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I want to die with my forehead on the ground, The sunnah in my heart, Allah on my mind, Quran on my tongue and Tears in my eyes ♥ Ameen..My Name is Riki

Saturday 6 April 2013

Five Amazing Woman



The Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) was sitting with his companions when he began to draw four lines into the sand. When he was done, he turned to his companions and asked, “Do you know what these are?” They replied humbly, not even trying to guess, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” The Messenger replied “The best women of the women of Paradise are Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Fatima bint Muhammad, Maryam bint Imran, and Aasiyah bint Muzahim.” After some time, when Aisha got older, the Prophet ﷺ said, “The virtue of Ayesha over all the women of the world is like the virtue of tharîd (a meat dish) over all other food,” (at the time Tharid was a very precious food). These five women are women who attained perfection—who have been gifted to us by our Lord as examples for us to follow. These women attained perfection because of who they were. They were all different, none of them a carbon copy of the other. They were unique, they were special, and most importantly they loved God.
Our mother, Khadijah, radi Allahu `anha (may God be pleased with her), was an amazing role model for all the women who came after her. She was loved by the Prophet ﷺ and was loved by the Almighty. Khadijah was a business woman, taking care of the financial matters during the time in which the Prophet was spreading the message of Islam. She was a mother, and the only woman to whom the Prophet was married who bore him children. She gave birth to and raised another perfect woman, the Prophet’s daughter, Fatima. She was a business woman, a mother, and a giant part of our history.
Her daughter Fatima, may God be pleased with her, had a special place in the heart of the Messenger ﷺ. Not only was she the daughter of our beloved, but she was also the wife of Ali (ra) and the mother of Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein. She was known to be extremely forbearing and caring with people in need. Hussein (ra), said that he would find his mother absorbed in her prayer from dusk until dawn. He said that her generosity and compassion for the poor was so immense that no poor person or beggar ever walked away from her door without being attended to.  She was a mother and a wife, and one of the most inspirational women in our past.
The next woman that was mentioned was Maryam `alayha as-salam (peace be upon her). Maryam’s story is as unique as they get. She attained perfection and was granted many miracles by God including being provided for in ways that were strange to others, such as receiving fruits out of season. But of course the great miracle in her life is universally known, her being the virgin mother of Jesus alayhi as-salam (peace be upon him). It is at this time that we should take a moment and put this into perspective. Maryam was unmarried and a single mother. Her story is one of the most well-known stories of history despite the fact that she wasn’t married. She attained perfection because of who she was not because of who she was married to or a lofty status in the community. Her perfection came from within.
Aasiyah  (as) was also an inspirational figure that can never be forgotten. She was the wife of the Pharaoh, one of the most oppressive men of history. In essence, she was a victim of domestic abuse. But her situation didn’t stop her from becoming the best she could be. She continued to push her relationship with God and called out to Him in her despair asking for a house in Jannah (Paradise). She attained perfection and was granted one of the greatest honors, being spoken about in the Qur’an for all of humanity to read about for the rest of time.
Lastly, but definitely not least, our Mother Aisha, may God be pleased with her. Aisha was not a mother, nor was she a business woman. Aisha was a wife, and a scholar. She was one of the greatest scholars of all time, hands down. Her focus was not to be an amazing housewife; rather her main focus was being a woman of knowledge and standing up for the rights of women. She was not a weak, timid woman. She spoke up whenever she felt the need and was not afraid to fight for her rights. She wasn’t a mother, yet she was one of the women who was known to have been held to high esteem by Allah and the Messenger himself.
These five women were nothing short of amazing based on the most important criteria, the criteria set forth by Allah and spoken to us by his Messenger ﷺ. They were amazing because of who they are. There was no set cookie cutter for them to fit into. They were amazing despite any hardships in their lives or pressures they may have faced. Whether she was a mother, a wife, single, a business woman or a victim of domestic abuse, it didn’t limit her ability to rise in the site of Allah. So whoever you are, whatever position you may be, do your best and be amazing. Because you, despite your circumstances, can rise high in the sight of Allah, if only you focus on that which is most important—Him.

Jews woman talk about Muslim Hijab



[The following is an article my daughter has written for the newspaper of her Jewish community day school of which she is co-editor. She asked me to thank the many people who helped her with interviews. She would have liked to use all the words of everybody if only time and space would permit. She looks forward to your comments.]
Hijabi for a Day
by Sara Weissman

WHY HIJAB?

