Trip to the local market :)

Assalam alaikoum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh 😀

When a sister came to visit down under a couple of weeks ago, we went to a local market to buy marrons. If you’re wondering what marrons are – they belong to the ‘Crustacean’ family along with crabs and lobsters. One unique feature about marrons is their fusion of crab, lobster, crayfish and bugs all in one! It has the body similar to crayfish,crab and prawn but tastes like lobster. And you can only find them in the area I live in 🙂

Fresh marrons swimming in the bag!

We bought a few of these fresh from the aquarium! The lady simply stuck her hand into the water and grabbed these little buddies out of the water – without any gloves on!

Anyway, I had a little ‘mishap’ when we were at the fish and chips restaurant. I left the bag unattended whilst I was busy playing with my phone when the bag of marrons tilted. Immediately, I grabbed hold of it but to my surprise, two marrons crawled out onto the table.

I shrieked. The sister was in the washroom then and no one was there to help me! I ran over whilst the marrons were still crawling, dropped to the ground and crawled even more! I didn’t dare touch them in case I get pinched. A man walked over, picked them up and simply put them back whilst I stood there horrified. Lol..

We had to keep these marrons in the freezer for approximately 45 mins to 'sedate' them before cooking. When we removed an hour later, they were still alive! I thought if they didn't die, I would keep them as pets instead 😛

The sisters let me decide how to cook these marrons since I was so excited about it heh. Boiled them in herb water for about 5 minutes or till it turns red. This way you kill them instantly and at the same time, it leaves that herby taste.

Cut them up into halves and smear garlic butter with a tinge of salt, chilli flakes and then grill them on high heat for a few minutes. We overcooked the marrons because the grill was not hot enough so the meat was slightly dry.

Ta da!

I hope to get another batch of marrons soon! 🙂 They are just $5 each!

Look what we found at the market too! Anyone wants to make a guess how do you break an ostrich egg 🙂 And that one ostrich egg is equivalent to how many chicken eggs 🙂

Repentance.. have we truly turned to Him?

Assalam alaikoum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh ya Muslimeen!

This lecture by Bro Bilal Assad will move you to tears subhan Allah.. He related this true story which he heard from a shaykh about a man named Ahmed who was from Riyadh and lived in our time.. I was initially expecting a story taken from the Salafs so this astonishing recount of Ahmad came as a complete surprise for me.

Just thought I share with everyone.. I’ve come across brothers and sisters who are back on His path after they have strayed for years. A sister whom I have come to dearly love, narrated her life story to me that she was different in the sense that before Islam (albeit being born a Muslim), her life was filled with all kinds of sins. Alcohol, pubs, clubs …etc. When He gave her the guidance, she did a 180 degrees change to her life. If you see her now, you wouldn’t believe she had a dark past.

The same goes for another brother who was in the similar situation as this sister. The MSA practically saw him throughout his transitions. From the bad boy that he was, he changed so drastically that people found it difficult to recognise him. A sister told me that once, he went for lectures with just his kain pelikat (or sarong worn by Malay men usually for prayers. It’s a common sight especially for Jumaah prayers in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia) and kufi. Some days, you will find him in thobe. He couldn’t recite the Qur’an but since he was keen to learn, brothers taught him from the very basics. I wouldn’t be surprised if he can recite fluently with tarteel now.

Subhan Allah! When I was on the phone with mom today, she told me about how a family friend’s daughter had a drastic change too when she came back from Umrah recently.. Allah is indeed guiding His slaves back to their fitrah.

(I can’t help but add a bit more although it is slightly irrelevant to the video)

I’ve always disliked how we are quick to judge brothers and sisters who may not be on the Deen yet. Yes, they have not yet embraced Islam fully but to ridicule and deride them or worse, to say that they have ‘booked a place in hell’ is never acceptable! I’ve always believed that if Allah willed that they be guided, these brothers and sisters might just be much better Muslims than we are. So who are we to judge really..? Are we certain that Jannah is guaranteed for us and that Hellfire would not touch us for even a day?

I take this from my own experience – not that I’m better than anyone. in fact, very far from that – but before Islam, I’ve been looked down upon like I had no worth. When He brought me to the Deen, I wish, oh how I wish those people had actually tried to encourage me to learn the Deen the very least instead of judging me. Al-hamdulillah, the sisters here in Australia were constantly bringing me to lectures and halaqah sessions despite me trying my best to run away from them lol!

