Alkisahnya nasi briyani

Bismillah,

Ok, today post is about my break fast at uni. As I said in previous post, there will always someone to sponsor ifthar meal. And most of the time, briyani with lamb will be served. Yang sponsor nye pon orang arab kn?

I often in a stage of, a bit reluctant to break fast with this meal. I always ask people to scoop my extras or offer them the lamb. What's left for me is the briyani rice, and that's the meal for my break fast.

And people always ask,

"Banyaknye lebih nasi ko. Tak nak ke?"

"Aku tak prefer daging merah la. Ko nak sikit?"

Or the answer will go,

"Aku tak makan la nasi ade warna ni. Rase pelik"

Yup, I'm fussy and being picky here. Plus, with the fact that red meat gives more harm than white meat, it just make me more reluctant to eat nasi briyani with lamb.

Then I recalled one hadith,

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (ra): "Rasullulah never critised any food. If he liked it, he would eat it. If not he would just leave it" [Bukhari & Muslim]

Fuh! I got served! Fells like this hadith slap me right on my face.

Because of that, the following day I brought my own scramble egg. My own lauk. No more complaints please..

No one knows

Bismillah,

I just got back from uni, was performing my tarawikh at Multi Faith Centre. Alhamdulillah, another one blessed night. =)

Fasting over here honestly, not much of a problem. I don't really feel the burden to resist temptation when people are eating in front of me, or the aroma of hot chocolate gushed into my nostril. Because you used to it. 

So, how is that? Most of the time even before Ramadhan started, we often eat at home after the classes end. Or tapau food for lunch if classes end late on that day. We used to 'starve' during lunch hour and have our meal later on that day.

Ok it is not starve, that sounds harsh. Haha.. We postpone our lunch (aka skip lunch la sonang cito eh..) So, when Ramadhan comes, it's not a big deal for me. Because you used to berperut kosong.

Plus, it's hard to get halal food around campus. So when you see someone is enjoying a hot drumstick or pizza, your saliva won't secrete (oke, terover plak gune perumpamaan air liur di situ..) because you know that food is not halal.

And plus2, it's winter now! Meaning that, day time is shorter than Malaysia's, aka break fast early! =P (X sempat rase lapar kot.. Hehe..)

Whether you are fasting or you are not fasting (due to menstrual reason la kn?) no one will ever know. Nobody will arrest you if you are eating publicly during Ramadhan. No one will say, "Eh, x puase ke?" if you mistakenly drank in class.

Because people around you do not know what's fasting is all about. Fasting in the country where Muslims are the minority, you can even skip the whole Ramadhan la if you want. But, be honest to yourself, because verily Allah knows. He said,

"And indeed We have created man, and We know what his own self whispers to him. And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein (by Our Knowledge)" [50:16]

"And He knows whatever there is in the land and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record" [6:59]

Hatta daun - daun gugur pun Allah tahu, ape tah lagi insan - insan yang tak puase kn? Only you and Him, Allah the All-Knower know about it.

Today I had a 2-hour class from 5pm to 7pm. That class was totally clash with the Maghrib prayer, so I did jama' Maghrib with Isya'. Then, I straight away continue with the tarawikh prayer. I only managed to break fast properly with heavy meal after that (nasib baik perut tak grumbling time sembahyang...) I can choose to walk and make my way home pretending I've done with the tarawikh congregation. No one will ever know. Tapi hidup mahu jujur la beb!

Because he's the greatest man..

Bismillah,

Peace be upon him, our dearest prophet Muhammad =')

Missing him always and everyday insyAllah,

Ifthar is like...

Salam guys =) Let's talk about one thing that is synonym with Ramadhan, ifthar! Breaking fast over here is different, much more value I would say. Yup, we don't have Malaysian food as our ifthar meal (unless you prepare it yourself la kn?) as Arab's food is more common over here!

To be honest, you don't need to worry about what's for break fast as free food is everywhere! Hehe.. Alhamdulillah2. Being the minority, the Muslim community over here is very well connected. Every day, there's always someone who volunteer to cater or offer meals for ifthar. And some seniors said, "Bile puase ni, kadang-kadang dapur tak berasap pon sebab hari-hari ade orang nak bagi makan free!" =D Who doesn't want to grab the opportunity being forgiven for his sins, just by giving food to a fasting man right?

And ifthar over here is very moderate. As orang kite used to say, "Ape yang ade je la ye.."

Allah s.w.t said:

"........ eat and drink, but waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters"

[7:31]

Caliph Umar r. a said:

"O people, beware of eating too much, for it makes you lazy in prayer, is bad for your body and causes sickness. Allah hates the fat man. Rather you should be moderate in your eating, for that is closer to righteousness and farther removed from extravagance, and makes one stronger to worship Allah. No person will be doomed unless he gives precedence to his desires over his religious commitment"

[From book of Manaqib Amir al Mu'minin : page 200]

And because Malaysian food is not common over here, we practice to always be in moderation for our ifthar.. =) Nonetheless, high demand for Malaysian food during Ramadhan is something that you can't avoid! That's why we also have Bazaar Ramadhan. Ingat Malaysia je ade? =P Owh! Murtabak juge ade ye, mantap la..