From the businessman’s suit to a goth’s band T-shirt, we all know that clothes are more than cloth. What we choose to wear is a sign of who we are, what we aspire to be, and how we choose to represent ourselves. So imagine wearing your heart on your sleeve, or rather your religious devotion over your head. The concept of hijab, the headscarf worn by Muslim women, is less simple than it seems.

For this month’s Challenge to the Editor, I wore hijab for one day. Hijab, which literally means “to veil,” is the code of modesty for Muslim women past puberty. The requirements for hijab consist of covering most of the body including hair and avoiding perfume and tight, transparent, or flashy clothing.

The choice to try wearing hijab for a day was as much as an internal experiment, as an external one. Considering the scary and relatively new phenomenon of Islamophobia, part of it was to see if people treated me differently. But more than that, it was a way to take a tiny glimpse into something larger, a practice meaningful to millions of people and the idea that, though the clothes don’t make the woman, they can say a lot about what she believes in. 

A LITTLE BACKGROUND:

Before taking scarf in hand, I wanted a better understanding of where the idea of hijab comes from. Though there are multiple references to hijab in the Qur'an, in al-Ahzaab 33:59 it says, “O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks all over their bodies. That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allaah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” Another, al-Noor 24:31, says, “And say to the believing women…that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers…” and it goes on to list others.

After reading the above paragraph, your inner American, feminist may be a little miffed. Mine was too. In fact she grumbled quite a bit about the seeming patriarchal tone, the same I struggle with when discussing women’s modesty in my own religion. But many Muslim women feel very differently. In fact, they feel quite the opposite, embracing hijab as a freeing as opposed to forced expression of their faith.

“For me, the hijab is more than modesty; it is a liberating fact,” said Sara Khalil, 25. Born in Saudi Arabia, Khalil lives in Canada and has been wearing hijab since 2005. “It has allowed me to perceive myself as an individual outside the bounds of physical beauty and attraction, and further project a confidence that is independent of others' judgment,” she said. Samara Gabriel, who converted to Islam in 2010 and runs a blog called ImInItForTheScarves.com, holds a similar view. “My body is a private thing. Mine,” she said. “Not to be shared with the world. It also means that I dress to please God, not men on the street.” Gabriel’s beliefs were reaffirmed by an incident with her editor, when she worked for a local newspaper. “The editor angrily made the comment ‘What if I WANTED to look at you?’ As if it was his right. That is a good example as to why I love wearing it. I don't feel anymore as if I need to flip my hair around or show off my boobs or my butt to get attention. I love Pink's ‘Stupid Girls’ as an example to what I mean,” she said.

Zara Asad, 19, explained that hijab for her is also an expression of her spiritual struggle. “It’s the covering, the cloth that protects my heart from any filth coming in,” said Asad. “It’s my shield. Everyday is a battle against improving myself and fighting distractions around me. It’s a very vital part of me.” Asad began wearing hijab when she was 17. Though both her mother, originally from Pakistan, and her sister wore it, she was afraid of what her friends and predominantly white, New Jersey community would think. But after she wore hijab, Asad said she could never go back. “When I first wore the hijab I felt like myself, a Muslim, for the very first time in public,” she said. “I felt like I could breathe for the first time.”

Others also relate to this sense of identity that comes with hijab “Our hijab is both our modest covering and a badge of our identity, “ said Rania Abuisnaineh, a 20 year old from Minnesota with family from Hebron. “People immediately recognize us as Muslim when they see our hijab, just as they recognize a Jewish man from his yarmulke or a Sikh from his turban.” However for her and others, hijab’s meaning lies in more than identity and modesty, but in the belief that it is a law from God. “When people ask me why I wear hijab, my first response is always this: ‘Because it is a command from Allah; and He knows what is best for His creation more than the creation know what is best for themselves,’” Abuisnaineh said.

Still, reactions to hijab in the modern world can be mixed and some Muslim women see a disconnect between who they are and how they are perceived. .” Shameela, however, who was born in India and now lives in Qatar, has seen these perceptions overcome. One of few Muslims in her city, she wore hijab since she was 12 and said that when she went to college, her friends saw a new side to Muslims through her activism at the university. “They came to know that wearing hijab is not a sign of oppression, and that wearing it does not make any women inferior.” Hind Yousef Khalifa, who is a resident of Abu Dhabi, also elaborated on this point. “It (hijab) doesn't stop a woman from practicing any aspect of her everyday life,” she said. “We study, we drive, we work, we go out with friends, we volunteer and do community work and are very active in society.”

