Ginger Beer

I even had the chance to squeeze in a lunch date with Naz. We had a wonderful meal at apartment. Though at first I was reluctant cause I knew the place was overcharging their customers and I could not bear the heat from sitting outside if we had chosen to dine at aseana cafe.

Thana was away at permata, and of course Sara is somewhere on the other side of the peninsular. Usually we would call them both up and do a conference. Hahaha. Happy to say I have always been present for the event, and never had them call me up to tell me how much fun they were having without me.

Thanks for Dante's Inferno!! Yeapppa. It is still gift-wrapped safely stored in my closet in KL.

Gimme Angel wings!

I enjoy surprises, and I know faliq loves surprises even more. But the thing is I pretty much suck at making it happen cause its either I'm literally not there, or I am short on resources on making it happen. Haha. Excuses excuses. For the record, the first year I was in the UK for work, last year I was offshore for the whole of January, this year I was away for my Yemen trip. Tee hee.

Thanks to cuppylicious cupcakes for entertaining my request and making it such a personalized gift!! Initially I just ordered a batch of pastel colored roses on the cupcakes, but then decided to have some fun with them and ordered things that remind me of him instead. Such a big boy of 27, the box was more for a kid turning 8 =)

Our favourite piece : the angel wings complete with the fuzzy heart and halo to match.

Stickers

I should learn to update on a more regular basis. I am losing touch of the things and thoughts I have running through my mind during my blooming years. I finished reading an extremely good book. I am getting back on track on my read-a-thon. We used to have those every quarter in elementary school. A sticker for a book read.

I plan to read all the famous books. I mean, there must be a reason why they are famous. And I do have a fetish for buying new/old books. Reading them makes me feel so rich. Like encapsulated in an air tight fantasy world of our own. Its a feeling I learned to appreciate since I was 8, an avid reader.

I would highly recommend to kill a mockingbird to those who have yet to read it. Next in line : waiting for my 'inferno' by dante (I asked naz to get it for me) and maybe the silk house factory by tash aw (I think I spelt the title right) oh and you can get me that book for my upcoming 26th.

Dusun Kendong

Life is a bit boring without my diana F. We used to share the same heightened excitement whenever we went out.
Now its just me and my second-hand converse wallet, and keys. And lipbalm.
Last weekend I went to visit my granfathers, both whom are not doing so well. Its a sad circumstance to have to justify.
'Exhibit A is suffering because..so and so..' and then we'd have to compare it with 'Exhibit B shows signs of ageing and has loss the ability to..etc etc..'
It was a purely sad moment for me. But to dwell so deep into it would only drain me of my mental strength.
I had a long way back to travel. And then to deal with the fact that f's mom will be going for Hajj this year has also put a MAJOR dent on my planning.

Kendong is beautiful. The trees are wild and grew out of every nook and cranny. The grass high and tall, hiding secrets between the dense layers.
I took atok's bike for a spin. The tyres are flat. The house is on a hill that is impossible to cycle up with a set of flat tyres.

The kids in the football field were cheering us up the hill. I had sweat trickling down my neck and back. My face plastered with a permanent smile. I felt like a kid again.

Mama is back

With her presence, the house is obviously more well kept.
Dust mites at bay.
Everything in the house has returned to its safe-to-eat state.
Water jugs kept brim full ready to pour. Tea, for breakfast perhaps?

The house is alive again, because the heart is put back right where it belongs.
This time around, there is something noticeably different.

'Mama sakit-sakit badan la kemas rumah..' she has aged. Beautifully so.

Makkah al-Mukarramah

It is said in the traditions, “ Circumambulate this House frequently before it is removed, for it has been destroyed on two occasions and on the third occasion will be removed.” And it is related with the authority of Ali, may God be pleased with him, that the Prophet (s.a.w) said, “ God most High said, ‘If I intend to destroy the world I would begin with My House; first I would destroy it and then I would destroy the world after it’.”

Source : Al-Ghazali, The Secrets of Pilgrimage.

Hajar Aswad (Black Stone)

And in another tradition, “ The Black Stone is one of the jewels of Paradise; it will be raised on the Day of Resurrection with eyes and with a tongue with which to speak, bearing witness on behalf of all those who have kissed it in truth and sincerity, and the Prophet (s.a.w) used to kiss it frequently.” It is reported that the Prophet (s.a.w) used to circumambulate it riding on a camel, and would touch it with a stick and then kiss the end of the stick.”

Umar once kissed it and then said, “ I know you are just a stone in which there is neither harm nor benefit. If I had not seen the Messenger of God (s.a.w) kiss you I would never have kissed you.”

***

Masjidil Haram, Jan 2010.

