Salaamun ‘alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh!!!
My dear GoodOldLovedBuddy,
May u always be in Allah’s protection…ameen!!!

I’m soO sorry cos I’ve not written to u as often as I did last month….
Been very very busy adapting to my hours @ home & @ school…as,
In I told u in my last letter,my schoolin hours are frm Asar til an hour & a half aft ‘isya’…my mornings are almost everyday filled with fighting my eyes,which if not fought,will tell me to curl up under my thick lihaaf(selimut)(sejuUk!!!)…
My nights(upon reaching home),are also filled with filling my tummy(dinner) & snuggling under my lihaaf…once again…u see??padanlah,before I went,Ust TM Fouzy said that one of the biggest challenges someone will face when he studies overseas is to feel sleepy always…haiz…lagi2 takde mak utk tengokkan that kt tak tido terlalu banyak or cepat…luv u mum!!!=>

Mujahadah……Sabar…..Tawakkal….sume dapat blaja,hamdanlilllaah…dat’s the best part about being studying overseas…thank u Allah!!!
Here,I finally get a bit more understandin of the ayat:
و لو أنما فى الأرض من شجرة أقلام والبحر يمده من سبعة أبحر ما نفدت كلمات الله إن الله عزيز حكيم
Kalimaatullaah in this ayat is explained as the things which show Allah’s hikmah and the greatness of His creations…..Knowledge of the religion can show Allah’s hikmah….and vast is this knowledge…there are soO many parts to it…the more one learns,the more he/she learns that he/she doesn’t know…..
For example,Syria is one of the places which is known for hadith studies,besides madinah….
I was delighted when one of my lecturers said that a great number of hadith scholars come from here,such as imam Nawawi & AlHaafiz AlMizzi…etc..
+ I now see clearly that there are too many things about Hadith Nabawi that I do not know!!!
The hadiths from my beloved prophet contain soO many stories which I have not known before which can help me in my life here & biiznillaah in the hereafter,
Whereas I’ve wasted 19 years in my life reading novels and the like which will not even help me @ dunia,what more in akhirat???!!!


Dear above is a picture of` my visit to Maqam Sayyidina Bilal....

May all of us berpegang kuat to Al-Quran & Sunnah always....

salam...=>

letter raqm lima...

salam...
dear GoodOldLovedBuddy,

its been quite a while since i last wrote to u....
i've been quite busy these past two weeks...(maklumlah,da start skola!
finally!!!...)
hehe,,,...
school here is very very different frm school in s'pore...
when i say i study in a university...images of studyin in big halls come to mind(at least my mind,back when i was younger)...((influenced by tv..hehe)...
tapi rupenye...blaja kat small classroom...atas kerusi kayu...meja kayu...3 org squeezed atas satu bench...dukturah ckp arab full....dengar org2 bising2 kat luar(my classroom is near the toilets)....rase sun shining frm the window.....start skola @ 2.30 pm...dengar azan asar(2.20pm),maghrib(4.45pm),'isya(6pm) while studying....balik skola da gelap gelita...hehe...fun!!!
mane lagi in s'pore can i get all this???

anyway,my usuluddin class is not that big(abt 50ppl) cos this is the first time usuluddin is opened for foreigners in syria...
the great thing is that,we have many lecturers who themselves wrote the books they are teaching!!!so,they are familiar 100% wit its contents...best kan???hehe...

so far,onlyone of the lecturers speaks 'ammiyyah...this means,the rest speak fluent arabic
...when,oh,when,will i be able to speak like them???

in my class,there are 7 malaysians,2 s'poreans, n 2 somalians...the rest are syrians...so,hamdanlillaah,dapat jugak practice arabis with them...
one syrian even told me that if i speak malay(kadang2 tercakap melayu dgn budak malaysia),they will speak 'ammiyyah,so i can't understand!!hmmphh!!!hehe...but this's for the better...

overall:I ENJOY SCHOOL!!!hamdanlillaah...
I LOOK FORWARD TO IT EVERYDAY!!!
I PRAY TO ALLAH THIS WILL CONTINUE...
walau macam mane pon,i have to have a lot of patience,cos as many the things here that i like,
that many too,i find different from in s'pore & i have to get used too...
but well,its all in a day's strive to get Allah's hubb...
i learnt this great saying from an anisah,maashaa Allah:

كاذب فى دعوى : من شكا ضرب مولاه
كاذب فى دعوى: من أحس ضرب مولاه
كاذب فى دعوى:من لم يتلذذ بضرب مولاه
Berbohong dalam dakwaan(cinta) : sesiapa yg mengadu pukulan kekasihnya
Berbohong dalam dakwaan(cinta) :Sesiapa yg merasakan pukulan kekasihnya
Berbohong dalam dakwaan(cinta) :Sesiapa yg tak berlazat-lazat dengan pukulan kekasihnya

this saying is soO nice(to me!!)
the third line denotes the highest degree of patience.
the 1st line denotes the lowest....& i don't even noe if i can be catyegorized here!!!
subhaanaallaah,,,Allaahummaj 'alnaa minassobiriin was-sobiraat!!!=>

k,la...i'm runnmin' late for school(the journey's quite long)...
till the next risaalah,
ma'assalaamah!!!

