3.4.2021

 

My New Year

 

Yes. It was that time of the year once again.  The beginning of a new birth year. Some people make the first day of January each year as their new year, reflecting back on the past 365 days, taking note of what was, what wasn’t and what did, and what didn’t work as planned and making resolutions for the next 365 days to improve upon and to realign once again.

 

I choose to make the first of April, as the beginning of my new year. The date on which I was born, about 64 years ago. Yes, it had been quite a journey. I thank Allah for allowing me to still be around, to breath, to say thanks to all his blessings bestowed upon me and my beloved ones. Thank You Ya Allah, for listening to some of my needs. Thank You Ya Allah for still giving me the time to reflect, to make amendments, to rectify and to move forward in the path that You have mapped out for us, your humble beings. 

 

The last 365 days has been a mixture of abundant blessings as well as challenging at times. Blessings to me was that I was able to spend more me time to reconnect with my Maker. Reading and understanding the teachings of your Holy Book, the Quran was my main focus, almost at every available time. Yes, I did have time to attend classes before this, to hear the ulamak preach words of advice from the Quran. But nothing is more satisfying to me to actually discover the true essence of your words by sitting down, reading and understanding your words and reflecting on how much I have understood and how much more I need to do in order to be a true Muslim. It is true to say that most of us the non - Arab speaking Muslims sometimes read the Quran with such beautiful pronunciation and yet those readings sometimes do not reflect in the display of actions and behaviours. Sometimes we rush ourselves to complete all the 30 chapters and feeling a sense of achievement. But personally, for me now, at this stage in my life, all I wish to do now to be able to read with the proper pronunciation as I could possibly but most importantly to read the tafsir and tadabbur the contents of the Al Quran to the best of my ability. 

 

Ya Allah, I pray to You that You will guide me to the Right path and make me adhere to the Straight Path. Oh Allah, I ask You for Guidance and uprightness. Please grant me the ability to do everything in a correct manner, that is in accordance with the practice of the Prophet (sallahhaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Syukur Alhamdullilah. Alhamdullilah for everything I have, alhamdullilah for everything I had and Alhamdullilah for everything I will have.

Alhamdullilah for everything even the trails that makes me closer to You.

 

It has been almost a year past since the whole world was struck with the deadly virus, the Covid 19. To some, it is just another flu virus but to those whose loved ones have died all alone not being able to hold their hands, to say goodbye and seek forgiveness before the last breath is released for good is most heart breaking and indescribable. Only those who have been through such an episode will understand. 

 

For those who are still surviving and living our everyday life, well the norms of living our everyday life have changed. The last perintah berkurung or curfew that I ever experienced was during the May 13 racial riots. During that time, we were instructed to say behind closed doors to cool off the tension building amongst the races. At that time, I was only 13 years old. I cannot recall how long was the curfew. Not for long, I think. But for this pandemic, with the different phases and different terminologies used to describe the stages (which sometimes is most confusing to comprehend). Wearing the masks, adhering to the set SOP by the authorities is all the new norm of the year 2020 and now into the fourth month of 2021. How much longer we need to be in this state will depend on Allah’s plan. Kun Fa Ya Kun.

 

With the new norm of spending time at home has its plusses and negativities. Too cooped up at home with minimal interactions, especially to those who live alone, to those who have been dependent on their loved ones for financial help, for mobility, for physical and mental support can create a lot of stressful moments. Mental health problems are not uncommon during this tiring times. I must confess there were moments that I too had issues with my mental health. I had to will myself to quickly snapped out of it. I now find solace in writing. It doesn’t matter if nobody reads it. this is my means of letting go. 

 

So, for the next 362 days or so, I will keep on doing what I am doing. Reading and writing. I need to write on my last 10 years as a public servant in the Education Ministry. I need to share the experiences that I have gathered with the heads of schools, the children from low performing schools, the struggles that teachers at these school faced in trying to improve the teaching and learning experience, sometimes with the minimal of facilities. 

 

I hope to reconnect, spend more quality time with my loved ones. I hope to reconnect with my friends, friends who have given me support when I was going through my dark days. I need to make time. I need to stay healthy, eat well, keep on with my morning walks (maybe not too rigorously anymore, but definitely walk).

 

Insha Allah.

