Ustaz Masyari Rasyid Al-Faasi

1 comments Published Friday, May 30, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Salam to all.

This is my favourite Ustaz. Do take a moment to listen to him reciting the Surah Al-Mulk. It doesn't take long..





Fadhilat Surah Al-Mulk

-Daripada Abi Hurairah r.a. dari Rasulullah SAW bersabda: 'Sesungguhnya di dalam Al-Quran ada tiga puluh ayat memberi syafaat kepada pembacanya hingga diberi keampunan untuknya iaitu Surah Al-Mulk 'Tabaarakal-Lazi'.

- Daripada Ibnu Abbas r.a berkata seorang sahabat Rasulullah SAW telah mendirikan khemah di atas kubur dan beliau tidak tahu itu kubur maka di dalam kubur itu terdengar suara bacaan surah Al-Mulk sehingga khatam maka beliau menemui baginda SAW dan berkata: 'Wahai Rasulullah SAW saya dirikan satu khemah di atas kubur dan saya tidak tahu itu kubur dan saya dengar seorang manusia sedang membaca surah Al-Mulk sehingga khatam.' Nabi SAW bersabda itulah yang menahan (dan) yang menyelamatkan (Al-Munjiah) daripada siksaan kubur. (Hadis Riwayat At-Tarmizi)

(dipetik daripada buku Fadilat Surah-Surah terpilih terbitan Darul Nu'man.)

Who is this Ustaz? Let us find out!

Name : Mishary Rashid Ghareeb Mohammed Rashid Al-Afasy
Nationality : Kuwaiti.
Date of Birth : Sunday 11th of Ramadan 1396(H) - 5 September 1976.
Social Status : Married, has two daughters, and he is also nicknamed (Abu Norah).
Studying in : The Islamic University in Medina (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ), College of the Holy Quran and Islamic Studies.
Major : The ten readings and translation of the holy quran.

Credits to Alfasy2.tripod.com and Youtube.com.

Are leaders born or brought up?

0 comments Published Thursday, May 29, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Salam to all.

Yesterday, two things made me think.

Firstly, Brother Fathul's Chiang Rai Experience and secondly, the day's episode of ER.


ER (Season 4 episode 84, Exodus): A havoc was caused by a chemical spill in the ER. People were screaming at each other, running here and there, juggling between saving their own life and the patients'. They were clueless of what they should do. As they tried to evacuate the patients to a safer place (which they don't even know where), an Intern, Dr. John Carter took the lead. He ordered everyone to shut up (which took him a while to do that) and assessed the whole situation. With the ER contaminated (of what I'm not sure), he asked for the patients to be moved to the cafeteria. Eventhough he was just an intern, he managed the stressful situation very very well. I don't know how to describe it clearly but the way Dr. Carter lead makes me go SUPER WOW! (Bukan Super Power ya? Super WOW!)




Dr. John Carter was played by Noah Wyle. See why I looooooooove him sooooo much???

I wonder whether a leader is born a leader or is brought up to be a leader? Hmmmm. Care to leave a comment?

Credits to this site for that picture of Dr. Carter.

Langkawi~ Is it too much for me to ask??

1 comments Published Wednesday, May 28, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Salam to all.Class~ 504 Or famously known as 5 Uranium. (Wonder why my blog's url is uraniumundergroundunlimited??) Kelas ni macam tadika, thanks to Kay Ay, presiden kelas ni yang sangat caring (ye ker??) and the whole team yang telah bertungkus lumus membuat decoration yang sememangnya menceriakan kelas ni yang dah ceria dah pon sebenarnya (Lihat bulat bulat berwarna kuning yang menghiasi dinding kelas ni).. Di sinilah segala suka duka kami sekelas dikongsi.. Kena berdiri atas kerusi waktu kuiz addmath Cikgu Yat.. Cikgu Faizal buat lawak waktu suruh salin nota sejarah.. cakap english tergagap2 waktu depan Sir Hilmi..
Haaaaa.. apa yang diorang semua tengah buat ni?? Apa lagi kalau bukan celebrate kejayaan kelas setelah dianugerahkan 'Kelas Terceria Tingkatan 5'! Kelas 504 seceria senyuman setiap ahlinya~ Cayalah!!
Siapakah ini?? Haaa.. inilah Alyaa! Happy belated birthday Alyaa! (23rd May) Alyaa sangat 'sisterly'.. dan sporting giler!! Basketball?? Tennis?? Bola Jaring?? Badminton?? Acara larian?? Semua dia hebat!
So this is me, at the famous Pantai Lagenda. I love this beach actually.. I don't understand why people complain about going to Pantai Lagenda.. I know that we constantly go there but to me, at least it is better than Pantai Lafarge~
The guys which I now think them as my big brothers. I think that they are the best guy classmates ever! I mean, tak dak la diorang involve dalam serious crime ke, girly girly ke.. Very cooperative, I must say. Quite gila gila that's no doubt. Most of them are very artistic like skud, aizat, haziq and kay ay. Fiqry is very very good in nasyid, and can play almost all instruments involved in a nasyid performance, his specialty is the tamborine.


