Thursday 25 June 2015

Sharing this Doa

(Note: I do not take credit to this doa as I got it from Facebook and have forgotten the person who posted it. Nevertheless, sometimes a doa in a language that you can understand is very powerful because you will say it from the bottom of your heart and in all humbleness)

Ya Allah Ya Rahman Ya Rahim

Dalam dakapan Ramadhan yang suci ini, dengan rasa rendah diri ini, kami yang kerdil dan hina ini memohon doa dengan penuh pengharapan kepadaMu ya Allah.

Semoga Engkau sudi mendengar permintaan kami, kerana sesungguhnya Engkaulah Tuhan yang Maha Mendengar.

Ya Fattahu Ya Alim

Ajarkanlah kami yang lemah ini untuk melihat jalan keluar daripada semua masalah yang membelenggu kami, bukanlah hijab kepada kami yang tak mampu melihat setiap kebaikan pada kejadian dan takdirMu.

Ya Allah, takdirkanlah yang baik-baik untuk diri kami. Janganlah Engkau menguji kami pada apa yang tidak mampu kami lalui. Bukakanlah pintu-pintu rahmatMu untuk kami ya Allah.

Ya Allah Rabbul Jalil

Sejahterakanlah untuk kami dengan kesihatan yang baik, supaya dengannya kami dapat beribadah kepadaMu. Ya Allah, ampunkanlah segala dosa kami, kerana kami terlalu banyak dosa kepadaMu ya Allah. 

Kami lupa akan Engkau ketika sihat, kami ingat kepadaMu bila ditimpa sakit.
Kami lupa kepadaMu ketika senang, kami ingat kepadaMu bila datang kesusahan.
Kami lupa kepadaMu disaat kami gembira, kami ingat kepadaMu ketika sedih dan kecewa,
Kami habiskan usia muda dengan keseronokan dunia, kami mula mengingatiMu tika usia sudah tua.

Justeru, Ya Allah,
ampunilah semua dosa kami
berilah kekuatan kepada kami untuk melawan hawa nafsu dan dunia yang sentiasa melalaikan kami daripada mengingatiMu ya Allah.

Ya Allah Ya Rahman Ya Rahim

Ampunkanlah dosa kedua ibubapa kami
Setiap titik susu ibu yang mengalir dalam diri kami, Kau gantilah dengan kebajikan untuknya yang boleh membawanya ke syurgaMu ya Allah.

Ya Rahman, 
Pada setiap keringat yang mengalir pada tubuh ayah kami dalam mencari rezeki kepada keluarga kami, Kau gantilah dengan keampunan yang membawanya ke syurgaMu ya Allah. 

Sesungguhnya pengorbanan mereka tidak akan mampu kami membalasnya. 
Bahkan,
terkadang mereka hidup dalam kesusahan dan kesempidan
Sedangkan,
kami berada dalam kesenangan dan kemewahan

Justeru,
kurniakanlah kepada kedua ibubapa kami tempat yang istimewa di syurgaMu ya Allah.

Ya Allah,
Kami juga memohon ampun untuk kaum kerabat kami, sahabat-sahabat kami dan guru-guru kami yang terlebih dahulu pergi meninggalkan kami kealam barzakh. Golongkanlah mereka dalam orang-orang yang Engkau redhai. Apabila tiba pula giliran kami menuju barzakhMu, maka Kau ambillah kami dalam keadaan yang baik-baik, dalam keampunan dan rahmatMu ya Allah.

Ya Allah Ya Aziz,
Kurniakanlah kepada kami jiwa yang tenang dan tenteram. Hiasilah hati kami dengan sifat bertanggungjawab. Kau jauhkanlah daripada kami sifat 'ujub, takabbur, fitnah, mengadu domba, sangka buruk dan khianah.