Ok, I wrote too much 😛 I hope everyone enjoys this lecture and insha Allah we can learn something from it. For me, I’ve always thought I’m striving really hard to stay on His path but this video actually proves otherwise.. my deeds are minimal, my efforts are miniscule.. my ibadaah..? Let’s not even go there Allahu Mustaan

Last lap!

Assalam alaikoum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh (:

Bismillah..

First day of my last semester in University. Most people would be thrilled to be in my position but somehow I remain rather quite stoical, almost indifferent about being in this last lap. I had been feeling this way ever since I came back

Here’s the gist of why I’m feeling lousy- I was supposed to graduate last semester but as a result of many setbacks, I decided to drop a major entirely. Some of units were not completed thus explains why I’m doing another semester In addition to that, my closest friends had returned to their countries, leaving me all alone here  :,(

A close friend who isn’t Muslim (yet, insha Allah!) told me a few days ago that she ‘believes everything happens for a reason so don’t despair‘. I thought to myself that, even for  someone who has no faith in Allah holds on to this belief and yet here I was still regretting I didn’t try harder.  I’ve slogged all these years, all those blood and bucketful of tears are still fresh in my memory.. but I trust that He has better plans for me just like how coming to this country was unexpected (but great things happened for me al-hamdulillah).. Qadarallahu ma sha’a fa’al.

My only only only one wish is that the reason why I’m here is so that I can draw closer to Him. My eemaan is in dire need of repair so I hope this is the time to patch things up. Each time when I feel at the peak of my eemaan, a musibah would occur and eemaan plunges down in split seconds. Maybe the time is given to me to contemplate on my life, the Deen etc.. Allahu Alam

Nonetheless, here I am saying hello to lonely and anti-social days ahead

Updates..

Assalam alaikoum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh 🙂

Afwan for disappearing and leaving this blog dormant lately.  Can’t say how surprised I was to receive comments from lovely sisters whilst I was away 🙂 Jazakillah khayr for the kind words and most importantly, putting a smile on my face 🙂 I had been feeling bouts of homesickness lately :/But  Been on the phone with mom and dad very often just to hear stories from back home..

Al-hamdulillah, I moved to a new place so there were lots of unpacking and cleaning to do. My room is the biggest as compared to the rest hehe yay! The toilet is just opposite the room, I get the fridge to myself and it is only a few steps away, a microwave, sofa and television all in my very own comfort zone! Doesn’t get any more anti-social than this! Btw, my rent is the cheapest too 😉

There was a bomb scare when I was in the city today. Police told us to evacuate from buildings immediately but people started to get excited instead. I keep hearing “This is the first time we experience something like this.. wow so fun!”

Fun!!?! It’s time like this I wish I was allowed to strangle people. We are talking about people possibly getting killed in the event it does occur.. My worst fear is that it’s usually the Muslim community who bears the brunt. Blame is immediately directed at Muslims whether there is valid evidence or not. There’s a saying, ‘Muslims are guilty until they are proven guilty’..

When I came here years ago,  there were a couple times where I had been harassed in public.. for being a Muslim of course. This is in fact, many years after 9/11 which leaves me wondering how long it would take before all these ceases.

Al-hamdulillah, honestly  I think the situation has improved now but it’s  just the occasional run-ins with Islamophobes. One of the few things I’m impressed with is the government’s efforts to protect our rights as a minority in the country. When a politician suggested to ban niqaab, many politicians stood up against him and argued that Aussie ’embraces diversity’ thus to impose this ban would suggest they are not open to differences. Also recently, when another politician tried to enforce stricter regulations for only Muslims to migrate into the country, again, other politicians were against it. So far, none of these had been implemented in the country. Once, we had a visit by the local police who are assigned to protect the Muslim community should we be faced with any assaults, harassments from the general public. We get a special hotline for that too 😛

I’m hoping this incident wouldn’t put the country at edge. Or worse, the community starts becoming suspicious of each other.

Ala Kulli hal… thought I share duas with all of you to be read before leaving the house.  May Allah protect us from any harm when we are outside the comforts of our home..

‘In the name of Allaah, I place my trust in Allaah, and there is no might nor power except with Allaah.’

‘O Allaah, I take refuge with You lest I should stray or be led astray, or slip or be tripped, or oppress or be oppressed, or behave foolishly or be treated foolishly.’