The girls with Cikgu Yat (in blue tudung) our favourite Addmaths teacher! The girls are soo cheerful! Especially Jue, Amiirah ngan Husna. (Jue kalau marah adoi~ tak sanggup nak tengok)
Memang banyak kenangan la dengan diorang sumer.. Main futsal sama-sama.. Celebrate birthday sama-sama.. Cerita sana, cerita sini.. (standard kitorang la~) Asal bawak makanan jer, mesti share.. Tu yang best tu! Kalau nak gi koop ke, tandas ke, mesti buat rombongan.. Hahaha!
Macam ni lah suasana Pre-SPM. Meja semuanya digabungkan menjadi group-group kecil. Memudahkan perbincangan (dan bergossip wahahaha!). Meja di tengah-tengah tu adalah meja favourite semua orang. Alasannya, ada kipas.. Haaah, meja sapa lagi kalau bukan meja group saya.. Sistem pembelajaran menggunakan meja berkelompok ni memang best.. Sebab duduk mengadap dinding yang sangat ceria.. Jadi, hati pun jadi ceria, memudahkan urusan pembelajaran! Cayalah! Kredit untuk Kay Ay dan semua yang bertungkus lumus menghias kelas..
Ini pula gambar di 404. Gambar ini diambil pada hari Aliya Balkis (duduk paling kiri) berpindah ke sekolah lamanya. Rasanya, dia pun berat hati nak tinggalkan pulau ni, tapi, sebab semua urusan untuk pindah dah selesai, dia tidak mahu menyusahkan ibu bapanya.. Itulah teori saya. Dan saya yakin memang betul pun. I mean, it's hard for you to adapt to Maresmawian way of life, but it gets easier day by day. Aliya, wish we could spend more time together!!!!

Sigh.. What I want right now is to go to Langkawi and spend a few nights there (eh, tapi kalau pergi sekarang mana ada sapa sapa kat maktab??). What I want to do (after cuti sekolah,regardless of when, but preferably sometime this year) is to go to Langkawi and spend a few nights there (preferably dalam kawasan maktab, tak kesahla dekat apartment koop ataupun asrama Tanjung Lembung, Tanjung Malai atau Tanjung Tempuling.. tak mau dekat asrama Tanjung Cincin ataupun Tanjung Rhu (asrama diorang er.. berbau something~seriously.. kitorang budak perempuan pernah buat 'serbuan ke asrama lelaki' waktu slot homeroom.. MasyaAllah.. hanya Allah yang tahu.. hahaha! no offence okay??)

There are some things that I want to do (mostly yang tak sempat buat sepanjang dua tahun di Langkawi).. Mari kita lihat sama-sama..