Al Waraqah Ar -Raabi'ah...=>

salam...

Dear GoodOldLovedBUddy,

Afwan i've not written to u for quite some time...

1stly,Eid Sa'eed...taqabbalallaahu minnaa wa minkum!!!

my letter this time will be a very short one 'cos i've only a few mins left of

my 'internet' time this week...(i got carried off talking to mummy & family dearest)..

'Eid here is just a one day affair...

We went for solat 'eidul Fitr @ Jame' Badar...about 15mins away...

best,ah...the khutbah was nice...the imam said that

a sign that our amalan during Ramadhan has been accepted by Allah

is that we get to continue(istiqaamah) in whatever we did then.

i cried quite badly aft the khutbah(about a lot of things,mind u,one

of them being the thought of

me missing family-going-out-together time in Singapore)...

tapi...tulah namenye perjuangan...

We means me,my housemates,& Kak Lin & husband & the Jordan girls...That's right!!We were honoured by a visit from the 5 girls studying in Jordan(memang ade 5 S'porean girls only over there))...

We reached the mosque quite late....Very Late actually!!!As we exited the vehicle,we heard the imam starting takbir...all of us ran all the way into the mosque....'Best' tau,pagi raya lari2...hehe...

'Eid morning here doesn't feel like an 'Eid morning in S'pore...here.everybody is dressed in the same black-blue-brown-white colours...according to the seniors,the women ade baju cantik2 kat dalam...but wallaahu a'lam...cos takde org pulak yg bukak 'mantho' dorang kat Jame'...Oh well...

Later,we went to eat nasi minyak(sedap & enak) @ rumah Kak Mon & Jalal(their parents came here for Raya)...

We relaxed for the rest of the day...lazed ard...pergi cafe call2 org...(the internet connection was soO bad on that day as i suppose the whole of the muhaajiruun in Syria were calling people in their homelands...

@ night:We started cooking full force...(for the S'poreans' trip to Tayyibah)...we akhawat cooked Rendang,Nasi Empit,Ayam Masak merah & pancakes....best sangat,macam rewang kat kampung!!!

Most of us slept ard 3 am that day(or shud i say,the following day)...but nasib baik we caught some shut eye during the journey(ard 1 hr) to Tayyibah...

*A funny thing: Syrians see 'Eid,from what i observe,as just another public holiday to enjoy...

we saw them walking on the streets with their families...also,funfairs sprang up everywhere then...tapi style!!the things(eg merry-go-round,viking) were all manual!!!that means,budak2 naik,abg2/bapak2 tolak kan!!!cute kan???i felt like riding one too,tapi malu...da besar katekan...hehe...=>

اللهم تقبل منا صيامنا وارزقنا الاستقامة ما بعده!!!!!

till my next letter,

wassalam.=>

*p.s:that pic has nothing to do with "eid...just a pic of the road...

=>

Salaamun ‘alaik,
Yaa GoodOldLovedBuddy,

How’re ur last days of Ramadhan coming along???may all of us be of the faa-iziinal maqbuuliin…ameen!!=>
As promised in my last letter,I’l tell u about e tarawih prayers in Syria…
((caution:everything I’m gonna write down is totally based on my own opinion—
pls keep in mind that I prefer
*tarawih prayers which are not too fast-this means I get to read all the 3 tasbihs in ruku’ n sujud,
*tarawih prayers in which the imams finish reading 1 juz/ nite,
*tarawih prayers in which the imams read with a nice tune..hehe…so dapat enjoy!!))

My housemates n I like to go to different mosques to try out each one n find the ones we like…so far,hati ni da terpaut @ Jame’ Naabulsi…it has a combination of all 3 factors I look out 4..
Anyway,I found out when going to some mosques-quite shockingly-that quite a number of them read only one ayat per raka’ah!!!literally one ayat,as in ‘Tabaarakal-lazii biyadihil mulku wa huwa’alaa kulli syai-in qadiir’4 one raka’ah..hehe…style,kan???
For example also,@ jame’ Buuthii,during the whole 20 raka’ahs,the imam only read a total of 3 pages from surah Al-kahfi….wen I asked the reason from one of the seniors,she said that they follow a qaul in Mazhab hanafi which holds on to the aayat:
((Faqra-uu maa tayassara minal Qur-aan))-((Read what is easy from the Quraan))….
Wallaahu ta’aalaa a’lam!!

