Shaykh Hamza has a blog! Here, called Sandala Productions (named after tapak sandal Nabi s.a.w., I bet -- awesome or what!). My sister was like, "Stop stalking him!" I say, I can't help it! He deserves to be stalked. heheh. If I can learn to be a better person by dogging his cyber shadow, why not eh.

We either surrender to God or to the substitutes for God, which are invariably hollow. But true love, which is the love of God, is the single most powerful force in the world. It is a love that “alters not when it alteration finds.” It grows and never diminishes. If someone claims to have lost it, it can only be said that such a person did not have it to begin with. “It is the star to every wandering bark.” And in loving God, one must paradoxically love all of God’s creation, merely for the incontrovertible fact that everything is God’s creation. God does love everything in that He brought everything into existence from an act of divine love, and those who love God purely, and with the penetrating inner eye of reality, can only be a mercy while in the world.

I am still feeling the surreality of having gotten into the SLP course, because now, I know what I'll be doing in the future; as opposed to it all being unmapped terrain just a few days ago when I was still in limbo about my acceptance status. I shall walk with courage, God-willing.

I got the SLP Masters course! and it kind of still hasn't sunk in or stg. I mean, I am happy of course, and so grateful, but still so incredibly shocked. Because, I don't know, it seemed so impossible considering there were like 150+ people vying for the same 20 spaces and the fact that I had zero related work experience. But apparently, yes, one should not underestimate the power of prayer. thank you. I actually prayed for Ain too, and was starting to lose hope because they kept us waiting for so long, but to have both of us get in feels miraculous to me. :)))

Perhaps it really is true -- follow your heart and trust in God, and you'll end up where you need to be.

I just finished re-watching the last episode of Iljimae (the korean drama about a Robin-Hood-esque hero) with my mum. Still not happy that there is no sequel! mehhh. But I suppose it ended the best way it could. (SPOILER: i.e. we don't know if Iljimae died or not! which of course leaves poor Eun-chae pining for her love.)



This song is just sad. Every time I hear it, it makes me think of fluttering cherry blossoms in depressing, gloomy weather, just like in the drama. Speaking of which, one of my dreams is to sit under a cherry blossom tree in spring, so that the petals can fall down on me. And I don't want it to be in a crowded park in Japan where tourists and non-tourists fuss around to witness the spectacle. I want it to be on a nice grassy secluded hill, with just me, the tree and the sky. Is this too selfish?

And oh, here's the adorable scene at the titis tree, with the two cute kids. The girl is so cute -- my mum and me dubbed her robin cause she looks like a little bird, eheheh.

<3

Because my sister wanted me to save this one especially:


In a narration, Rasulullah SAW says, “Jibril came to me and said, ‘Oh Messenger of Allah, indeed Allah wishes peace upon you and says to you, “Oh my beloved Muhammad, if I took Ibrahim as Khalilullah (the one who loves Allah SWT), indeed I take you as Habibullah (the one who is loved by Allah SWT). I do not create the universe and all its contents except for Me to teach them your greatness and your position to Me. And if it isn’t because of you, I would not have created the universe.”’”

(From “Hujjatullahi ‘Alal ‘Alamin” written by Imam An-Nabahani, by Saiyidina Salman Al-Farisi RA,
narrated by Imam Ibn Asakir)

<3

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Today went to visit Kak Shida at the hospital (hospital visits getting more and more common during raya!); she seems mostly fine now. There was much hugging and crying; and laughing, because Mami is such a crybaby, it is amusing. She cries the moment she is hugged! Too cute. And we talked about future plans and meet-ups.

And I was going to blog about stg else but now am too tired. Ja!

This kid is 12 years old??? I think it's true that wisdom is not necessarily proportional to age. And that the wonderful thing about youth is their ability to dream -- I don't wanna lose it either! Have I lost it? :(

What Adults Can Learn From Kids, by Adora Svitak



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I'm meeting up with Jean tomorrow and I can't wait. It feels like ages since I've seen any of my friends.

I decided to watch Syurga Cinta because it's been getting rave reviews. And so far, the little kid is cracking me up! Where did they get this kid! XD Drama-mama-kid.

Happy Eid to all my Muslim friends! <3 I love you all, really.