  • Give a HUGE teddy bear to Cikgu Yat.*
  • Give Cikgu Yat 'the lollipop'.*
  • Sampaikan amanat terakhir kepada junior~ saya senior yang baik! =)*
  • Take lots and lots of pictures..*
  • Panjat bumbung asrama..(pernah buat tapi separuh jalan.. alkisahnya, malam tu jue ajak gi panjat bumbung ngan amiirah.. memang bersemangatlah kitorang sumer! (biasala.. first timers..) panjat punyalah panjat, bila sampai atas, nampaklah si kilat sabung menyabung di kaki langit.. ohohoho.. takutlah jadinya kami semua.. waktu tu jue tak sempat sampai atas lagi, baru separuh jalan panjat tangga tu.. saya dan amii saja yang sempat sampai ke atas, tapi duk tak sampai seminit 59 saat, dah kena turun.. ye lar, sapa tak takut kena sambar petir.. waktu tu spm belum lagi oh..)*
  • Panjat bumbung Blok Akademik (rasanya tak berani kot.. tinggi sangat.. gayat oh~)*
  • Menangis di tempat rahsia.. (cuba teka di mana!)*
  • Solat berjemaah di Surau. (tempat yang paling dirindui.. inilah tempat saya selalu lepak er.. beristirahat.. pada pagi Jumaat.. juga tempat mesyuarat BADAR.. dan of course, tempat beribadat paling ideal~)
  • Melawat underwaterworld, Gunung Mat Cincang, gi eagle feeding mangrove tour dan lain-lain tarikan di Pulau Lagenda ini. Rugi tak lawat semasa dua tahun saya di sana..
  • Dan yang paaaaaaaaaaaling penting: Sneak out waktu malam sambil bawak torchlight dan tikar, menuju ke padang.. Pilih spot yang best, hamparkan tikar dan 'STARGAZE!!'. *


Want to join me?? Hahaha~ Even I can't join the others who will organise a motivational camp for our juniors.. Oh boy..

*=aktiviti yang belum pernah buat, atau buat separuh jalan~

This is why I hate cuti sekolah..

1 comments Published Monday, May 26, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Salam to all.

This would be my last post for the next two weeks because I don't think I will be able to write, now that my brother and sister are not going to school. Of course, getting my rights of using the computer would be harder now...

Thanks for all your support!

Part Thalathah.

1 comments Published Thursday, May 22, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Replica of Masjid Nabawi.


The above pictures were taken from The Exhibition Of The Two Holy Mosques Architecture Museum in Mekah. Below are the two pictures of the Masjid Nabawi taken on the roads of Madinah.



Salam to all.
I'm sorry for taking toooooo long just to continue my story. Sorry~

Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah. So, my family and I arrived in Madinah on the night of April 24th. After we checked-in, we headed for the 2nd Most Treasured Masjid in the world, the Masjid Nabawi.




What is so special about this Masjid? To begin with, Rasulullah S.A.W and his two Sahabat (Companion), Abu Bakar As-Siddiq r.a. and Umar Al-Khatab r.a. was buried here, inside the Masjid. Secondly, according to Rasulullah S.A.W.'s hadith, performing a two-rakaat prayer here is equal to performing 1000 two-rakaat prayers in other Masjids except in Masjidil Haram and Masjid Quba'. Thirdly, there is a special place called Raudhah (which means 'The Garden of Paradise' in English). Raudhah, according to Rasulullah S.A.W's hadith, is one of the gardens in heaven.



On our way to the Masjid Nabawi. On the right is Madinah Hilton Hotel and on the left is Dar-Taqwa Hotel.



It was just a 7-10 minute walk from our hotel to the Masjid. For the record, our hotel was Al-Fairuz Shatta. To me, I am grateful to get a hotel that near, although we couldn't see the Masjid from it. If you wish to get a hotel where you can see the Masjid Nabawi from your window, I suggest you go for Dar-Taqwa or Madinah Hilton. But they are not that cheap la... But then again,considering the fact that Malaysians don't have the opportunity to see the Masjid Nabawi as often as the Saudis do, I think it will worth every cent you spend should you plan to stay in Dar-Taqwa or Madinah Hilton..

Don't be surprised to see people selling stuff at the Masjid's entrance. Usually, they would be selling 'kayu sugi'.. I don't really know how to use it, to say the least...

The door towards the men's section.




See the marble-covered floor?



The compound of the Masjid is huge! Better yet, it is covered with marbles! From the entrance, we head towards the ladies' section, which is on the left. Tok We and Mama Shima took the lead because they had been here before. I was soooo excited!

As we near the gigantic, beautifully-crafted doors, I noticed that there seemed to be a queue on every door. Then it struct me. All jemaah have to have their bags checked by the guards! Ohohohoho!

Allow me to introduce you: The Guards of Masjid Nabawi. (Suja called them 'askar', haha! I didn't dare to take a picture of them and I bet you won't either. You'll find out why..)

How to recognise them: Female, wearing black jubah with black scarf and cover themselves with a big piece of black cloth on top of their scarf. (okay, these descriptions seem to describe almost 70% of the women here in Saudi Arabia, I know~) What set them apart from other women are: They, the Guards, wear black gloves, and black purdah AND (this is what really sets them apart) they have badges on their arms. And mind you, they can speak Bahasa Melayu! (I'm so proud, although their slang are more of the Indonesian one..)