I do not have a picture of the Black Stone itself. But I did get to kiss it. Once. Mama told me that the guard on duty was lazy that day, else we would have had a smoother experience kissing the Black Stone. He should have cut the men from hoarding towards the Black Stone and let the Nisa’ take turns kissing it. But instead, their ihram would get caught in the crowd and they would have a hard time trying to move away from the crowd. Some greedy men would want to kiss it twice, or even three times. I don’t believe that God will tally on how many times you kissed it, even though the Prophet (s.a.w) himself kissed it many times. How many years ago was that? They probably did not have as many – or as rude, a crowd as they do now. Who am I to pass judgement. Just my thoughts on the act of kissing the Black Stone. Maybe we humans are so physical. We need to literally do it (many times), to know that we have physically done something to let God know that we are pure at heart.

I read in the Umrah guide book that it was sufficient for us to wave our hand to the Black Stone and kiss it, for fear of endangering ourselves in the crowd if we tried to approach the Black Stone and really kiss it.

My brother did not get to kiss it, it was a harder and more painful experience for him as his foot was stepped on many times and he could not contain his frustration thus left the crowd only to have his ihram tied up somewhere in between the sea of bodies.

Source : Al-Ghazali, The Secrets of Pilgrimage.

Getting to know the House and of Makkah

Masjidil Haram, Jan 2010.

The Prophet (s.a.w) said, “ God most High has promised this House that six hundred thousand persons will make a pilgrimage to it every year; and if the pilgrims are short of that number, God most High will complete their number with the angels. And (He has promised) that the Ka’abah wil be crowded about, like a bride in procession, while all the pilgrims cling to its curtains and run about it until it enters Paradise and they along with it.”

Whoever has done the Hajj or even the lesser pilgrimage is never in the know whether their prayers have been accepted by God. I also read that as preparation for our visit, we should study and anticipate the longing to travel to Makkah. Infatuate even, just as we do with our lovers. Every little detail about them makes our heart beat faster, and so should every thought of the House of our Lord, in faraway Makkah.

Bir-Ali, Jan 2010.

After 300 km of barren roads from Madinah, we have finally arrived at our Miqat destination, the Bir-Ali. There the men would have to start wearing their ihram, but my dad and brother donned it from the hotel. Easier for them to adjust and get used to.

The open courtyard outside the mosque.

Bir-Ali boasts a large open yard with a beautifully green and cool garden area. The toilets are clean and the guards less offensive. We did the sunnat prayers there and I was approached by a group of arab girls, bravely saying , “ I want your camera.” I did a 180 – I had a fear of guards in mosques. Then the girl corrected herself quickly, “I want you to take my photograph,” and ran off. But not before I stole their picture with my Diana F+.

Source : Al-Ghazali, The Secrets of Pilgrimage.

The Pilgrimage

Ali ibn Muwaffaq is reported to have said, “ I performed the Pilgrimage one year, and when it was the night of ‘Arafat I slept in the Mosque of al-Khayf at Mina. I saw in dream as though two angels clothed in green came down from the sky. Then one of them called to the other, ‘O slave of God’, and he (the other angel) replied, ‘Here am I, O slave of God.’

The former continued, ‘Do you know how many performed pilgrimage to the House of our Lord the Most High this year?’ He answered, ‘ I do not know.’

‘Six hundred thousand have performed the pilgrimage to the House of our Lord.’ The other asked, ‘But do you know how many of them were accepted?’ He answered,’No.’

‘Six persons,’ the other concluded. Then he ascended into the air and disappeared from me, and I woke up in fright. I was very much distressed and my condition greatly disturbed. I continued to meditate upon the multitude of people (who attended that year’s pilgrimage as compared to) the small number of whom were accepted.

I fell asleep, and all of a sudden there were before me the two figures having descended again in their same form. And one of them called the other repeating the same words as before. Then he said, ‘Do you know what decision our Lord made this night?’

‘No,’ the other said.

He said,’He has given every one of the six, a hundred thousand.’ Then, I woke up with such rejoicing as cannot be described.”

Source : Al-Ghazali, The Secrets of Pilgrimage.

Big bite

There's so much I wanted to share here. But the video clip I've been wanting to upload is too big. Darn. I will promise to come up with at least two entries, one on Madinah and another on Mekah. My memories of them are pretty much the only thing I hold on to especially when the boss is pissed off at me for not contacting him directly when I claimed that F's car was broken into and he found it mythical that I did not remember his phone number.

Like seriously dude, give it a rest. I have no idea why this guy has been hot on my tracks. I refuse to write more about him for fear that his bad vibes will spoil my sacred blog. Tahaha. I'm not doing anything this weekend. Other than chase cats around the house which should be fun.