Man-made man and our kids iman...

It's becoming more and more challenging being parents nowadays..

Am sure that inshaallah no one would disagree to this statement..

Children as we know can easily be influenced by their environment, what they see and hear especially.. To try to control these senses in this era of iPads, iphone, astro, 

Internet- you tube and google.. is almost an impossible thing to do..

My chiropractor lives with her partner, no kids, when I ask her one day, she said ...it's a big responsibility and keeps your hand full...

This is a nonmuslim lady who realizes the dangerous environment for kids to grow in nowadays..

We Muslims, knowing the things that we have to adhere to in our deen should feel even more worried ...

The thing is these days, everyone would agree that raising up kids these days is very challenging but not many would agree that for this reason, the kids need close attention and care 24/7..

Okay, if many would agree even to this fact, not many are willing to do it... Worse.. Some find it difficult to understand or accept why parents with high educational background choose to leave their promising career to take care of their kids..

A friend of mine who left her career was told by her friends.. Kenape la kau ni Kena membibik-kan diri? Which means - why do you have to enslave yourself..

 if you don't want to do it, at least, please don't discourage others...

Okay now back to the topic... No it's not about Frankenstein okay..

We re talking about the spider and the superman...

These days our kids seem to know more about these fictional super heroes than our true superheroes  like khaleed al-Waleed r.a. , saad ibn Abi waqqas r.a., etc. not just our kids, even ourselves, if a survey was to be made to the Muslim parents, how many of them know who khaleed al- Waleed r.a. Was.. I would not be surprised if it comes out that less than 5% of them know who he was...

Hopefully we are among this 5% group of parents, if not, then there's still time and ways!

Firstly, if your kids are still clean of all these fictional things, try to keep them clean..
if they are already into it , then try to limit it or slowly reduce it...

Cause it's not just about telling them the stories about the sahabah, but also about avoiding distractions... Cause you know how hi tech is used in these Movies and cartoons that once kids are into it, to get them sit down and just listen to stories of sahabah that doesn't come with pictures, animation or sounds is gonna be challenging...

For my kids, alhamdulillah, so far I manage to avoid the distractions (as much as i can, though not 100%).. Thus they have no choice but to listen to their mamas storytelling for entertainment...Tell the stories in their words, facial expression and action...

Am telling you.. This is what i call real entertainment man! ;)

Also found some useful short clips on YouTube just to add in some flavor to it..

 

Not to say that I don't use technology at all... With very very close supervision and Islamic shariah in mind.. Inshaallah, it can benefit...

the effect is tremendous! one day while I was cleaning Maryam one day in the toilet, I heard Mus'ab repeatedly saying khaleed al-Waleed r.a so many times.. I was wondering what that boy was up to..

 Then he came to me with his drawing board...

 he was actually trying to figure out how to spell Khaleed al-waleed r.a. in arabic
Khaleed al Waleed r.a, the sword of Allah.. And the last object is his helmet..

not just that, even when they are playing nowadays, they would not call themselves superman or spiderman.. but they  would be khalid al waleed r.a. or salahuddin al-ayubi!
may they grow up with the love to sacrifice for deen like that of our true illustrious superheroes in the past! Ameen!

1434H !

Yep... Its 1434H and am in my 4 th decade of life already! How time flies these days!! And when was my last post again?! Ermmmm... 1 year plus ago?! Time really flies man!
And it's not coming back...
May Allah give us the taufiq to use time wisely.. For every second of this life is a gift from Him...also a trust, which will be questioned for on the day of judgement.
And the wisest in time management are those who use it with death in mind...
How am I gonna use today to the best of my ability so if I were to die tomorrow , I would be prepared...
Am reminding myself first and foremost..cause after 6 days of being in Perth, still struggling to fit in the new schedule especially for tahajjud, now that fajr here is 3.36 and isha 8.20...2 growing kids outside and 1 inside, not forgetting the BIG baby ;)...Fiuh!
Hopefully by reminding others, Allah will give me the strength! That's the purpose of dawah anyway, you remind others sincerely, so you will have the strength to practice it yourself, inshaallah!