What are the things they are looking for when they check our bags? Well, mainly, they are looking for cameras and handphones with camera. It's a good move, I think, because they are really taking care of the women's aurat, should any of the pictures taken inside the women's section, contained any.

All of us keep our slippers inside our own 'slipper bag' and brought it with us into the Masjid. This way, we can be sure that our slippers won't go missing (which is a common thing to happen, due to the fact that all the doors are identical and therefore hard for you to remember which door you came in through, and of course, due to the fact that there are too many slippers lying around)

To get inside, was between easy and hard. (It was neither too easy nor too hard). The only challenge was to squeeze yourself between (I'm meaning to say this the nice way okay?) big, big women to reach the checkpoint, where the guards will have a look into your handbags. Don't you dare to be cheeky and try to sneak in, because they will scream 'Hajjah, hajjah', take you back to the door and check your bag~

If there were not so many people, the guards usually search the bag more thoroughly. During peak hours (like before prayers), they tend to be lenient. But it still depends on the guards,you know.. Some of them are nicer and some of them are stricter. So far, my encounter with the guards had been pleasant. (More stories on the way, InsyaAllah.)


Do click on the pictures to have a closer view.

*to be continued* InsyaAllah.

Of tagged and tagging~

0 comments Published by uraniumwise in  

Salam to all.

Amiirah tagged me! Yippie! Didn't I tell you that I love being tagged?? I mean, tag is something that keeps this blog alive! (because I am kurang rajin to write stuff these days.. Again, not malas ya? Just kurang rajin~)

Seven things that scare me

  1. Allah.
  2. my dad when he's really really mad.
  3. earthquakes and other disasters.
  4. tall buildings.
  5. die without saying the kalimah shahadah.
  6. die in vain.
  7. frying chicken~
Seven things I like
  1. connected to the world via the Internet.
  2. eat.eat again.eat some more? OMG!
  3. watch medical drama and romantic-comedy movies.
  4. organise projects (like PUM!!)
  5. making and spending money.no doubt about that people!
  6. jalan-jalan waktu malam naik kereta.
  7. camping, travelling and everything in between.
Seven things I dislike
  1. very,very thick books especially the one without colourful texts and pictures.
  2. no Internet connection or a very slow one.
  3. nothing interesting to watch on tv.
  4. songs that I couldn't comprehend the lyrics.usually rock music.
  5. being apart from the ones I love.
  6. people that always try to hurt Muslims.
  7. me or my buddies or my family getting poor results in anything.
Seven things I have in my room
  1. queen-sized bed.
  2. mirror.
  3. 2 chairs.
  4. sejadah.
  5. books.lots of them.
  6. cupboard.
  7. clothes??
Seven random facts about me
  1. I used to be the only child.. Before my sister and my brother were born of course..
  2. I love spicy food but I disliked sambal belacan.
  3. I enjoy going to school but I kinda hate doing homework.
  4. When I like doing something, I will definitely give my best shot.
  5. When I do something I don't really like, the only way to do it is to take my mind off that thing. It works sometimes..
  6. Sometimes I think that people just don't understand me.
  7. I would marry someone who can give me a time machine. Yup, that is a promise I dare to make, Haha!
Seven things I plan to do before I die

If Allah's willing;

  1. complete my SAM and MBBS degree.
  2. perform Hajj and Umrah again.
  3. visit Madinah.
  4. get a scuba diving licence and dive!
  5. get a driver's licence~ and a car!
  6. organise a family reunion and class reunion.
  7. say the kalimah shahadah.
Seven things I can't do
  1. Syirik.
  2. shout at my parents.
  3. perform ballet. (too obvious huh?)
  4. chant the Big Mac thingy under 2 seconds.
  5. look into the eyes of a person who is mad at me.
  6. doing add maths for three hours straight. (thank God SPM Add Math was just 2 hours and a half...)
  7. perform suicide?
Seven things I say the most
  1. errrr... (variation: aaaahh... ermm.. )
  2. Aiyyo!
  3. Adoi~
  4. Oi!
  5. Oh My God!
  6. Like what la weyh???
  7. Allah!
Seven things I say the most on my blog
  1. Salam
  2. to
  3. all
  4. okay
  5. I
  6. hahaha (variation: haha!, hehehe, wahahaha)
  7. you
Seven things that attract me to the opposite
  1. when that person recites the Al-Quran sweetly (and Azan too!). (ngeeee~)
  2. smart and good-looking person.
  3. easy to talk to.
  4. icy cool and steamingly hot at the same time. Haha, imagine that?
  5. supportive.
  6. responsible.
  7. not afraid to correct me nicely if I'm wrong.
Seven celebrity crushes. Currently they are:
  1. Noah Wyle
  2. Noah Wyle
  3. Noah Wyle
  4. Noah Wyle
  5. Noah Wyle
  6. Noah Wyle
  7. Ohhh, you get the idea~
Seven people to tag

