In His name- the Most Merciful Most Gracious
Salaam'alaykum

Jaami'e Uthman-Kuwaiti,
Damascus, Syria.
15th Syaaban 1428H

Allah knows that people in the past had it harder than me...
Allah saw the evil hearted men with no mercy
Allah felt the hearts of the Muslims as they came near
Allah sent His tranquility and they lost all their fear

Cause Allah says if you trust Him and you truly have faith
Allah sends His Sakina and He showers His grace

Ramadhan Mubarak everyone. :)

Wassalaam.

O Allah, Your Mercy outweighes Your Wrath
Rabbi yassir wa laa tu'assir ya Kareem..

In the name of Allah- the Most Merciful Most Gracious
Salaam’alaykum

TLC- Terrible Lousy Cooking



Saturday, 1 September 2007

I was getting very jittery that morning. Kept fidgeting in the internet café. Why? It was my turn to cook lunch and dinner that day! Argh! (well, it isn’t the end of the world, is it? HeE~)

Imagine; me, preparing dishes for ten people? :/ Oh well. I only prayed the best for that day. But thanks to Allah, Kak Khadijah and Kak Atiqah did help me that day. 

Firstly, we went to the cyber center at 8 am. We did our online for 3 hours. Alas, I managed to upload some pictures. Hopefully they answered questions of those who want to know how Damascus looks like. ;)

Ummi and family, I hope everyone is entertained by looking at the (not as nice as kak ngah’s) pictures. :P

So back to my cooking story, oh no, my amazing cooking story. (amazing sangat…hah) As usual, we would do some shopping at the neighbourhood market, known as Souq Jumu’ah. I planned to cook a dish full of vegetables.
(A healthy lifestyle? You can say that again.)

So off we went to buy some groceries at a stall owned by an elderly man. Oh by the way, we had a really tough time which grocer should we go to since there are lots stalls selling the same type of things. Fortunately for us, we stopped at the mister’s stall, plus he allowed us to select which tomatoes we wanted as long as they weigh 1kg. How excited we were! It is kind of hard to find a stall which lets you choose the fruits and veggies wanted. Another thing which added to our excitement, is that after choosing the fresh, red and chubby tomatoes, we handed them to the stall owner and he said “Tamaam!” which means “exactly” while smiling and showed us the OK sign. How cute. Haha. From that day onwards, we vowed to buy vegetables from his stall and called him “polite uncle” or rather, “pakcik baik”. Hee~

After done with marketing, we went up the hills, through the alley towards our lovely home with our heavy black plastic bags. I can assure you that the way back home is a daily exercise for us. Ummi, you would surely love to stay here, We can lose kilos of fats everyday. Really! 

The first thing we realized back at home in the kitchen, there were no onions at all. Oh boy. I guess it was my mistake for not checking the ingredients needed for my dish. But since I’ve bought a large cabbage, a few tomatoes and 1kg of chicken wings, I decided to prepare a so-called Kentucky Fried Chicken dish and a vegetable salad.

How was the cooking process, you ask? Heh.

Fried Chicken- Kak Khadijah and Kak Atiqah volunteered to help. So happily we cleaned the kitchen beforehand and prepared the ingredients. I cleaned the chicken wings just like usually did back in Singapore, and mixed them with the rest of ingredients such as the Kentucky flour. Later, I was left all alone in the tiny yet cosy kitchen. Fear. Yep, that was what I felt. Oh well, I did manage to fry the chicken wings but I was panicky that time and boy, how smoky the kitchen was! And how terrified I was to find that the wings were somehow…darker than I expected. I was thinking- how on earth are the sisters supposed to eat burnt fried chicken wings for lunch??

I hurried to my room where Kak Atiqah was using the laptop and asked for her help in the kitchen, with tears of exasperation and sweat trickling down my cheek. Kak Atiqah was rather shocked and amused to see my terrified expression and rushed to the kitchen. She laughed whole-heartedly and ate a chicken wing. Sis assured me that the wings are perfectly fine- they are of the right colour and texture. Phew! Praises to Him, but I was still afraid though. Then came Kak Khadijah Ithnin and Kak Shaheerah, our seniors. I wanted to keep a straight face but Kak Atiqah told them about my critical yet amusing state. They too guffawed in laughter. Oh my Allah. However, they said the wings are just nice. And Kak Khadijah too created her own dish during her first cooking experience here. Hehe. Kak Shaheerah even replied; no matter what we cook, they would still savor the dish. (whoa. Relieved, I was.)

Veggie Salad- I love this part. Why? Cuz Kak Atiqah has helped me a lot with this dish. *beams* A humongous cabbage was cut then put into a glass bowl, cubes of tomato, carrot, slices of boiled eggs and of course- salad dressings plus mayonnaise. Yummylicious, eh? Despite the fact that I do not quite fancy the sour mayo and dressing, still, I think the salad tasted quite nice.
(bukan nak puji diri sendiri tau! >.<)

The sisters who are staying in their newly-rent house also enjoyed the salad. I gave some to them since they didn’t have any cooking utensils at home and they hadn’t eaten since lunch. So that night, my housemates brought bowls of the salad and drinks to their place. In the end, we spent a night there. Hehe. Anyway, their house is just a 1 minute walk from ours. Nice? You bet. *winks*
Alhamdu lillah.