Seeing is Deceiving!

a definitely better, more rational and guiding phrase (compared to the common one: seeing is believing) for us in living our lives in this temporary world full of tests, trials and tribulations, temptations, high hopes etc.   Yep, having perfect eyes are truly a great blessing from Allah, if only we are able to use them in the way that will gain the pleasure of its Creator or its Real Owner. Otherwise, this great gift may, naudhubillah be the cause of our permanent destruction in the HereAfter.
AllahuAkbar, the joy of looking at your child smile at you alone is i think more than enough to describe the value of this gift.. (thats if one can ever describe it that is).

in bukhari it is mentioned:
Anas Radiyallahu'Anhu narrates that i heard Nabi Sallahu'alaihiwasallam say: Allah says: 'when I afflict my bondsmen with his two beloved possesions, he then exercises patience, I will grant him Jannah in lieu of it.'
 His two eyes are meant (here)

So come, lets be very thankful to Allah for what He has given us.. the gift of sight.
How?
Train them to see something that it can never see without zikrullah!
Let zikrullah overpower us until everything around us can remind us of His Greatness and Splendour!
Look at a tree and admire.. Not how big and beautiful it is, but how Great and Grand is its Sustainer, its Grower!
Look at a big, luxurious house and ponder.. not how rich the owner is, but ponder.. how we shall be questioned on our worldly possessions in the HereAfter. That when the time comes, we shall leave all our wealth. Our true possesions are really only those deposited on our book of deeds.

Anas RadiAllahu'anhu narrates Rasulullah Sallahu'alayhiwasallam said: On the day of resurrection, a person from the people of the fire who had been living a most comfortable and luxurious life in the world will be brought (and) dipped once in the Fire. Then he will be asked: O son of Adam! Do you recall seeing any good or a moment of luxury? No, by Allah, O My Rabb (Sustainer).
And (likewise) a person from the people of Paradise who had been living the most distressful life in the world, will be brought and dipped once in Paradise. Then he will be asked: O son of Adam! Do you recall any adversity or a moment of misery? He will reply: No. by Allah O my Rabb! Neither an adversity passed over me nor a moment of misery! (Muslim)

See but dont be deceived.. lets train our eyes to see beyond and thus strengthen our iman
unfortunately, i think, nowadays with our ever-fluctuating level of iman its very difficult. so maybe the best way is to avoid seeing as much as possible. lets lower our gazes with humility and zikrullah in our hearts. InsyaAllah, Allah will give us that pair of eyes that will be a witness to our steadfastness in this world.

A MEGA PROJECT

Nope, we're not talking about a community project, or a state or global project.
And its definitely not a multi-million or billion project.
It's simply a MEGA PROJECT! And the director or the head of the project is anyone with any of the following titles: mum / mama/ ummi/ mummy/ ibu/ mak/ amma etc..
And mind you that this project is not a choice, as long as u've got the aforementioned titles.. that's it!
You're in it! Whether you like it or not!
Regardless whether u're a doctor/ a teacher/ scientist,
whether you're a PhD holder/ a degree holder or Diploma holder,
malay. chinese, or mixed
Whoever you are
as long as you have delivered a child, then thats is
you're a shepherd! Congratulations! Seriously!

The objective of the project is simply to gain the pleasure of Allah.
The special most important task of the project is to shape a human being/ human beings for those with more than 1 child.
Its called a mega project here, because as you can see the task is difficult.
Its not a multi-million project because the benefits or reward or profit you're gonna get by accomplishing the project cannot be compared to anything in the world. Its way way bigger, grand and most importantly... its permanent!

As mentioned in a hadith:

Hadhrat Mu'aaz Juhani (RadiAllahu'anhu) reports tha Rasulullah Sallahu'alayhiwasallam said:
Whoever reads the Qur'an and acts upon what is contained in it, his parents will be made to wear a crown on the Day of Judgement, the brilliance of which will excel that of the sun, if the same were within your worldly houses. So, what do you think about the person who himself acts upon it?