  1. Fitri
  2. Nadzirah
  3. Manissa (rasanya manissa belum kena lagi kot?)
  4. Sis Yazmine
  5. Wawa
  6. Noor
  7. Anas

Happy tagging!

Tag keeps my blog alive~

0 comments Published Wednesday, May 21, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Salam to all.

Firstly, thanks Nadzirah for tagging me.. It's been a while since I've been tagged actually.. So here goes!

This first question should be the one easiest for me to answer, right? WRONG! I mean, yeah, I could use a new handphone and a laptop of my own but, they don't seem to be my priority at the moment, or are they?? Hurm..

5 presents I wish I to have the most

  1. Time Machine - oh God, I must be hallucinating if I can go back in time..
  2. 'Pintu Suka Hati'- If I have this, I won't be needing a car or any form of transportation ever again! And I'll be saving the world too! (less usage of petroleum, less emission of dangerous gases into our atmosphere, less car accident~)Too bad, it just happens in the world of Doraemon, a blue cat with no ears who loves to indulge himself in Dorayaki..
  3. My own digital camera -preferably the new Sony Cybershot, Shoot First Think Later. Haaaaa..(I can feel that my logical sense is back right now~ haha!) At least, this one is logical enough to be fulfilled. Though logic does not mean that I can still have it.. [haaaaaaaah pathetic!]
  4. A laptop that is connected to the Internet 24/7.
  5. A house in Mekah and Madinah, and Australia too~
  6. A nice birthday celebration party with my family and friends!
  7. Ink catridges for the printer so that I can print whatever I want to read..


5 impressions to the one I admire. Haha, to me, that person is:

  1. kinda Islamic.
  2. smart.
  3. kinda good looking.
  4. nice.
  5. thoughtful.

5 greatest inventions

  1. wheels. Can you imagine the world without wheels? Cars, planes, motorcycles etc.. couldn't perform their jobs without wheels!
  2. telephone. I couldn't imagine not having one.
  3. computer and the whole gadgets. I mean, I couldn't have written this post if computer wasn't invented, right?
  4. freezer. What would the world be if we can store food for just a day? And no ice cream?? OMG!
  5. car. No elaboration needed.


5 most hated

  1. a fussy eater. I understand that some people might have allergies to foodstuff. That's fine with me. What I couldn't tolerate is that some people are just being soooooo picky with their food. 'Err.. I can't eat spinach because it's green' Like what la weyh???????
  2. a backstabber. Thank God I haven't met one but I heard stories from other people who were backstabbed by the person they trust. Nauzubillah..
  3. dogs or cats without fur.
  4. a person who forgets his or her roots.
  5. when the blame is on me although it's not my fault. This thing happens once in a while, usually among us siblings.. What can I say?? That's the nasty part of being the eldest~ The good part?? Hahaha! I get the most privileges of course! Eg: Late night Internet access, though it doesn't happen that often la =.=

5 persons to tag:

  1. Amiirah
  2. Manissa
  3. Qyairil
  4. Irfan
  5. Noor

Happy tagging!

The week that was..

1 comments Published Tuesday, May 20, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Salam kepada semua.

Ya, saya akui bahawa saya sudah menjadi semakin kurang rajin (bukan malas ya? kurang rajin) dalam menaip perkataan demi perkataan untuk dimuatkan dalam ruangan maya ini.