Laku kot!

My friends' stall

Pulut kuning dan sambal ikan bilis.

Tuan empunya gerai =)

Laksa, bubur pulut hitam, air laici kang.

Simple booths set up, yet it were swarmed with people! =D

The arrival of Ramadhan Mubarak

Bismillah. The most awaited month in Muslim calendar, Ramadhan is now 3 days away. This year, will it be different for me to celebrate this fasting month in the country where Muslim is not the majority? Hmm.. Nervous, excited, curious are all now mixing up. Back then in Malaysia, I used to wake up after ibu have finish preparing with the main course. What I need to do was just serving the rice onto the plate. But this time around, I need to make my own sahur, with my housemates. Will that works? Insyallah..

What make us (the Muslim students at UQ) more excited about this first Ramadhan? It's public holiday!! Well not because the government over here really assign the first Ramadhan as a public holiday to respect the Muslims. It's just happen that the first Ramadhan falls on their Ekka day. Alhamdulillah.. =D (or maybe not, depends on the moon sighting..) 

Last Friday, the sisters over here made some small gathering in conjunction of this coming Ramadhan. Lots of activities have been planned to maximise the amount of pahala that we could gain. Yeah!

• Ifthar - Break fast together every Saturday. The hosting house will do the main course while others can  come as helpers or bring dessert. Our house will host this ifthar on the last week of Ramadhan. =) We've planned to serve our guest with nasi impit and kuah lodeh perhaps? 

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: ........he who gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from Hell fire, he will receive the same reward as him, except that nothing will be reduced from the fasting person's reward. [Narrated by At - Tirmidhi]

• Hafazan competition - Encourage people to hafaz new verse, with the 30th juzu as the priority in this competition. 
• Ukthi ramadhan (UR) - Each person should have one sister that has been paired with using lucky draw. The role is to be some sort of 'secret admire' to that sister. The objective of this activities is tighten the ukhwah and to delight your ukhti. You can give bears or buy her a chocolate bar as a present. Only when the Syawals comes, the identity of your secret admire can be revealed. ; )

   لا يُؤمِنُ أحدُكُم حتى يُحِب لأَخِيهِ ما يُحبُُّ لِنَفسـه

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: He has a weak faith until that person loves for his brother what he loves for himself

Tidak beriman seseorang itu selagi dia tidak mencintai saudaranya melebihi dari dirinya sendiri.

                                                                                                [Narrated by Bukhari]

• Qiyam - Will be held on the 3th week of Ramadhan. We'll do it together in jamaah at the house who host the ifthar.
• Tadarrus al Quran - A must-thing when Ramadhan comes. Will be conducted while waiting for Isya' prayer.   

And I believe many more activities that are not listed above. So excited! =D Every house also have their own 'Ramadhan checklist'..

This morning I went for a long one day course organised by HikmahWay. This 'Ramadhan Knights' course really refresh me back with all aspects of Ramadhan. From the origin, the acts that will nullify your fast to the celebration of Eid.

Owh ya, speaking of Eid, before the course started, we (the Brisbane akhwat) had a photoshoot (konon2nye) for 'Salam Perantauan' =D I'm so thrilled. Selalu tgk gambar orang lain je kn kt dlm suratkhabar tu? ;p

So this is the best outfit that we can come out with. But this is not the picture that will be sent for Salam Perantauan. Person that hold the pictures have not finalised yet which one is the best because we had several shoots of photo. Sedih oke baju raye x ade tahun ni, gune abaya yg ibu beli time haji dulu je.. Tapi x pe, berjimat cermat amalan mulia kn? =)

From left: Hasanah, me, Aziemah, Atiqah, Ain

(UQ with smiley emoticon..)

Let me end this post with this music video from Man Bai and Raihan. 

Mari rebut pahala jom!

The housewarming

Salam.. =) Yesterday we had an awesome housewarming at our place. Even though it's already like half year we've been here, for some of our friends this is their first time visiting our house! Yeah, we've been very busy last semester. (Da separuh tahun baru la nak buat open house..) 

Thanks to my housemates; Azzah, Ida, and Atiqah for making this happen. =D (Walaupon guest pertame da sampai tp ko still tgh memasak spaghetti kt dapur tu Azzah.. ;p)

  

Corn porridge and fruit cocktail

Cheese cake

Macaroni fried with garlic

Ramainye! =)

Syukran sume.. ^_^

Strawberry dipped with melted chocolate

With that, I want to wish to all muslims,

"Selamat menyambut Ramadhan mubarak!"