Ya Rashid Ya Rahman Ya Rahim
Jika ada dikalangan kami, mereka yang diuji dengan kesusahan, maka Kau bantulah mereka. Permudahkanlah urusan mereka.
Jika ada di kalangan kami, mereka yang bersedih hati, berikanlah ketenangan dan jalan keluar kepada mereka.
Jika ada di kalangan kami sedang berhajat dengan keperluannya, maka tunaikanlah hajat mereka dan cukupkanlah keperluan mereka.
JIka ada di kalangan kami mereka yang diuji dengan sakit, maka Kau sembuhkanlah mereka ya Allah, agar dapat beribadah bersama kami.
Jika ada di kalangan kami mereka yang derhaka kepada ibubapa atau terkurang dalam melayani mereka, maka Kau ampunilah mereka, jadikanlah kami anak-anak yang taat dan berbakti.
Sesungguhnya Engkaulah Tuhan yang Maha Mendengar dan Mengasihani.

Ya Allah Ya Malikal Mulk
Ya Razaj Ya Fattahu Ya Alim

Kurniakanlah kepada kami rezeki yang halal lagi diberkati dan jadikanlah dengan rezeki itu kami semakin dekat denganMU. Sebaliknya janganlah Engkau jadikan kami daripada golongan yang lupa diri setelah mendapat kurniaanMu.

Ya Allah
Bantulah kami dalam menjalankan urusan agama kami. Elokkanlah urusan dunia kami yang padanya tempat kami mencari kehidupan. 
Elokkanlah urusan akhirat kami, yang padanya tempat kami akan kembali untuk selama-lamanya. 
Jadikanlah kehidupan kami ini sebagai tambahan segala kebaikan kepada kami, dan jadikanlah kematian sebagai ketenangan kepada kami daripada segala kejahatan.
Sesungguhnya kami ingin kembali kepadaMu dengan jiwa yang tenang.

Ya Allah Ya Zaljalali wal ikram

Ya Allah
Janganlah Engkau jadikan Ramadhan ini sebagai yang terakhi buat kami, temukanlah kami dengan Ramadhan yang akan datang.
Tetapi,
andai ini Ramadhan terakhir buat kami, jadikanlah puasa kami sebagai puasa yang Engkau rahmati, jadikanlah Ramadhan ini paling bererti, penuh dengan cahaya iman, menerangi kegelapan hati kami menuju redha serta kasih sayangMu ya Allah..
Jadikanlah Ramadhan ini sebagai penghapus dosa-dosa kami ya Allah. Temukanlah kami dengan lailatul Qadar

Ya Allah
terimalah amalam kami
Terimalah taubah kami
Ampunkanlah segala dosa kami
Amankanlah kehidupan kami disana nanti yang kekal abadi
Kurniakanlah kepada kami syurgaMu yang luas nikmatnya

Amin

Saturday 20 June 2015

Because It's Ramadhan!

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

I will not take credit for this post as I got it from a friend's Facebook (Azura Abd Aziz).

Later I found out that the content comes from Nouman Ali Khan's video, "Ramadhan - A Gift to Muslims".

The reason I chose this as one of my many posts is I want to be able to read it again and again later and also to share it with you.

Many of us Muslims, think Ramadhan is a great way to lose weight, a month full of heavy iftars or even a month that has to be filled with exhausting tarawih prayers, but no, it isn't.

Ramadhan acts like a training programme for us. When you fast, you abstain yourself from food and drink (a form of physical exercise) and develop something spiritual in return.

How?

Your body is basically battling with your heart.

Every single time you hear your stomach growling, it is the heart that tells you to be patient; and every single day in Ramadhan, your heart wins. 

And what lies in the true heart of a true believer? 

It is TAQWA.

How great is is when Allah subhanahuwata'ala gives you the opportunity every year to develop a consciousness of Allah in Ramadhan and even locks up the shaaitan for us to get good training?

MashaAllah.

If the shaaitan was out, we wouldn't last up to a week with this fasting and our hearts might never win. Ramadhan can even help the non-practising muslims to go through the other battles (addiction to entertainment, improper conversation on social media, etc.). If one of your friends asked you out to a wild party, you must have said "Bro, it's Ramadhan. Come back to me after 30 days,".

Because it's Ramadhan!

But above all, what does Allah readlly mention repetitively in the Quran? There it is again, TAQWA.
Why does he talk about taqwa over 200 times in the Quran but mentions only once about fasting in the al-Baqarah?

It's because we always fail to seek and develop that Taqwa in ourselves when we were given this perfect opportunity and beautiful month called Ramadhan.