 

Oh Allah, give me the patience and strength I need to carry on. Aamiin. 

 

 

26.3.2021

I remain cautious

 

All the precautions, well almost all went out the window! Throwing caution to the wind. Yes, , it is Allah’s will. Kun Fa Ya Kun ( Be, and it is)

 

But He bestowed us one of the greatest gifts of all, the ‘akal’  to see, feel and to react under  all occasions, stress, duress or simply blissful moments.

 

I am so sorry. But being in the high risk group, I prefer to remain cautious. Sorry. 

 

Become confident in who you are that on one’s opinion or rejection can rock you.’

My ramblings

25.3.2021

Extreme Fatigue

 

Extreme fatigue.Since this morning. Got up and then back to bed. Too exhausted . Slept soon after breakfast till about 2 pm. Got up, prepared lunch and now  back  in bed. I think my tonsils are inflamed .

Dear husband thinks I went overboard yesterday. I made an e card for my sis. She turned 67. Because she loves music and dancing , I decided to slip in a musical video. Bee Gees’s Staying Alive. Very upbeat and nice to dance to. Decided to drop in at her place just to wish her in person. Got carried away. Played the video and asked her to join in. ,But just a short while. Need to project on the full screen to enable full vision. Our next meet, perhaps.

 

I need to note this to inform my endocrinologist on my next visit. The maintenance dose of  thyroxine hormone needs another round of readjustment. Hypothyroidism is rearing its ugly  head once again. 

 

21.3.2021 

 

One Best Friend changes a million things

 

Sometimes, the best things in life are not things at all.... but the people who make you feel loved and cared for. 

And when friends are not always just friends... Sometimes they are like family.  

 

These two phrases best describe the true blue comradeship that I heard and witnessed today. I am in awe of the level of commitment and dedication that they shown towards one another during some of the  challenging moments that either one is faced with. They went into it together without worry of the consequences. I am not able to relate the actual incidents. I need to respect the privacy of the persons involved  but  it  hit me hard  and I felt most humbled to be in such a company.

 

 A relationship that spans  many years, going back to their primary years to secondary to the current times when they are successful career persons in their respective fields. Truly amazing. My hats off to these  lovely of ladies!. 

 

I was their teacher for the last  two years of their secondary school. That was in the 1995 , if I am not mistaken. We lost touch. I moved on to another school and my last job was as a senior lecturer at the training wings of the MOE until I retired in 2017. 

 

Quite recently, they reconnected with me. They came over. We had many hours of catching up and stories to share. It was non stop chatter from all five of us!

 

Then last Sunday I was invited out to lunch. The food was great, the company was even greater. Two of them ( of four) were not able to make it. That was when I learned more about my student’s current situation. It breaks my heart and it saddens me . But the take away from all these is that strong women don’t play the victim, don’t make themselves look pitiful and don’t point fingers. They stand and they deal.  

 

And sometimes the hardest walk is walking alone, but it’s also the walk that makes you the strongest ( Brene Brown) 

 21.3.2021

 The Zoom Party

Still on a high . Still taking in the moments that happened yesterday. The new norm of communication was the order of the day for all us sisters ( 7 + 2 Sis in law ) and our daughters ( the second generation of the Omarians) . Yes it was zoom time. Courtesy of niece Syuhaidah Hidayah who hosted the event. Daughter Aisyah was the MC of the evening ( with ocassional  prompt and help from daughter Syiqin). The built up to the big Day started as early as when we got the invitation on the omarians chat room (16.03.2021) with a beautiful card addressed to all the aunts. And from that time onwards the teasers and messages kept flying across the cyberspace in  Klang Valley and to reach  Alor Star and Kuantan too.

There were packages for all the aunts ( only to be opened on the day of the meet at 5 pm ) And that kept us guessing on the contents of the pacakage as well the itinerary lined up for the day. 

The initial hiccups during the start of the event yestesday added colors to a most  memorable moments with my loved ones.   

It had been quite a while since we last met. 

 

What a lovely surprise awaits us in the package! A beautiful shawl, lots of snacks and a packet  with clues for the games to be played.simple but most meaningul indeed.