In another narration, it was said that: One who recites the Qur'an and acts upon it will be made to wear a crown woven with noor, and his parents will be made to wear garments which will be more valuable than the entire world. They will say; Almighty Allah! what is it that we are given these garments for? In lieu of the reading of Qur'an by your child, will be the reply.

Also, it is given in Jam'ul Fawaa'id by Tabrani (rahmatullah alaih) that Hadhrat Anas had reported the saying of Rasulullah:
Whoever teaches the reading of Qur'an to his son (without memorizing it), all his sins whether previous or subsequent, will be forgiven; and whoever makes his child memorize the Qur'an will be raised in the Day of Judgement in the ssemblance of a full moon; and his son will be asked to start reciting, and for everyayat read by the child, the status of the parent will be raised to the next higher grade of Jannat, till the recitation of the Holy Qur'an is completed.

AllahuAkbar! If we are still in doubt whether or not to at least try make our children hafeez after having read all the hadeeth above, then we definitely need to question the state of our iman!
Allah, give us true iman, ya Allah!

Problem with us is that most of the time we fail to realize that this is truly a mega project thus we tend to ignore it or take it lightly.
As much as we'd like to handle our big projects in the field we're working in, ourselves or with the help of someone better, we should also regard the same for this project. Even more for this mega project cause failure to do so will cause us a great punishment in the HereAfter.
Unfortunately, many people today is happy to just leave their mega projects in the hands of maids, or daycares. Am not saying that we cant go out and achieve our aim in our careers but the point is we have to realize that by doing so, we are actually putting our mega projects at risk!

So we have to minimize this risk if we can't get rid of it totally.

Believe me.. insyaAllah, do it for Allah, whatever you sacrifice for His pleasure..

its gonna be worth it!

Dear mothers, these kids are great gifts and responsibilities from Allah.
Lets put all our effort to shape them up the way Allah wants it.
Of course, no one can promise that all of them will turn out the way we want them to but have full confidence that Allah is the Most Just, and Allah Knows whether or not you've done you're part.

Naudhubilllah, we have enough sins in our account, we dont want because of our negligence, our own kids, whom we used to call the apple of our eyes, on the Day of Resurrection.. they would come to us asking for their unfulfilled rights! AllahuAkbar! save us all from this great calamity!
Amin...

My Mega Projects: Mus'ab & Maryam

XXX-Ray

We know how x-rays allow us to see through to the skeletons. Last time, maybe in the 90's there was this famous malay movie entitled XX-ray, a science-fiction story about the discovery of a more powerful ray than x-ray, thus the name xx-ray. Now, my post today is on XXX-ray!

Its the power to look through people up to the level that you can't even see that person in front of you!
Very powerful dont you think?!
Of course every powerful thing has to come from a very powerful source.
And this very powerful source we're talking about here is none other than the heart filled with the greatness of Allah!

Because the greatness of Allah is so great in their hearts, everything around them can only remind them of Allah. When tested with friends or relatives for example, the greatness of Allah is so big in their eyes that they can only see Allah behind everything that anyone did to him. They believe with certainty, that these people causing them trouble are merely tools used by Allah to test His slaves. 

As much as the 'commonfolk' believe that the one to be blamed in a case of murder is the murderer and not the gun or the knife used for the murder, these special people believe that everyone around them are merely tools and they have no power to do anything without the Will of Allah. And who are we to blame our Creator. For verily He knows whats best for us. His love for us is more than anything in the world.

Lets choose to please Him. Lets choose to get closer to Him with every difficulties we may be facing in life.
Just remember that however severe the hardship we're facing in this world, if we manage to please Allah by putting His pleasure above anything else, insyaAllah, in the HereAfter we'd definitely realize that its definitely worth it. Cause the eternal, unimagineable rewards in the HereAfter is far far greater than the biggest of hardship in this temporary world!

so how do we get this 'XXX-ray'?
simply by trying our very best to be His favourites.. how?
by increasing our optional deeds! -reminding myself, firstly!

