a piece of me

Assalamualaikum, readers.
Today i'll share something about myself...
i am a girl who loves entertainment. music, dance, sports (i prefer cheerleading the participants), arts and crafts...you name it, i love them all.
And i honestly love music. i don;t know how or why, but i just love them.
i grew up listening to Michael Jackson and Raihan, a local Islamic band, then took a turn to meet Westlife (Seasons in The Sky was the first song i ever heard), and then came my Bollywood era. it was until i was somewhat in high school that i heard the latest pop music of Hollywood and the Malay-wood. 

having a dad who used to earn a living by singing, he encouraged me to sing, helped me practice for my nasyeed when i was a little girl. so, i've been singing ever since. and still am. *peace* My dad used to sing in wedding ceremonies, to entertain the guests, just for fun...and he still does! and i'm one of the loudest girl cheering for my dad!
when i enter a room of entertainers, i get excited. i get chills when i watch a live concert. i watched them over and over again, and scream along with the crowd, sing along and even clap my hands if they do some crazy stunts on stage. that's just how i am.
so, can you imagine what it'd be like if i was in a live performance, how would i react? yeahh, exactly! 

"Let me hear you sing!"

I don;t feel good to not cheer when i see people giving their all to entertain me, and yet i just sit there, legs crossed and leaning back in my chair, hands on my knees, with a look that says, "that's the best you could give me? meh!" 

if i could, i would stand in the crowd and cheer them all the way till the end. that's just me. i am like a little cheerleader. it's the adrenaline rush that feels so good after i've let it all out. i don't have any regrets after cheering, i feel good. 

but...

being a Muslim, this is not right. some say, clapping our hands during an event is not nice, because it gets us excited for the wrong reasons, you forget the reason you were there to learn something new, but after you clap or hands and laugh, your niat changes to just wanna have some good old fun. 

it is extremely hard for me to pretend i don;t feel like clapping or laughing at the jokes, when i feel like doing so...

guess what? that's exactly what i'd do.

in a conclusion, i know i will have to change myself for the better, but i don;t know when will i ever do so. hopefully, i will...

mission impossible

*jeng jeng jeng jeng*

Assalamualaikum and g'day people...
If you think i went skydiving or rock climbing, no, i didn't do any of that.

then, wassup with the mission impossible?

here's the thing.
i attended a religious discussion session and the leader of the discussion told us something interesting...something i've never thought about so deeply. i'm going to share two stories from the Holy Quran with you guys.

# Story 1
You know how Prophets back then lived for thousands of years, maybe not thousands, but hundreds of years? Prophet Zakaria was an old man, hundreds of years old, i believe, and he does not have a kid. so, he prayed and prayed to God for a kid, and he never stopped praying. 
One day, God told him (via angels) He's going to grant his wish, by presenting him a son, Yahya. and the Prophet couldn't believe it.

He said: "O my Lord! How can I have a son when I am very old, and my wife is barren?" Allah said: "Thus Allah does what He wills." (Chapter 3, verse 40, The Holy Quran)

for a person like us, who studies Science, do you think it's possible for this to happen? We all know that in order to produce a fetus, we need an ovum and a sperm. but if the Prophet's wife is infertile, how is she producing the ovum, thus, logically, there will be no baby. 

# Story 2
Have you heard of the name Maryam? the Bible refers her as the Virgin Mary. in the Holy Quran, it is stated that Maryam has not married anyone and yet, she was pregnant with a son, Isa. 

She said: "O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me." He said: "So (it will be) for Allah creates what He wills. When He has decreed something, He says to it only: "Be!" and it is. (Chapter 3, verse 47, the Holy Quran)

again, i would like to relate with scientific knowledge, is this possible? how can a woman gets pregnant with a son if she does not have sexual intercourse with anybody? 

well, some girls get pregnant by swimming in the pool. sperms can survive in the pool and maybe somehow gets into her.

hmm...smart guess. 
let me remind you that Maryam lived in the desert, where water is so difficult to find. i don;t think we have a public swimming pool at that time. 
the thing is, there's no explaination to these two scenarios. and these are just two of the crazy, impossible stories that i learnt from the discussion. 
why is God telling us these stories? why's His plan?
in simple language, He wants us to believe that He can do the most impossible thing we could think of. 

the Hereafter. 

i cannot imagine how awesome and cooling the heavens are like. how the rivers flow free, with pretty angels entertaining the people there. Wow! and there are 7 heavens altogether. What? 
can you imagine how hot the flames are in hell? and the people will not just rot it hell, they'll live and get burnt and die and live again, the cycle goes on and on. ouch! how insane and painful is that? 

