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?