Your heart always need a refresher every year because it always slips away from the path that it is supposed to be headed to. Allah does not want hardship for you, He wants ease for you. Some of you must be wondering how is it that Allah cares for you when He asks you to starve for A MONTH?

Well my dear friends, that ease he's talking about is the guidance that He promises you. And that guidance that He promises you comes from the taqwa that we're supposed to find in our hearts.

So, my dear friends, can this change your perception towards a difficult Ramadhan?

Not so difficult now, isn't it?

xoxo

Wednesday 17 June 2015

Salam Ramadhan 1436H

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Hello! Malam ni dah start dah another chapter for this year. Ramadhan is here.

Pendek je post ni.

Reminder untuk diri sendiri:
"when you lose alot, that was when you realized that you already have alot,"

Agak tersentap jugak bila otak ni sendiri yang terfikirkan ayat diatas tu.

Nangis lah sikit lepas solat tadi. Sebak sangat. Tahun lepas, banyak sangat dugaan yang aku lalui. Walaupun pahit/perit, tapi aku bersyukur sebab bila semua insiden-insiden tu terjadi, aku rasa insaf. Aku rasa, ni mesti sebab ada kekurangan ibadat mana-mana. So I stepped it up. Then masih jugak lagi ada yang sedih-sedih terjadi.

So I thought, Allah is testing us all. He will give the most difficult battle to His strongest soldier. I hope I am strong enough to go through it.

I pray that my faith in Him will grow stronger each day. Just like the salmons who swim upstream against the strong current just to lay their eggs. That is how determined I want to be.

Mudahan kita dapat melalui Ramadhan yang penuh barakah dengan tenang dan berlipat ganda amal ibadat.

Apa target anda Ramadhan kali ini? :)

xoxo

Tuesday 16 June 2015

Thanks for the memories, Gold Coast (Part 2: The Journey Begins)

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Dengan nama Allah yang Maha Pengasih lagi Maha Penyayang.

Okay. Hari ni ada masa terluang sikit. Habis dah vacuum satu rumah dan mop. Kita dah start countdown untuk Ramadhan kan? Cepat betul masa berlalu ye? Mudahan Ramadhan kali ini kita lebih istiqomah dalam beribadat, lillahita'ala.

Jom sambung cerita pasal trip Gold Coast yang dah lama terbengkalai ni. (sorry korang!)

-------------------

29 JANUARY 2015 (Thursday)

So, sampailah hari untuk fly tu, flight kitorang malam tau. Gerak dari rumah petang and then had early dinner. Texas Chicken (yes I know you're thinking of the recent controversy which I think is ridiculous by the way *facepalm laju2*). Flight at 10 pm from KLIA2-OOL (Coolangatta Airport a.k.a Gold Coast Airport). ETA lebih kurang pukul 6 am local time.

This is the first time we're flying out of the country together. All the while we had short honeymoon trips within the country. So after 2+ years of recovering from our wedding reception (we're talking about ka-ching here), we've decided this will be a romantic getaway, and thus, let's splurge!

Taxi : macam biasa, we love using the MyTaxi app (now known as Grab A Taxi). You can download this app from Playstore or Appstore. Easy to use. Straight forward. Just make sure you give an accurate address. The driver might call you to confirm location but all else is good. You can also leave a comment on their service after on the app. According to the husband, drivers who got bad review will be kicked out of the taxi app group. Took us only 20 minutes to the airport. Yeah, he was that fast.

A little bit about KLIA2 Airport. Super huge. After dinner, we walked pass the first immigration checkpoint. The direction board says it will take us about 40 minutes walk to our departure gate. (they're not kidding). Passport checkout was super fast too as it was done electronically and you just step into the booth and follow instruction on the screen. We passed by a row of free duty shops and decided to stop for prayer. One last phone call to my parents before the long flight.

Yes the walk was 40 minutes. I had to catch my breath and we took a toilet break halfway after the second immigration checkpoint. All liquids is not allowed to pass through so I gulped down the whole bottle not wanting to waste any.