A DAY WITH HIJAB:

With all of these women’s words in mind, on a Wednesday morning over winter break I decided to put on hijab. I stood in front of the mirror, staring at the red cloth clutched in one hand and three safety pins in the other. Following the careful steps of a youtube tutorial, I slowly wrapped and pinned until the fabric finally resembled a headscarf. I looked up at the mirror, proud and a little unused to the lack of auburn frizz in the reflection that staring back at me.

With some self-conscious jitters, I went about my day as usual. I drove my family to the doctor’s, looked at old pictures with my mom, and spent the rest of the day at Fashion Island, looking for belated Chanukah gifts and hanging out with my grandma. But, I felt different. Even if it wasn’t my own religion, I suddenly felt like I had to reflect what the scarf represented. I tried walking straighter, grinned at strangers, and tacked extra pleases and thank yous on every sentence to the sales clerks at Macy’s. Despite feeling like I looked different, wearing hijab made me feel more comfortable in some ways. It reminded me of those mornings when you put on a favorite a baggy sweater, too relaxed to dress to impress. There was a certain calm in feeling like I didn’t have to look cute for anyone.

At the same time, wearing hijab attracted some unwanted attention. Walking through Fashion Island produced long stares, mostly curious but a few hostile. One man continued glaring even after I looked him in the eye while a saleswoman, chatting up other customers, spoke curtly and would not look me in the eye at all. Still, the amazing thing is the number of odd looks was nothing compared to the number of smiles. Throughout the day, I got wide grins from absolute strangers.

I would like to say I reached some mind-blowing conclusion after thinking on the experience and unpinning my scarf that night. What I came away with was more modest, but I still think entirely worth it. After a day, I can’t claim to know what it’s like for women to wear hijab: how it feels, what they believe, or how they are treated. Still, I ended the day impressed by women willing to hide parts of themselves but at the same time stand out, for the sake of their God and their religion. In the end, the biggest lesson I learned was that clothing can be fabric or it can reflect who a person wants to be. For Muslim women, hijab is a constant reminder that they are always aspiring toward better observance of their religion. The take-home message I got from a day in hijab was we can change our clothes but more importantly our clothes can change us. The question is what do we want them to reflect?

Tuesday 29 January 2013

BACKPACK TO DANAU TOBA

 DANAU TOBA (LAKE TOBA) NORTH SUMATRA INDONESIA I WAS HERE



Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia  after  jakarta and Surabaya, but this s not the reason why i came here. LAKE TOBA, This is one of the largest lakes in Indonesia as well as in South East, this is the interesting part that made me visited it. Lake Toba is a volcanic lake with a length of 100 kilometers and 30 kilometers wide, that located in North Sumatra province indonesia.


And the journey begins from here (model: Riki, Lenny, Nita)
3 days trip sound so short, but if we really plan it and know what we wanna do and where we wanna go 3 days is ok. Medan, The reason i came here becuase danau Toba s very well known as the largest lakes in sothern Asia, n i feel so couriouse to see it. From KL me n frineds went to Medan Polonia Air Port by Air Asia. it was good price and the distance between KL to Polonia was only 45 minuts. We went there in the afternoon n spen the night in Medan


IN SARTIKA HOTEL ROOM (GEAORGE, RIKI, UCI, ARYO, ALI)
What can i say about this Hotel, mmmm the place s nice, the room s so cool, and we had  great view. We were waiting for our Travel car. We renting a car to take us to the lake toba. The cost to rent the car s around 500 to 600 thousand rupiah. It s ok if u go with some friends so u can do "sharing cost" lol. Our car was arrived in our Hotel around 2 am. We had a little problem to fine car for rent, so according to our experiance, it s better to book the car like 5 to 7 hrs before. Specialy in week end, but thank to Uci our girl from medan who s wearing red cloth, she has some travel connection so finally we got the car :).

THIS S OUR TRAVEL CAR's CORNER

HERE WE ARE..AFTER 7 HOURS TRIP FINALLY WE ARRIVED IN PAPAPAT LAKE TOBA AREA. Normaly the trip from MEdan to Lake tobe only takes like 4 to 5 hrs, but it was holiday season so the traffic was bad