1.     Guess the name of the niece and nephew by description. ( I was tasked to decribe my nephew and for them to guess,  the family Lee Ming Ho)

2.     In 3 words describe your sister/ sister in law ( I was asked to describe my   sis rufaidah, the faimly PUU)

3.     Guess the title of the song and its singer ( I was given the lyrics to the song On Top of the world by the Carpenters)

 

It was pretty chaotic at times with almost everyone shouting out the answers they were guessing).But that was forgiveablee.In the spirit of sisterhood.

 

So a shout out to all. My nieces and nephews,  my daughters and sons for making it a most memeorable day day.  You guys read our frustrations of being cooped up with very little physical contact with our siblings.

 

My Ramblings

19.3.2021

 

Arwah mak would be 85 today. But she left us just about a week after her 81^st birthday, on a cool Friday morning, 24.3.2017. I was at work. I received a call from my husband informing me of  her demise at about 9.30 am that morning. I packed my bag  and drove straight downhill from Gentings to Subang Jaya. When I arrived,  she was already placed  on a mattress in the living room.

 

Just the night before, kak and I made arrangements to take her home from the hospital . The doctors told us that there was nothing much that they could do anymore. And it was time to bring her home. And so I messaged on the Omarians chatroom, informing them of the situation and requested them to come to Subang jaya and say their final goodbye. 

 

At the hospital we made arrangements to take her home . We arranged for a private ambulance service.They came and soon us three were set to leave the hospital. There was a lady in attendance, apart from the driver. Both kak and I sat at the back  with mak on the stretcher . The driver was very skilled and experienced in manouvering the van in the evening traffic, I think it was about 8 pm, there were many cars on the road , the after work traffic. But the van managed to reach within a space of about 10 minutes or so. He drove fast ,but I felt in safe hands.  That was my first experience riding in an ambulance. I managed to record the event .

 

Upon arriving, the house was slowly being filled with siblings, and nephews and nieces. Soon almost all were there . I remember Mak was looking around at her children and grandchildren. She was just looking, taking in the scent.maybe photographically everything in her head.

 

I left for home that night. She passed on the next day. Very peacefully,  said my sister.And on that day my eldest sister turned 64.

 

It has been 4 years now. 

 

There is something about losing your mother that is permanent and inexpressable- a wound that would never quite heal.

 

Mak… always loved, never forgotten, forever missed.

 

 

Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers the Day the account is established.”  Quran (Surah Ibrahim, 41)

 

My ramblings

1.3.2021

 

Decision time

 

Somehow yesterday’s decision was made with a very firm conviction. About an hour later,  SIL and daughter and cucus came . It was so timely. It was as if he read our discussions earlier on.

What triggered the discussion was a question posed by my husband. ‘ Where will stay you  stay if I were to go earlier’? It is question posed before which I would  respond  rather vaguely. And reciprocated to him.

 

But it felt different yesterday. It was as if I was ready to make a commitment to that question.

 

Yes.. this present house  holds many memories. Of our first owned house. Of  our children growing up in the neighbourhood which then housed many neighbours  with children of about the same age as them. 2 neighbours to the left of my house, 7 on my right on the same row, 2 on my road opposite to my house ( Jalan Indah 4) . about 5 neighbours on Jalan Indah 6. 

 

Yeah, we were neighbours who appreciated all  of our neighbours. But many have moved away. They have upgraded and bought houses to be close with their grown children, one or two bought a house in a more elite area. So on my road, what is left is my immediate neighbour on my left, and one on my right.

 

This house was purchased in 1984. We were house hunting. My husband wanted to buy a house before he needed to leave the country  to continue with his PhD. And  the minute we saw this house, somehow it clicked to our hearts and we wanted to purchase it. It cost 130,000.000 RM. That was then the  maximum house loan that was eligible for  government servants. But we could not afford the down payment. So , my husband’s niece loan us the deposit money. And we managed to stay for two years before  my husband left to pursue his studies in the UK .He paid a monthly loan of about 780.00 RM  That was in 1986. So from 1986 to about 1991, the house was rented out at a monthly  rent of 350.00RM . My late father helped in the collection of the rent. 