The flight journey was ok I guess. We got middle aisle and I have a quiet Australian lady on my right. For the long flight we packed light blankets and neck pillows. Blankets purchased at IKEA at RM9 and neck pillows from DAISO at RM10 each. I read for the first two hours and then decided to sleep. Lights out except for reading lights. Reading: For One More Day by Mitch Albom.

It was almost a year since the Malaysia Airlines MH17 flight disappeared from the radar. To be honest I was a little nervous about the flight. Weather forecast showed good weather ahead. Asked for friends and family to say a prayer that we go and come back safely.

30 JANUARY 2015 (Friday)
I woke up to the sound of the captain's voice. Window seat passengers started to roll up the window shades. Sun began shining in. Wow. That was fast. Australia - Gold Coast is about 2 hours ahead of Malaysia (no jetlag there). I decided to freshen up in the toilet. Need to move them legs after sleeping in a sitting position for  6 hours. I remembered sliding off my seat and subconsciously corrected my posture a few times throughout the night. Before disembarking the plane, there was an announcement about bringing in plants/animals/restricted items into Australia. There was an Ebola breakout during our trip there so upon landing, the flight attendants sprayed insecticides? all over the plane. Then another team came in and just quickly use infrared scanners to check everyone's temperature. The ones with cough/flu will probably be escorted to a holding room for further checks.

Good morning Gold Coast. I was still a little groggy. Picture taken at the airport's car rental parking bay.


The husband rented from Hertz. Arrangement all done when we were back in KL. Before you leave the airport, do stop by a convenience store at the other end of the airport to purchase OPUS SIMcard with free internet. The reception is good and the internet is fast. SIMcard comes in micro (for most Android users) and nano (for Apple people, woot!)

A Toyota Corolla hatchback for only AUD30/day.
Australia is right-hand driving so shouldn't be a problem ya? Did a quick check on the car (be sure to capture photos of any dent/mark on the car). Waze was super helpful (I say super alot don't I?) Along the way we dropped by Robina Town Center for lunch. For Halal food restaurant list, you can use this website: http://www.halalsquare.com.au/gold-coast/ . I stopped by at an Apple Store just to borrow their SIMcard tray pin because I forgot to bring mine. Off we go to the hotel!

The drive from airport (Coolangatta) to Broadbeach. Can't remember which highway was this though.

Here we are. You can view the room from any website online like booking.com, etc.
The view from our balcony on 27th floor. Pacific Ocean for the win baby!
Oh! Don't forget to buy the power socket adaptor. They use a different type of 3-pin sockets. I got them at Ace Hardware for RM20?
Had our afternoon nap and then out for dinner.

Of course I have to have rice. Else I die. (kidding). This was Curry Express, I think, right in the centre of Surfers Paradise on Clifford Street.


Took a walk through the night market along Surfers Paradise beach. Was tempted to buy handmade candle.
Cool breeze from the Pacifics. I just love being at the beach!

The night was uneventful. 
The first night was a pretty laidback day for us. Stopped by at Coles to pick up some fruits, bread, and drinks. It was halfway through summer when we were there. (the initial flight was during fall, sobs). Even if it is windy and slightly chilly, just remember to stay hydrated as if you're back in the tropics.

Sebenarnya ada la jugak interesting thing happened. Time parking kereta kat tepi jalan tu and isi coins dalam machine dia, husband ada cerita nanti kat pantai we might bump into the Parking Angels. Diorang ni minah-minah yang dress *coughs* minimally and kerja diorang ni tolong isikan coin kat parking orang supaya tak kena saman. Huhu. Tapi tak ambik gambar diorang sebab... aurat... Tapi sexy la. Hahaha!

We decided to call it a night and head back to Broadbeach. Surfers Paradise ni a little drive up north je. Helpful jugak sini after working hours dah sunyi dah so takde traffic jam pun. Oh, since kedai semua tutup awal, most restaurants tutup pukul 9 some sampai 12, mostly lepas tu tinggal bars and pubs je. Takkan nak duduk situ pulak kan? So makan awal. Tapi tengah malam macam biasa lah lapar lagi. So beli lah roti! Bila beli roti tu bolehlah cari roti halal macam ni : Nina Hamdan Blog , ada gambar sekali kat blog dia. Credit to her so I decided to post je blog address dia sini.


To be continued...

xoxo