I also went to jame’ Maqam arba’iin where the imam leads the prayer as if tengah lead perang!!hehe….betol!!berkobar-kobar die bace/….takbir macam takbir perang…bace surah w/o any tune….& cepat giler!!!!(in 45min,we finished ‘isya’,20 tarawih & witr!!)…nice experience,ah,although I didn’t get to feel the relaxing ‘aspect’ of tarawih,as its name suggests…

I also went once to ifthaar & tarawih @ jame’ Umawi,a.k.a Omayyad Mosque…yup…the very mosque we learnt about in Sejarah islam in Sec 3…the great mosque built during zaman Khalifah Al-Walid bin Abdul Malik during zaman pemerintahan bani Umayyah…it is very beautiful,ancient-looking and has half of it with Islamic-looking carvings while the other half has Cristian-looking carvings(as the Cristians once took over it).
Anyway,ifthaar there was best!!!
we were ‘marshalled’ by workers wearing uniforms called-Maa-idaturrahmaan(The feast of the Most Gracious) to our ‘seats’… in the mosque courtyard -on the floor-around hidangan makanan arab….we actually even planned to bring a s’pore flag as ifthaar @ Omayyad Mosque appears on Syrian TV every day….hehe…tapi tak jadi...=>
Ifthaar beneath Allah’s sky(we cud see it changing colour,from blue to darkness) was amazing,Subhanallaah!!!
Thje tarawih there was the usual one/two ayats per raka’ah from Surah Maryam.

So,as of now,I’ve been to 11 different mosques…the rest of the days, I go to jame’ Nabulsi….
Nabulsi pon best as there is dars(like blajar ugama) after the tarawih prayers.
The topic-Law in the Quran….
not laws as in haram n halal,but laws as in-Allah says in Surah An-nahl ayat 97
من عمل صالحا من ذكر أو أنثي و هر مؤمن فلنحيينه حياة طيبة
(Whosoever does good be he male or female and he is of the mu’minin,we will give him a good life)
So Allah has made a law which says that who does good,he’l get a good life…
So,if a person doesn’t do good,he’l never ever get a good life….
There are many such ayats in the Quran!!!,with ‘Fi’il Syarat n Jawab Syarat’,only I never really noticed before…so,Imam Ratib Nabulsi touches on a topic per day,eg:the laws of Rizq,the laws of Nasr,etc….exciting sangat2!!!
If I have time,i/allah I’l tell u some of the contents of these Dars biiznillaah….

K,la,dear, I gotta run….since ‘eid is coming,I wanna say- kullu ‘aam wa nahnu bikhair!!!

p.s-i like this zikir(learnt it here in Syria)-
يا حنان يا منان, يا ذا الجود و الإحسان, ثبت قلبنا على الإيمان, نرجو عفوك و الغفران,
May all of us get ‘itq minan naar…ameen!!!و اجعلنا من عتقاء شهر رمضان

p.s:the above pic is a pic of the courtyard of the Omayyad Mosque...cantik,kn???=>

Letter # 2

Salam ‘alaik….
DearGoodOldLovedBuddy,

Hope u’re in the pink of health n imaan n u’re optimizing ur Ramadhan to e fullest!!

ِِِِMy typical Ramadhan day here in syam:

Sahur is @ 4.55 gitu & buka is @ 6.30++ gitu….
Tapi style!!!subhanal ilaah!!
The time change is so so fast!!
(time can move up one hour,for eg,iftaar is 6.30++ now but will become
5.30++ after 20th Ramadhan….mane nak rase gitu kat Spore??hehe…the most the time moves is +-20 mins max…:)
*In winter,as u noe,days will become shorter & nights will become longer…
hehe….jadi,more time to sleep!!!!haha….

Talking about winter,the nights have started getting really cold!!!if I may guess,its about 20 deg @ night now….
Even during the days,the heat is not so blinding as it was when I first came….sometimes,I can see the sun rays but when I stand in the ‘bright’ spot,I don’t feel as much heat as I see…amazing,kan???
*now,hamdanlillah,I can link whateva I studied during geog to real life…best!!