 

We came back to Malaysia on April 1991. I continued with my teaching. My husband continued with his career at the University Malaya. My first two children were ready for school. In 1994 I moved to a school closer to home,. The sixth member of the family, my daughter was born in this house. The first three of my children also were  married in this house. We held a reception in front of the house for the first marriage. All the neighbours were invited, regardless of whether we knew them or not.  The next two children’s  reception was held at the Ideal Convention Hall, about 2 km away from home. 

 

In 2004, I managed to apply for total withdrawal of my second account in the KWSP. With that money and my husband’s savings, the house underwent major renovations. It felt more organised and more spacious overall.  

 

From time to time we had this sudden urge to go house hunting to areas closer to our first two children. So, it was to the Dengkil area and also to Puchong. We made deposits on two occasions, One at a new housing project  neighbouring my daughter’s house in Dengkil. Another time at Kota Warisan . But each time we came home, it didn’t  feel right at all to abandon and move away from this neighbourhood. 

 

It’s almost a year now since the first lockdown due to the current pandemics. And we are really trapped in this housing estate with limited movement. Missing our children, our grandchildren is taking its toll . 

 

At this point in our journey, nothing matters anymore but to savour the  moments still given to us , to enjoy good times with our loved ones. We have been through it all. Our career, our life experiences , the challenges, the ups and downs … we have been through it all. We don’t need a big house anymore. I don’t have the physical strength anymore to make sure everything is spick and span. Even more now, I am so obsessed with structured conditions. Everything should be in their original place. No mess, etc So,  it is now time to live in a smaller space , enjoy the each other’s company with less stress. 

 

Maybe it is finally time to move on to the last phase of my journey in life. 

 

And suddenly you know…….it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of new beginnings…

And it’s not what we have in life, but who we have in our life that matters.

My ramblings

28.2.2021

 

28.2.2021

My first grandson is almost a teenager now

 

Just 3 days back my first grandson celebrated his 11^th birthday. A day before his big day, he was busy trumpeting the event on our family chatroom, sending reminders about the day to come. Now this is somewhat unusual because , for the past few years ( taking away his baby years) it was an event that we the elders would be trumpeting to him on his actual day, which is the 25^th February. 

 

Normally we family do not put too much emphasis on it, like having a party or family dinners, or a birthday cake.  Just a simple burst of birthday song on the facetime. 

 

I remember one year his mother, my daughter decided to go a bit over the top. She decided on a ninja warrior theme. Being an avid sewing lady, she made the costume for her son. That was in 2016. So, all his cousins were  invited and they had a memorable event . 

 

So after that early trumpeting, both my husband and I decided to send a birthday cake

(restricted inter district movement still on)  Initially we decided to order online from the cake shop. But I thought of my younger sister. She makes delicious cakes and pastries. It was a last minute order, the afternoon of the 24^th. My sister was sweet enough to agree to bake one for him. She asked what cartoon character should she iced on the cake. I never have no idea! I think he has moved from that phase to games online.

 

So I was pleasantly surprised when she baked him a cake with the PS4 gaming remote theme. And of course when it was delivered to him he was over the moon! 

 

I notice from the video that my daughter send to our chatroom, the looks on the younger siblings and perhaps their thoughts that were running through their mind. “ So, what kind of cake will I be getting from Tok Sam and Tok Wan Zek ? Can’t wait!”

 

So, here’s to another 6 cakes to go before the year 2021 ends. Sis Wan Fatimah @ Wan’s Dapur , stand by for the orders! This time around, I will try to remember to give you many days a head’s  notice ya. 

The Best thing about memories is making them!

Because every picture has a story to tell .

So, let us collect memories and not things because the greatest legacy we can leave our children is  happy memories!

My ramblings

27.02.2021

The Family Trunk 

 

The things one can do with so much time to kill. 

 

Just a week ago my topic on my Instagram was on the trees that we planted  many years ago. Their history. The Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) seedling which my husband brought home from the Gua Musang jungle during one his field trips.  Now it is as tall as the street lamp post. The Noni tree(Morinda spp), the Jambu mawar ( Syzgium jambos) , the curry leaves tree( Murraya koenigii), the sireh plants( Piper betel)   all have  a story behind their existence in our space,  on our timeline since 1984 , the year we bought and moved into this present house. They were gifts from loved ones, my mother in law in Lenga, Muar, my uncle in Alor Setar Kedah, my brother in law in Kuantan, to name a few.