Point is, as a believer (read: not BELIEBER) we need to put our trust in God. If He says "Be!" then, that's what it is. He has created the Earth, the planets, the universe, what's so impossible with the Hereafter? 
think about it...nothing's impossible.

i love you...let's get married now!

Assalamualaikum and good day people! 
*a little hyper now, so, just bare with me*

we've heard about girls and boys fell for each other, go out on dates and then lived happily ever after...or not? *clears throat*
as a Muslim, things like this is forbidden. i've written a post about this before, long time ago, but the entry was written in Malay. *somehow, the article is no more there!*
growing up, my parents used to tell me how they'd prefer Chinese way of coupling. most of them are really serious and committed when it comes to coupling. the first two years are the 'get-to-know-you' phase. they'll bring along this friend to meet their parents indirectly, just to let them know they've got their eyes on the person. after two years, things kindda get serious, they've declared that they're an item. so, when will they take the next step? to be honest, the next step takes about 5-10 years. and they'd wait!
the guys usually would want to have a steady job, own a house AND a car, some thousands of cash in the bank and still have some money in his hands BEFORE he even asks the girl to marry him. *applause* 
being a student in the university, where people are already in their twenties, they're starting to think about the future.

"Will i ever meet my other half?"

"He's the best among all the others i've met here...maybe he's the one!"

"What if i got too caught up in work and i have no time to go searching for the one?"

these are some of the thoughts that Malays are thinking...i'm not being racist. i'm just...being honest? come on, guys. i bet you've been through this too...

and when you think it's over, and you attend the conferences about love in Islam and such, the panels would encourage you to get married early. they'd say things like, "It's hard...but i've been there and look where i am now? i have 5 kids, a successful career and a girl by my side, and i'm just 30 years old!" *audience gasps*

but, let's be realistic. 

i've got the rings right here. please say YES?

1- finance

if you're studying, your source of income comes from scholarship or your parents. let's say, you really get married, you'll have to give your wife some money every month. how much can you provide? RM 300? You think that's enough? 

"But she's sponsored too! RM 300 more is a BONUS!!"

okay, fine. now you've both graduated, where will your income come from? remember this, none of you are working. if you're thinking of getting a loan from your parents, please kill yourself! marriage means you're no longer under your parents wings, and that you stand as a unit with your partner. your parents love you, of course and they won't hesitate to give you money, but get this in your mind. you fail as a child if you turn back to your parents. 

2- a place called HOME?

say, you're married. if you are still studying in a university, and the both of you are living in two different places, it's okay...coz you have your own hostel to live in. now, you've graduated, and you need a place to stay with your partner.
"We can live in my room. i can make some space"
"My house is HUGEEE, HUMONGOUS! there's lots of spare rooms..."
i can accept this up to until your wife is pregnant. after pregnancy, if you remain in your parents house, you fail, man! seriously? 
living in your parents house means you don;t have much privacy because everything involves your parents. watching movies is not private anymore, saying lovey dovey things to your partner ANYTIME of the day is inappropriate...but of course, it's easier because half of your work load is off your shoulders...

3- romantic stroll
please, tell me you at least have a transport? a motorbike at least. i'm not demanding for things...it's just that, in my opinion, you need all these if you would want a steady relationship, at least during the first few years of marriage. can you imagine when the both of you are tired from all the stress of studying and you want to go out to have some fun, and you don;t have transport. the girl would crack under pressure...at least i will! and you guys would end up in a fight, yadda yadda...

conclusion is, i believe that a man who wants to ask a girl to marry him should at least have whatever that's listed above. this shows how steady you are...and that you've equipped yourself with everything that a girl needs in a relationship. 
all relationships are like climbing a hill. you'll have cramps and aches, need to stop for a break, even injure yourself, dehydrated...but once you reach the top, your lungs expand to the fullest and you could see the beauty that lies ahead of you. 
i don't think i'll get married while studying...me living on my own is hard enough, imagine if i have to live with someone and cope with the commitment of being a wife. no thanks...i'll wait!
~big jobs, stack of cash, huge mansion and a sports car cannot guarantee that one will have a successful, happy marriage. it all comes down to how strong your commitments and tolerance are to one another.

P/S: if you think you can cope without any of the things listed above, go ahead. =)