Marilah kita sama-sama lihat apa yang telah berlaku dalam hidupku pada minggu lepas:

Selasa (13 Mei) - Temujanji dengan doktor gigi. Sakit oh. Syukur tempoh menunggu tidak terlalu lama, lebih kurang 35 minit sahaja..
Rabu (14 Mei)- Erm, rasanya tiada apa-apa yang menarik. (lupa sebenarnya~)
Khamis ( 15 Mei) - Mengajar adikku Matematik. Hari Nakbah.
Jumaat (16 Mei) - Menghantar SMS hari guru kepada Cikgu Yat, Cikgu Shaza, Cikgu Aminah, Cikgu Apandi, Pak Syed, Ustazah Rasyida, Ustaz Wan, Ustaz Khoierul, Cikgu Chee (guru sekolah rendah), Cikgu Maslynda, Cikgu Hariza, Cikgu Aida, Cikgu Aishah Umarkhata, Sir Hilmi dan Sir Chong. Pulang ke Kedah. Telefon Wahida, sepupuku di MRSM Langkawi.
Sabtu (17 Mei)- Beristirahat di Kedah. Pulang semula ke Pulau Pinang pada waktu petang. Berborak dengan Cikgu Yat. (Cikgu minta teddy bear~ Adoi!)
Ahad (18 Mei) - Membeli barangan keperluan dapur di Sunshine Square. Beriadah di Taman Botanikal Pulau Pinang.
Isnin (19 Mei) - Menempah baju kurung.

Sekian.

Adakah wajar sekiranya saya beralih ke Wordpress? Ataupun cukup sekadar menukar latar belakang? Hmmmm~

Part Ithnani.

0 comments Published Monday, May 12, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Salam to all.

On the day of 24th April, the 'official' journey started. At 12.12 p.m plus minus to be exact... Flight no. SV ??.



'Teksi dah sampai ker?'
Ayah Mie, Naim and Mama Shima.


Replica of KLIA.

Haaa.. here's a bit of info about KLIA.. It is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year! And as a way of celebrating, some sort of a 'mini museum' was set up.. It was really nice to read about the history and the original ideas behind Malaysia's most important airport. This work of engineering acts as a gateway for a successful business and diplomatic ties between Malaysia and the rest of the world (Of course you know that right?). What I can conclude from my observation of the busy people walking here and there is that, air transportation business is a really good way of making money, provided that you are excellent in managing all the sources wisely la~ (Learn from MAS)
Sepang Race Circuit.


Then, we had our lunch at McD (yang ni pun nak cerita ka?? Adoi~).. Haha, I'm glad to say that my family of 11 people had control over a little corner at the McD.. (just ignore this,haha!) Later, we performed solat qasar and jama' at the surau. Ya Allah, it was soooo full of people! I think some sort of an expansion plan need to be carried out so that us muslimat can pray with more khusyu' and take less time. Nevertheless, in terms of the quality of the amenities, I have no complain.. I mean, all the taps are working fine~

Suja, Zaim and Naim.
Again, at the escalator heading towards the departure hall, it was packed with people! Most of them were quite er.. aged, and I was right to think that all of them are also about to perform their Umrah too.. It was easy to spot really.. If you see a group of middle-aged people with the same kind of hand luggage (usually the name of the tour agent is printed on it), handsomely wearing songkok and baju melayu, they are most probably the Guests of Allah, who had the opportunity to be invited by Him to His House...

Okay, allow me to be frank alright? Since this was the first time I'm on an international flight, I was er.. how to say ah?? er.. quite fascinated by the whole process of going through the immigration checks and all.. Haha! You know, the one where we are asked to enter a 'cage', then put our red passport into a slot and then allow the machine to check our thumbprint.. Being a frequent traveller, my mom and my dad was cool with the whole thing.. Me on the other hand, well, being me lah! (my heart was like .. fuyoooo, hebat giler teknologi zaman skarang.. how that thing really works?? What kind of ray are they using?? And another 10001 questions..)

I thought we had arrived at the terminal as soon as we passed the body checks.. But to my surprise (and joy!), we were supposed to take the Aerotrain to the terminals.. Yippie!!! (hey, I'm still a kid at heart, okay~)

Little did I know that we were late. The moment we reached the correct gate, it read 'Last Call'. Haaa?? I took a look at my watch, it was already 2.45 p.m.. The flight time was at 3.00 p.m.~ Huhu... Thank Allah we didn't miss this flight..