I think it's bad if I haven't blogged for days. The way my mind works as it goes through life is, oh, that is an interesting thought, I should blog about that! but then all the oh-moments build up because I haven't blogged in ages and now I have a ton of them, and surely it is unfeasible to write all of them or even a substantial percentage here. Not to mention that untangling my thoughts is work in itself; tiring! hello, messy brain!

* I miss my dad. He's been in Madinah since the last quarter of Ramadhan, and this raya, his absence was keenly felt because I realise my dad is often the life of the group -- it is significantly more boring without my papa! :(

* The bila kita nak makan nasi minyak! question has started. O.O ohhhgod. How long will I have to endure this, I wonder.

* Don't know if it's just me -- but I've been seeing a lot of extra emphasis placed on our love for Nabi s.a.w. these days. The eid khutbah at Ghufran mentioned it; made me happpyyy.

* Insyirah actually called me Amati (which means auntie in Arabic) today; it's way too cute. >.<

* Sometimes I feel like I am at least five different people in my head. It can be stressful.

* You know those IQ pattern questions that ask what comes next? I love those. And I have this uncontrollable habit of picking up patterns even in real life; whether they be real or valid, only God knows. Aren't there moments when you feel like something is important but you're not sure what or why? I think I unconsciously store away moments like that because I'm waiting for a time when I can understand them better. When something else happens that sheds light on the previous moment, then I get a clearer view of the big picture -- and I suppose that's what I'm after. I want to see if there's a grand plan or not. Perhaps people who believe in a God always seek this out; maybe, I don't know. But when things start fitting neatly like a jigsaw, it is awesomeness. How can you think everything or anything is chance or coincidence or meaningless?

The fact that I took Nerney's writing class, News and the Public, back in 2007, for instance. For me, it was the most important class of my university life; possibly, the most important class I ever had in my life. And one of the reasons for this: that it opened my eyes to Walter Lippman's concept of Public Opinion, and how it is shaped by the powers that control information. (The caption for my blog too -- picture in my mind -- is taken from what I learnt from that class.) And now, it feels like I've already been primed early on to understand situations like this: Quran Burning Story: This Is How The Media Embarrass Themselves. And the big picture that is the fiasco and travesty of US media.

All of it is kinda like what they mention in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, that life can only be lived forwards but understood backwards. We'll see, as we look back, how it's all supposed to fit together. Or that movie of M. Night Shyamalan, Signs; I like that movie more than I care to admit because essentially the message is: have faith because God has a plan. :)

* And I reread this bit yesterday:

Why do people look at the ocean? It is much more interesting usually, what is to their back, right, the land because you can see all these plants and trees and flowers, but why do they look at the ocean? Part of it is -- what is that awe in us when we look at the ocean. Part of it is what is under. It is all that stuff that is hidden from us. If you wait long enough you will suddenly see this fish jump. Did you see that? That is what people do. Did you see that? Why are they so amazed? It is really interesting why they are amazed. Did you see that? Look over there. That is what Allah shows you when you believe in the unseen with these fish “did you see that?”. If you spend enough time doing it you do not do that anymore. You just say SubhanAllah. I am not making that up, that is the reality of life. Once you open yourself up to belief, it just keeps confirming itself to you. That is how you increase in imaan by just increasing in imaan because Allah gives you more to believe in. Have taqwa in Allah will keep teaching you more to have taqwa about. It is a real gift from Allah to all of us and that is why we should see it as a gift.


Extracted and edited from Success in this world and the next.

Tonight, I realise I miss my friends! And that, as we grow older, we may all take at least slightly different paths, and we may grow a bit distant, or maybe, never see each other again. But, I'm thinking, this doesn't necessary lessen the value of a friendship; because that person has already left his or her mark on you; you're a different person for having met this friend, for having shared laughs or tears or fights. And therefore, they'll always be a part of you. And when you meet up with said person, you're only rediscovering a layer of yourself, of the many myriad layers that make up who you are. I think this is why, when you see an old friend, it's far too easy to return to how it was -- because, see, they're already a part of you, these special people in your life.

tonight is malam ganjil -- the 23rd of Ramadhan. must take the opportunity.

Shota! :D



so sweet lah, the song.

on more important things -- gasp, it's September. :s