Visit to the Companions of the Prophet (pbuh)’s shrines

Tuesday, 4 September 2007

It was the second last orientation programme held by DMASYQ- Singapore’s student association in Syria. The purpose of this programme was to educate Singaporean students studying in Syria- that Damascus was once a land where most of Prophet Muhammad’s companions once lived, ruled, worked and most of all, fight for Islam.

The first maqaam or shrine we visited was the maqaam of Sayyidina Bilal ibn Rabah radiallahu ‘anhu- almu’adzinul awwal. He was given the name;
the First Muadzin by Rasulullah himself. Subhanallah. May Allah bless his soul.

Next was the shrine of a Omayad caliph named Al-Walid bin Marwan. He was a very good ruler and had done a lot of development for Islam during his ruling years. Beside his shrine, there were shrines of his royal family. Brother Zayd, our respected president of DMASYQ managed to explain a brief history of the companion’s shrines.

Later on, we went to a Muslim Cemetry where small buildings with green domes can be seen. Bro Zayd explained that the domes indicate that those are shrines of the Ahlul Bayt which means the descendents of the Prophet (pbuh). We visited Caliph Umayyah’s shrine, Sayyidatina Asmaa’s, Ummu Habibah and Ummu Salamah who are the Prophet’s wives, Sayyidina Ali Zainal Abideen- one of his descendents, and also the syuhadaa’ of Karbala.

Subhanallah. The visit really developed a sense of remorse, enlightment and appreciation in me. Praises to Allah who has given me this golden opportunity to be here in Damascus, the Land of Blessings. My gratefulness to Ummi and Abah and family plus friends who have prayed for me all these while.

Especially to Ummi and Abah, May Allah grant you great health and wealth plus reward all your deeds and sacrifices. I love you Ummi and Abah. And Long, Ngah and Mas. May Allah watch over all of you. 

Till then, Insya Allah we’ll meet again. Do remember me in your prayers.
Wassalaam.

p/s:for more pictures, visit www.faqihulmuzaffar.multiply.com :)

In the name of Allah- the Most Merciful Most Gracious
Salaamullahi’alaykum…

Thursday, 30 August 2007, 4.40 am

I felt a light tap on my knee. It was Sis Mardhiyah, who woke me up for the fajr prayers.
She asked in Malay, “Would you like to go to Jaamie’?”

(italic)In Syria, mosques are mostly known as jaamie’. Usually, we would perform our fajr prayers at the nearest jaamie’ in our area.

I sat abruptly, rubbing my droopy half-closed eyes. For a moment, I waited for my turn to perform my ablution. Much to my anticipation, the water supply was cut off. Since we had filled up almost 40 drinking bottles with water, I used 1 and a half bottle of water for washing up.

Done with that, I dressed up quickly yet drowsily (!) and waited with Sis Hida by the door. Both of us waited for Sis Mardhiyah outside. The cool morning breeze really snapped me out of trance. As per normal, we walked in the rocky isles down the slopes, past the streets of shop houses, making a racquet with our extremely dusty shoes.

Really, getting up in the morning and making a decision to perform fajr prayer at the jaami’e, is really a hard task. You have to fight the temptation of lying on the ever so irresistible mattress, resting your head on the soft and comfy pillow to fly back to Dreamland, and wait until 10 minutes to syuru’. Of course, you get to feel the pleasure of sleeping and fulfilling your heart’s content. However, you lose the serenity of not joining the other sisters and brothers at the mosque, who have started their day so well, which Is at the mosque.

What a waste.

I know. I’ve been there and done that a lot of times. Be it back at home in Singapore, or here in Syria. Tsk. A very bad Muslim I am. May Allah forgive and guide me plus everyone. Ameen.

I have been doing well here, by His Grace, with the villagers and locals so friendly. Of course, there are those who we do not like that much of their character. But as usual, humans commit mistakes all the time. Neighbours can be very caring and sometimes not. They can be very forgiving yet selfish. The same goes to ourselves. (Without realizing, everyone will be a neighbour, no matter what cuz who in the world lives far from civilisation? ;))

And a reminder to me and everyone else, children may be cheeky and mischievous yet they are sinless. So we have to treat them well like our own. Especially the neighbours’. I’ll have to bear that in mind. :/ (HeE ^-^)


Tuesday, 28 August 2007

We do not have Idrisi tuition lessons on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. So usually during these days, we would rest at home or join groups at the Jaamie’s, go to the cybercentre, and mostly attend a mini-lecture at jaami’es by renowned scholars.