Haaaaa! This was also the first time I'm on a long-haul flight! Haha! At first, when we were told to follow exactly the seat numbers as printed on our boarding passes, some of us were separated from the group. Some got the downstairs-seat and most got the upstairs-seat. (We boarded the 747, mind you, so it had two floors).
Bird's eye view of KL.
Then, the take-off! I expected it to be a rough one, but I was disappointed.. It was a smooth one really, the pilot surely did a good job.. Why I expected it to be rough? I used my experience with Firefly, to say the least. I mean, I enjoyed the rough Firefly take-off~ A more 'adrenalin rush' was felt when I flew from Penang to Langkawi with Firefly, haha!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention one thing.. Before take-off, doa was being recited (although it was just a recorded one). I felt safer and in a way, that doa kind of mentally preparing me for the Umrah.. (Note: We flew on Saudi Arabian Airlines).
And of course, the announcements were also made in Arabic. So, using my unpolished Arabic knowledge I learnt during my lower secondary years in Almashoor, I was proud to say that at least I can understand more than two to three words.. Haha!

Immediately after the 'wear-your-seatbelt' signs were switched off, I rushed for the 'next-to-the-window' seat at the row in front of me. Surely I don't want to miss my chance of seeing the wonderful creations of Allah from the bird's point of view... Thank Allah the flight was not full. Suja came and sat between me and Che Je in the same row. The rest of our groups rearranged the seats to our preferences, acted as though the whole plane is ours...

Then came the food. No complaints about that. Actually it was kinda tasty~ Did I mention that I got the upstairs-seat? The whole journey was okay, though I found the seven-hour flight rather boring after a while.. I found it hard to sleep during this leg of the journey.. Maybe I was too excited?

Since the beginning of the flight, I thought that we will head straight to Madinah. But halfway through, I found out that we will stop over at Dammam for an hour. Since it was just an hour stop, we, the whole passengers were not allowed to leave the flight.

On our way to Dammam.

Well, well, what do you know? Ayah Mie, Naim, Sasha, Mimi and me had the opportunity to take a peek into the cockpit. My God, it was soooooo full of buttons. On the right, left, on the dashboard (I'm not sure if it's called the dashboard..), and all over the walls! Wow! I wonder how the pilots know which button is which.. (I try to picture Abe, a classmate of mine, as the pilot.. Yup, I can definitely see the pilot in him!)
Sasha, Mimi and Naim inside the cockpit.
Captain Jeff. Smart eh?
Buttons here, there and everywhere!

During the stop at Dammam, Suja checked the credit balance of her mobile phone. Initially it was RM 14.**. Then, she sent a message to a person back home. She checked her credit balance again, and all of us learnt afterwards that a message sent to Malaysia costs RM 2.00~
Airport in Dammam.
It was late evening when we took off from the International Airport in Dammam towards Madinah. I slept during this part of the journey, although it was just an hour and a half flight... By the time we reached Madinah, it was already night time!

Che Je and Suja doozing~
Madinatul Munawwarah, 'Bandar yang bercahaya', really matches its name. The city was literally flooded with lights here and there.. The view from above was definitely enchanting..

Madinah here we come!

As we walked out of the aeroplane, gushes of cool wind greeted us.It was really nice. Not the kind of 'warm welcome' I had in mind..Haha! I thought the wind would be warm, since this land is known for its warm weather..

Che Je and Tok We posed in front of our plane.
Tok We warned us that our patience will constantly be tested by Allah in the Tanah Haram. We should always stay calm and keep our mouth shut unless we have something useful or something nice to say. I guess, our patience were tested when Ayah Mie and daddy among other people had to struggle to locate our bags.. Seriously, it wasn't easy..

One proof that Bahasa Melayu is widely used in Saudi Arabia: the guards at the arrival hall keep on screaming 'Malaysia, Malaysia, satu baris, satu baris!!!' I was like.. huh?? (Bangga giler! Cayalah!)

Later, when we found all our bags, we gathered outside the airport, waiting to be 'chauffeured' by our tour bus. The airport seemed busier than KLIA.. I noticed that nearly 97% of all men, wear jubah, and nearly 100% of women wears the black jubah. I think that is part of their culture~

The city of Madinah Al-Munawwarah.
The bus arrived at last, and we quickly put our bags into its place. We (my family of 11 plus another small group of people) were under the supervision of Ustaz Faris (from his slang, I think he is from Indonesia). He welcomed us and told us important details during our way to our hotel. He mentioned that Subuh is pretty early (4.30 a.m++) and that each time we want to enter the Masjid Nabawi, our bags will be checked by the guards (this rule is for women only, if I'm not mistaken).. Imagine that?