 

Now I am looking at the trunk chest that my late gave to me, about a few weeks before he moved back to his home in Alor Setar. That trunk has travelled the country. From Alor Setar in the early 1960s to Kuala Lumpur ( about 2 years) then to Kuala Terengganu (almost 10 years), then to Johor Baharu ( 3 months) , back to Kuala Lumpur, then to Ipoh (about a year ) and finally Kuala Lumpur once again . Until 1998, when he decided to move back for good to his own home in Alor Setar, Kedah.  

 

Since it came into our household, the trunk  serves as a storage for my blankets and curtains. One of the handle is broken. I am not too sure of the original colour of the trunk.  If I am not mistaken , it was dark green.. My father had it repainted in gold. The inside of the trunk is still in its original maroon colour. The paper label is half  torn, so I am not able to determine the manufacturer. But the metal emblem is still intact. The writing says “Warranted  Best Steel Trunks”

 

The wonders of modern technology! Initially I  typed  metal trunk. It then took me to steamer trunk. So I narrow the search to  just that.  After a few failed attempts I stumbled upon  a website that had the same emblem staring at me! Eureka!

 

The website indicated that this trunk  was made in the early 1900. Manufactured by Alfred Hughes of Herrick Works in Wolverhampton, England. This trunk was made of steel and served as a travel bag. During those days global travelling  was done by the sail ship. Thus the term steamer trunk.

 

So it got me thinking. How on earth did it come into my late father’s possession? Were they selling such trunks in Malaya in those days?  Is this the trunk that my great grandfather used or brought home when he travelled with the Sultan of Kedah’s entourage to England . My late  great grandfather ( paternal) was Wan Ahmad Kulim bin Wan Awang ( 1860-1940) Wan Awang  great great grandfather was the Shahbandar of Kuala Kedah.

 

It is not known on what capacity Wan Ahmad Kulim bin Wan Awang was entitled to be part of the Sultan’s entourage. There is no written record to indicate his post in the Kedah’s  Sultanate Administration. But records written on paper by my late father indicated that he accompanied the Sultan of Kedah  Sultan  DYMM Almarhum Tuanku Sultan Abdul Hamid  Halim Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah ( 26^th Sultan of Kedah ) on 14 th May 1911.  The entourage sailed to England on board the Sultan’s ship named ‘Good Luck’ to  attend the coronation of King George V in 1911.

 

Sultan Abdul Hamid ruled Kedah from 21^st January 1882  till 1943. 

 

If traced from the history of its manufacture and date,  this trunk is now about 120 years old! How or when this trunk was passed to my late father is unknown. I can only speculate that upon his death in 1940, the trunk was passed to his son, my grandfather Wan Abdul Hamid bin Wan Ahmad. And later it was passed down to my late father Wan Omar. I wished I had asked about its history when my father was around. 

 

There are a few more items passed down to me. My late grand aunt gave me a brass bed. It must be quite old too. But I did not take it back with me. I am not too sure whether it is still in Alor Setar, in Lorong Menteri. Maybe not. Because it was given to me in the late 1980s. 

 

Anyway, to my children and grandchildren and maybe my big family the Omarian, this is one of   our  family’s heritage . Should anyone wish to have it after I am gone, please discuss amongst yourselves. If possible, don’t discard the trunk. Now that you know the history of this trunk, perhaps one day you may want to relate it your next generation of grandchildren about the history of this trunk. 

 

The most treasured heirlooms are the sweet memories of our family that we pass down to our children.

 

I wished I had realised that family history is a perishable commodity. It disappears with time, as memories fade and as loved ones passed on. I wish I had known that the important aspect of family history is preserving a record of the present for the future. 

 

And this is my plan , while I am still capable in my mental and physical faculty.