Ok,ok,sorry I sidetracked….back to ramadhan:
During ramadhan,most food outlets r closed in the earlier part of the day…
Aft zohor aje baru dibuka…
Walking through the streets of Suuq Jam’ah(the nearest market to my house)
after ‘Asar,I see people selling food of all types for juadah buka pause…
People here LOVE halawiyyat(sweet cakes and kuehs)…
One of my frens(u noe who u r!!;>)loves them so much that she becomes macam kempunan gitu…… I like them too,but not to that degree….
They r delicious,sweet but Fattening!!!so I have to be careful….
But here,I really get to see the varieties of food Allah has made and how He has made different tongues like the taste of different foods….((wallaahu ‘alaa kulli syai-in qadiir))…
--there is also something we name keropok Ramadhan….it looks like giant ‘papadoms’
with kurma(tamar) paste poured on it….this is my favourite!!!!
SedaAp sangat!!!
Alhamdulillaahil ladzii ath’amanaa wa saqaanaa!!!=>

One sad thing:
Most Jame’s(mosques) are closed during the day for women…
Nak I’tikaf susah…earlier in ramadhan,we tried the jame’s around our house one by one during ;asar…
All are closed….tapi once again,
All praises to Allah!!!
the jame’ nearest to my house(jame’ Muhyiddiin...picture above),remains open throughout the day for women…!!although I was chased out twice!!hehe(arabs change their rules in a split second—a few days back,the mosque keeper suddenly said that the women’s section will be closed @ 5pm….haiz…so,now,I don’t noe if I can still sit there
after ‘asar…only time will tell;<) I/allah I’ll tell u about the tarawih here in my next letter…

In the mean time,jage diri,jage iman!!!

Use ur time in Ramadhan wisely,k

… اللهم إنك عفو تحب العفو فاعف عنا يا كريم!!!

Fii amaanillah,dear GoodOldLovedBuddy!!!=>

e 1St leTter.....

Dear GoodOldLovedBuddy,
I’m writing to u from a foreign land…
a land where many prophets of the past lived,came,sat and prayed to Allah…
a land where it is said the first murder in the history of mankind occurred.
a land where Prophet Ibrahim is said to have prayed.
a land where Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) traveled to for business.
a land where many Sahabis came to,died + were buried.
a land which became the centre of Islamic civilization during the Omayyad period.
a land which was said by the Prophet(s.a.w) to be ‘Ardh Barakah’,together with Yemen.
So,Have u guessed where I am yet???
That’s right,!!!
I’m now in Damascus,Syria…..a.k.a Bumi Syam Al-Mubarakah.

My address??
منطقة الصالحية الشرقية, الشارع التغالبية, بناء عربي, طابق أرضي, دمشق, سوريا
((panjang,kan???))
Here,the addresses of the houses are actually descriptions of where the houses are situated…for example,if a person’s house is directly opposite a mosque,the address will say,’muqaabil(opposite) mosque so & so..’…style,kan??
Oh,ya,forgot to tell u-do not..i repeat DO NOT send me anything thru this add,as it will never ever ever reach me…=>

Anyway,my house is a bina’ ‘arabi(as the add says..:).
As the name suggests,it’s a house built arab style….
It houses 10 people-9 S’porean girls & 1 Yugoslavian…
It’s @ the foot of Jabal Qasyun…(look it up on the internet if u have the time,k…)
Its big,not lavishly decorated @ all,but comfortably sederhana.…
Most importantly,it has a roof,food,drinks,a toilet,clothes,Quran---all I need to live…hehe….alhamdulillaah….I LIKE my HOUSE hErE!!!!

Ok,dear GoodOld LovedBuddy…
will report to u more from this strange barakah land soon ,biiznillaah…
Lots more I wanna say…
But gotta go…
As me beloved Mum & Dad said:
“it’s now Ramdhan…Do not waste ur precious time on the Internet!!”
hehe…pikir2,btol jugak…24hours X 30 days= 720hours
I only have that number of hours in Ramadhan 1428Hijrah!!!(klu ramadhan 29days,lagi sikit---720hours – 24hours = 696hours!!!
Jangan suke waste2 time,mardhiyah!!!!Sendiri yang RUGI nanti!!!!!
Oops!!!Pardon me,dear,for my self-talking!!hahahakz…

Btw,since the start of ramadhan is determined by ru’ya(moon sighting) here, we had to wait for a gun shot to know if it was ramadhan yet.…style,kan???
So,on the night of 29th sya’baan,we waited and waited(til one of my friends jadi nervous-nervous..hehe…u noe who u are!!)
However,the shot didn’t come,so we completed 30days in sya’ban…
We were so happy when we heard gun shots aft ‘asar on 30th Sya’ban…
DapAt jugak jumpe Ramadan…alhamdu wasy-syukru kulluhuu lillaah!!!!

RAMADHAN MUBARAK!!!!
KULLU ‘AAM WA ANTUM BIKHAIR!!!!!=>
Moga setiap dari kita dapat menjalankan ‘ibadah puasa dengan sebaik mungkin..
اللهم أعنا علي الصلاة و الصوم و غض البصر و حفظ اللسان...امين!!!!!!!!!

Fii amaanillah,dear GoodOldLovedBuddy!!!

salam....