Our hotel is quite near to Masjid Nabawi, Alhamdulillah. It was so beautiful and sooooo full of lights!
Masjid Nabawi.
*to be continued* InsyaAllah.. But not so soon la~


The Journey of The Soul (Part Wahid)

1 comments Published Sunday, May 11, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Salam to all.

Nadzirah, I found the name of your blog to be so perfect to describe the story I'm about to tell. Credits to you, ya ukhti.

(Alhamdulillah, now I'm glad to say that I had recovered from Bronchitis and jet lag. Haha..)

The idea of going for Umrah in a big group of us families had been around since err.. a few years back. Plans were made, but something just popped out to make the plans stayed as plans. Alhamdulillah, finally, it was a reality.

In the morning of Wednesday, 23rd April 2008, we (me, my dad,mom,brother and sister) started our journey by car to Subang Jaya, where we stayed for a night at Ayah Mie's house. The excitement could not be described by words.

Bags were loaded, keys were handed to our trusty neighbour, doors were locked, and finally, daddy recited the doa, a longer-than-usual one. Secretly, I think this was one of the signs that the physical and mental journey we were about to take on, is no ordinary one.

And trust me, it wasn't.

Being a very experienced driver, my dad used that reason to drive err.. a little bit beyond the speed limit. (Based on my observation, his average speed was something between 120 and 150 kmph...) And therefore, we reached Subang Jaya earlier than expected.

Before I continue with the rest of the story, let me introduce the 'characters' or the 'ahli rombongan'..

  1. Ayah Mie (the Leader of the rombongan, a very experienced person indeed)
  2. Tok We (my grandma, coming all the way from Kelantan)
  3. Mama Shima (Ayah Mie's wife)
  4. Daddy (my dad, an experienced driver<--he loves to call himself that)
  5. Mummy (my mom, a very understanding person)
  6. Che Je (my aunt, also from Kelantan)
  7. Su Ja (my 'rockest' aunt)
  8. Sasha (my cousin, the same age as Mimi)
  9. Mimi (my sister)
  10. Naim (my brother)
  11. and Me! (photograper and blog-writer)

Part Ithnani or Part Two will be published soon!

MARA terus MARA.

0 comments Published Saturday, May 10, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Salam to all.

So I guess,

  1. The endless days of preparation for SPM was worth it
  2. The really haunting days of waiting for the SPM result was worth it (you know, the bad dreams of having poor results and all~)
  3. The preparation for MARA interview was worth it
  4. THE 'nearly-caught-dead-on-the-spot' interview experience with two 'erm-how-to-describe-it-nicely-??' interviewers was definitely worth it.

Because:

Alhamdulillah.

I was offered the South Australian Matriculation at Taylor's College.

Why am I soooooo grateful:

  1. Manissa and Faizah will be there! (And Mr.you-know-who too!)
  2. Taylor's College is soooooo near to my uncle's house.
  3. There is at least a slim chance of me going to the country down under!

Insomnia strikes without mercy.

0 comments Published Thursday, May 8, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Salam to all.

It is currently 2.04 a.m. Malaysian time.

Which is equals to Sleep Time.

It is currently 9.04 p.m Saudi Arabian time.

Which is equals to Shopping Time. (Unfortunately for me, I wasn't fit to shop because I was diagnosed with Bronchitis.)

???

Home is where the heart is.

0 comments Published Wednesday, May 7, 2008 by uraniumwise in  

Salam to all.

Yes, there is definitely no other place in this world like our own home sweet home. Trust me.

Alhamdulillah, I am here right now, typing comprehensible words that will soon be in the center of my humble blog.

To be honest, I am still feeling tired (although it wasn't me who drove the car from KL to Penang, it wasn't me who loaded the bags into the car, it wasn't me who unloaded the bags,..etc.. etc..)

I have A LOT to tell and definitely A LOT of pictures to share! But please be patient ya? (I need to get my writing mood and creative juices back because I think I left it somewhere in my room~ I just couldn't find it yet~ haha!)

To make matters worse, I just bought a book that I've been longing to read for sooooo long. You can guess what happens next right? So don't expect much from me in the time being, alright?

=)

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