As mentioned in a hadeeth:

My servant ceases not to seek nearness to Me through optional deeds until I make him my favourite, and thus I become His ears wherewith he hears, his eyes wherewith He sees, and his hands wherewith he holds, and his feet wherewith he walks.

May Allah make us all His favourites!
Amin!

Mus'ab's 'Abstract' Art

I can still remember the moment when I first hold him in my arms the morning after the delivery!
He was so tiny, hairy and looks like khairi! He is my along aka ango (as pronounced by Maryam) then, now and forever, insyaAllah
He is... Muhammad Mus'ab b. Mohd Khairi!
Now all grown up, toilet trained and soon.. will be sleeping in his own room..
Noooooooooo!!!!
(ok... maybe not too soon) ;P
Alhamdulillah, all praise is to Allah for giving me the chance to watch him grow for the past 2 and a half years now. SubhanAllah, i am simply amazed to see them grow by day..
How everyday they advance further physically, mentally, emotionally and socially..

one can never estimate the rate at which one's child is growing..

we tend to underestimate them, most of the time

being a full-time mum i notice that these kids are ever-ready to absorb and ever-in need of company,
- someone to cheer for them for their achievements, someone to answer their never-ending questions, someone to tell them stories.. also.. to listen to their stories..someone to kiss their hands or knees when their in pain.
AllahuAkbar, I am sure this motherly feelings You put in me is for a great purpose!
When some people may regard it as a weakness, insyaAllah, I believe its a strength that every mum out there should be proud of and not suppress it.

Okay, am waaaay out of topic!
- maybe not- thats what abstract art is all about.. waaay out of reality!
Just wanna share some of Mus'ab's 'Abstract' Art.
Try to figure out what the pictures are before reading the caption ok.
Enjoy!




A yellow goose. The sad looking face on the top right is actually a sad sunshine.



Looks like a chicken huh? but nope, its another goose according to the artist.

Yep, another goose and nope, so far i've never seen a goose in australia. Swans yes, but not goose.

A mama whale (with a baby whale in her belly) swimming with a dolphin

A yellow boy fishing on a yellow boat

A snake chasing a mouse

Thats it for now, insyaAllah.
May Allah bless!



Playtime with Aunty Muna :)

SubhanAllah, how  time passes by  these  days..

we already had our 12th session of playgroup last monday and Alhamdulillah, its been quite an experience.

last time, i remember i used to have 3 ambitions.. just to share with you
to be a doctor, a teacher or a chef (yes, its a bit out of place but yep it was on the list)

Alhamdulillah, at this point, by the will of Allah, i got the chance to be all three..quite!

Anyhow, am writing to share what we did in our playgroup. Personally, i think its a really good learning event for the kids and a great get-together for the  mums. Kids have fun and learn while mums exchange ideas and experiences on parenting.

and seriously..its not  difficult to start one if u dont have any at your place. 

Do it for the sake of Allah, to teach our children and get the sisters together, insyaAllah, Allah will make it easy... and fun!

Learning to grow! Mus'ab with his grown-up cress

The following are some of the pics taken during the playgroup:

Learning to smile as well! Mus'ab and Ryu Iskandar with their egg-carton  camels.

Adli, Azfar, Mus'ab, Umairah and Iskandar with their  handprint-butterflies.

One of those 'quiet' sessions: Here are Mus'ab and kak yaya with their paper plate bees 

This time maryam  was not asleep so she joined in the fun making big-mouthed puppets with kak Yaya and 'Ango' (aka Mus'ab).

Yes.. another paper-plate craft (finishing up the stock)! This time, its a rabbit mask. Here are Iskandar, Mus'ab and Kak Yaya. I think, at the back there is Aqil who refuse to put the mask on..

This is our 11th session: paper-plate crowns. Mus'ab looks like a happy king here, all alone in the middle.



Its suppose to be fingerprints-fish.. anyway, as long as they're happy!
Here are Iskandar, Umairah, Hafsah, Maryam, Azfar, Mus'ab and Nur Amani



Our most recent session: we were suppose to make personalized pencil cases using used bottles, but unfortunately, only 1 mum did her homework! Anyhow, it was fun!