhayyam: cave exploration. It wasn't an easy task to take a large group of girls, some who might have been inactive for months altogether, and make them climb rocks, go through the raging currents of the waterfall, commando crawl and many other stunts in order to explore the cave. Alhamdulillah, all of us made it, safe and sound, and brought with us the invaluable lessons learnt throughout. It is also a good reminder for us to ensure that we are fit physically and mentally to overcome the challenges that await us in the future in this path. We also learnt that tolerance and helping each other in hard times are key to an overall success. We made it back to the campsite in time to perform the Asar prayer.

That evening, we had to say goodbye to our friends from KL, and continued the night with maghrib prayer, ma'thurat, tazkirah and followed by isya' prayer. The night ended on a high, with all of us recounting our experiences during the cave exploration before going to sleep. Hirasah took place the same way it did the previous night.

On the last day, we woke up early for Qiyamullail, followed by Fajr prayer, ma'thurat and sharing session. True to the spirit of the theme song of this mukhayyam, "Amalulillah", we've learnt that each and every step and action we take in life must always be directed for His path. There were many lessons learnt from this experience and we hope to join yet another mukhayyam some place else in the future. Mountain climbing, anyone?