Monthly Archives: June 2012

Umrah reflections 2012

Posted in Islam, Life by

Assalamualaikoum wa Rahmatullaah wa Barakaatuh,

As you probably figured, I’m back home. I’m thankful to home safe and sound al-Hamdulillah but I feel like I left a part of me behind 😦 Yesterday, I woke up thinking that I’m still in ihram so I reminded myself to be careful just in case I break any rules lol. Nonethless, al-Hamdulillah for the wonderful experience visiting both Holy Mosques.

My favourite place in the world!

We spent approximately 2 days in Madina al-Munawarrah and the rest of the 9-10 days in Makkah al-Mukaramah. The weather reminded me a lot of summer in Australia so al-Hamdulillah, I was able to manage the heat although others were complaining that it was ‘too hot’. Best of all is that there were so many pilgrims during this time of the year so I was fortunate enough to see Muslims of different nationalities and cultures – all converged in one place for a similar purpose. How beautiful is Islam subhan’Allah that it is made up of people of various colours and backgrounds but all it truly matters and differentiates us from each other in His eyes, is taqwa. People come from all walks of life, and the most obvious being the poor as you can see them sprawled on roadside or inside/outside masjids after prayers. At the end of the day, all of us are searching for inner peace and to gain acceptance to His paradise.

Jabbal an-Nur at around midnight

This Umrah, the tour group brought us to climb Jabbal an-Nur to visit Gua Hira’ , the place where Angel Jibrail alayhi salam visited Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi salam in the cave and ordered him to read ‘Iqra’! Iqra”. The climb took us almost 2 hours to reach the peak and we had to descend at the side of steep mountain to reach the cave. I was overwhelmed when I reached, thinking that visiting the cave made me feel like I’m close to Prophet sallallahu alayhi salam but yet, also so far away from him. What’s left is his Sunnah that we can follow closely if we truly love him.

When I was in the cave, I thought of how this blessed man has sacrificed so much for Islam. He was mocked at for spreading the truth, fought battles where he was injured, stones thrown at him when he was in taif – and we know  that the list is not exhaustive. Now when we hear about a Sunnah that was practiced, there are some who would say, “it’s not that important in Islam – just a sunnah”; “it’s not a sin if we leave it, so why do it?” and I wonder if only they understood the pain he went through to spread Islam, his Sunnah will not be taken lightly. The Sahabas would rush to implement the Sunnah and yet in our times, we just brush it off like the dust on our clothes. (Reminder to myself first!)

I can’t say how blessed I am to be able to visit His house again! This is my fourth time there al-Hamdulillah but I never get tired of this place. It’s just one of the places you can’t say ‘no’ to when invitation comes your way. I would move there in a second if I could! May we be amongst His guests (again)! :))

Updates

Posted in Life, News, People by

Assalam alaikoum wa Rahmatullaah wa Barakaatuh! 🙂

How’s everyone in the blogging world doing insha’Allah? Good I hope 🙂

Subhan’Allah I just realised that I have not updated this blog for many weeks! There had been so many things to do lately ya Allah but I had some time to breathe recently lol. So some updates from my side….

1) Abstract for a paper due tomorrow and I have not done much research! 😦 My partner went MIA so I decided to do it alone .. but procrastination got the better of me. If the abstract is accepted (which at this point in time, I can only *dream* of it being accepted), I may have a chance of presenting the paper in Jordan. And all expenses paid for 😉 But it’s 2am and nothing is done!

2) When my parents picked me up last weekend, I decided to keep my niqaab on. They know I’ve been wearing behind their backs (well at least I wasn’t doing anything haraam!), but to see me in niqaab and out with them is something neither of them expected. My dad, masha’Allah, he didn’t say anything but he was smiling when he saw me. My mom, on the other hand, wanted me to remove niqaab but for the two days they were there, she let me keep it on. Once we reached home however, she told me to remove it and I can only wear it abroad. Well to tell you the truth, as much as I was disappointed to hear that from my mom, I’m glad that we are making progress al-Hamdulillah! 🙂 I’m not sure if I had written about this but 5 years ago, to wear proper hijaab (i.e. loose clothing and bigger hijaab) was disapproved by them so much so that it would be a big issue each time we went out.. so to allow me to wear it abroad, we are a step closer to actually keeping niqaab 🙂 May Allah make it easy for them to accept niqaab and keep me firm in wearing it!

3) I wrote some time in January this year that I terribly miss my sisters in Australia.. Part of me felt like, who could possibly replace them because they are such a wonderful bunch of sisters! Allah is Great because I keep meeting sisters who are like seriously firm on the Deen (May He keep them firm!) and very knowledgeable too. One of them is a hafidhaah and she studied tafseer from Al-Azhar University before. Now, masha’Allah she is pursuing her Masters in tafseer too. When she speaks, she quotes from the Qur’an in Arabic and then translates for me. Best of all, I’m amazed by her akhlak and despite her knowledge, she’s very humble. Believe me or not but I met her only once before and after staying at my room over night, I developed this love for the sister like I’ve known her for years. O Allah, you have blessed me with such wonderful sisters in my life who always remind me of You al-Hamdulillah!

4) Honestly, I have so many things I would love to share on this blog but time is really not on my side at the moment. Insha’Allah, I’ll write when I’m free 🙂

5) Ok here’s the best news of all: I’m heading to Medina-Makkah this Sunday! It was really an unexpected decision to do umrah this year. I was actually planning to head back to Australia for a sister’s wedding and hang out with them but my parents decided that ‘hey, let’s do umrah instead!’ so it was a really random decision. I’d rather do Umrah anytime then Aussie lol. To be His guest is not always easy so I would not give up this opportunity to visit His house again. Insha’Allah I’ll be away for 12 days.. Please keep me in your duas that everything goes smoothly! JazakAllah Khayr!

6) Ramadhan is coming prettyyyyy sooon! In a few weeks! 🙂 Everyone prepared/preparing for Ramadhan yet? This year is slightly different for me because I’ll be celebrating Ramadhan back home.  The last time when I fasted Ramadhan in my country, I wasn’t exactly practising so I didn’t appreciate this month much. Al-Hamdulillah I’ve been told that there are frequent qiyaams for sisters by sisters at masjids nowadays. Sisters who have memorized the Qur’an will usually lead the Qiyaam and masha’Allah they have such a lovely recitation! Really looking forward to the eemaan rush! Do any of you have such activities in your masjid?

I got to start cracking my brain on the abstract soon! So what did I miss whilst I was gone.. any updates from you guy? 🙂