However that Tuesday, we went to 2 feasts. First, was at Bro Zul’s place. Brother Zul is a Malaysian elder brother who has lived in Syria for 12 years. He is my senior, Sis Isma’s fiancé. Sis Isma lives with us but she will be going back to Singapore soon for her wedding. Exciting, isn’t it? Hehe.

So back to the feast at Bro Zul’s house. He was scheduled to leave Syria at 5.30pm that day and yet he insisted on cooking the scrumptious meals himself!
Well, of course, Kak Isma helped him out with the preparation and such :P

He has helped us a lot- giving us home-cooked Malay dishes, treating us to an expensive rice feast, treating us free Suzuki (lorry) rides to Idrisi tuition lessons, repairing electronic stuff at home and lots more. Jazaakallahu kheir jazaa’, Akh.

After having a heavy lunch, we sent him off at Damascus International Airport, which was when I phoned little Mastura with my cellphone. I miss her squeaky voice. Then Ummi called me back. Yes, Ummi. Insya Allah I’ll bear your words. Do pray for me, okay Ummi? I love you. You are always in my prayer. 

Next, we went back to Rukn Eddeen. By then, it was almost ‘asr. So we performed our prayers at Abu Nour. I have always liked Abu Nour since back in Singapore where I would always go to its website. And indeed, it IS a tranquil place for ‘ilm and ‘ibadah. All Glory be to Allah.

As soon as we reached home, it was nearing maghrib. We rested for a moment before going out to another feast (hehe) at these two siblings’ place. They are Turkish yet living in Holland. They are here only the two of themselves. Elder sister is Samihah, 18 and younger is Sarah, 14. How cute they are! And very talented too! They prepared Turkish dishes for us. Yummy indeed.
Alhamdu lillah.

After filling our tummies with the tantalizing food (alhamdu lillah), the five of us namely- sis Hida, sis Mardhiyah, sis Khadijah, sis Atiqah and myself- went to jaami’e Kuwaiti to attend a dars by the renowned Syeikh Zuhaili. But by the time we reached the mosque, the dars has ended. How disappointed we were. Perhaps it was our own fault for eating so much which caused our delay. May Allah forgive us. Ameen.

However, we managed to greet and chat with 3 sweet elder ladies who were very caring and willing to share some information about the dars here. They told us in detail about the place, date and time of each dars held near that area. So far, I’ve went to only 3 jaami’es for dars. Tsk. I’m such a weakling. Surely an ‘ilm seeker should have gone more than that. Astaghfirullah..

But the best part about that night is because it I sthe 15th of Syaaban and the full moon is delightfully clear! We couldn’t resist looking and at the night sky and praising Him. And of course, taking snapshots of it . Furthermore, the jaami’e is so enchanting as though it is decorated with the moon and stars.

Surely, that night is a night of blessing and forgiveness. Insya Allah. 


Monday, 27 August 2007

Like any other Mondays, the eight of us (the new female Singaporean students) will go for our Arabic tuition class which starts at 3.30 pm and ends at 5.00 pm. It may not be an ideal time for a lesson because back then in Singapore, it is usually the ‘napping period’. Well, for me, that is. Bad bad, Hafizah.
But all praises to Him, I managed to keep awake and concentrate in class. Why?
It is because the Aanisa (female teacher) is amazingly very dedicated and wonderful. You can see the passion of teaching in her eyes every time she explains a certain topic. Her eyes express a sign of sincerity in sharing Allah’s great knowledge, along with her sweet smile and ever enchanting stories about
geography, history, the outside world and almost everything. You name it. Not only the Arabic subject itself but almost every other subjects too.

All praises to Allah. Alhamdu lillah. =)

Although we only learn the basic Arabic grammar (Nahu and Saraf), we consider these lessons very valuable because we really need to polish our so rusty Arabic skills. I recall how ashamed I was when Aanisa Maisaa’ (our tutor) asked me an I’raab question which I knew the answer but somehow the words didn’t form correctly in my mind. It happens almost everytime she asks me. And Aanisa likes to ask each and every one of us questions (which ALWAYS makes me feel uptight and nervous!) , so as to ensure we participate in the class and understand every single bit of her lesson. That is what I enjoy most about this Idrisi tuition. ;)

Oh, I almost forget! We never fail to bring back home some goodies too, each single lesson. Goodies which are extremely good for students...

…HOMEWORK!

Heh. Yep, we do have them almost everyday but they are not a burden at all, unlike back then. No homework at times, yet when you have them.. there you go. You get what I mean? Hehe. I think it is because Aanisa Maisaa’ does not want us to feel and think that learning Arabic is tedious and boring. But personally, I feel that the piles of homework I’ve done in school was the asset of my success (and others’ too!) so far. Don’t you think? Alhamdu lillah. ;)

All in all, homework is the best goodie from a teacher, personally. :D

Till then, insya Allah I'll update again. Do remember me in your prayers.

To Ummi and Abah- do not despair. Allah is there. I love you.

To Mas- be a good girl, okay? Be safe when you're using th rollerblades.

To Long and Ngah- Take care. I miss your squabblings. (hah!)

Wassalaam :))