My ramblings

15.2.2021

 

For the  past few postings  on my ig, I  have been reminiscing on past events. I focused on the plants around the house. Their history . I think I have covered most of them, the Tongkat Ali tree(Eurycoma longifolia) The Jambu Mawar tree (Syzygium jambos) , the Curry leaves tree  (Murraya koenigii) and the Pokok Mengkudu tree (morinda citrifolia)

There were a few other trees that my husband planted when we first moved into the house back in 1984, but they were cleared when we did major renovations on the house. The mango tree , the spot is now taken over by the Jambu Mawar tree. Well it had the same history as the jambu mawar tree. No fruiting but plenty of leaves! We tried to apply some of the tips given to us by the experts in gardening but the tree stood on its own ground, ie. no fruiting none so ever! When the Jambu mawar tree was acting up,my BIL recommended using leftovers of rice from the cooking pot. Everytime we cooked rice, there will be crust of rice at the bottom of the pot. To clean the pot, we would soak the rice pot in water to soften the crust. And we would then pour that remaining bits of rice  on the soils around the tree. And yes, the trees started to grow , new branches started to sprout, plenty of green leaves then covered those branches. The curry plant next to the jambu mawar tree also flourish! And soon my curry plant became the target of this one particular person who would come  to literally snap a few fresh branches! He would do this everytime there were fresh branches to replace the lost ones. 

 

But soon another hazard came into place. The rice scattered on the grounds invited rodents ! They came in droves. There was plenty of  rice to feed a whole army of them! And utimately they not only came for the rice offerings but soon to venture into the house! And before we knew it, we were faced with a problem on how to eliminate this pests! Ultimately my husband thought the best solution was to stop feeding them and the plants with the leftovers. And that affected the plants especially the curry leaves plants.The leaves are not so ‘healthy’ as before. Currently, we are back to using organic manure which my BIL (lots of positive testimonials on this manure). So we will take it from there.

 

I am still waiting for the day that the jambu mawar tree will start serious fruiting. The tree has started to flower in abundance, but once the fruits started to form, the fruiting  process stopped halfway, stunted and soon the small green fruits fall off! To be honest, I was not too concerned back then, those working days. I was too busy concentrating on my career! But now that I am a pensioner and with the current restricted movement, I am more focused on things around the house. And lol and behold! Gardening is now my new favourite pastime , a husband and wife favorite pastime actually!  Gotta keep the  body and mind healthy. With the partial lockdown this the best option and routine to keep the body and mind healthy. 

 

I am trying my best to create healthy habits and not restrictions. To try to reach that balance and harmory between body, mind and spirit. In short, wellness.

When you face difficult times, know that challenges are not sent to destroy you. They’re sent to promote,increase and strenghten you. 

Insha Allah, we will get through this together.

 

                                                                 Pokok daun curry( Murraya koenigii)

Pokok Jambu Mawar( Syzgium jambos)

My Ramblings

 7.2.2021

A promise broken.

 

I made a promise myself not to do it again. Just when I thought I was doing fine, my restless mind and my itchy fingers decided to press on the remote keys to the Netflix and without much thought decided to click on a drama show. 50 episodes! Couldn’t stop once I started. And about episode 20 or so, yours truly also joined on board. I had to give him a quick synopsis of the previous happenings. Initially it was an on off thing to him. But not for long. So , there were 2 of us, after lunch, before bed we both would be glued to watch maybe about 2 hours i.e an hour an episode. I was  literally crying buckets during those tearjerking moments. Soon, I started to hear sniffles and wiping off the eyes. Yes! My suspicions were confirmed. He was on board , fully on board.

 

On the last episode we were both high on the adrenalin. It took a few days after that for emotions to come down  to normal. The reviewing of the whole show continued for many days after that. 

 

Go check out ‘Once Again’ on your Netflix . I promise you , it will be most difficult to keep your emotions at a normal level. A word of caution though. Its 50 episodes. So expect some that  for certain episodes you may just want to fast forward.

‘We all have our own story in life.’

 

 

My Ramblings

 3.2.2021

 

Trying out new things.. doing  something new that has never been done before. The lockdown has been further extended to the 18^th of this month! 24/7 need to be well managed with useful activities ya.

 

Yesterday evening my husband came back home with 8 freshly plucked mangoes from the tree in front of the house.And just this morning while browsing the internet for interesting recipes to try out, I stumbled upon a page that prescribed a very simplified version /process of making pickled mangoes. Hardly 15 minutes was spent trying out the recipe! All done and put away in the fridge for the prepared liquid to blend into the mangoes . Will have to wait out until tomorrow to taste its outcome. Can’t wait !!

My Ramblings

2.2.2021

Its never too late

For the past few days I have been doing alot of decluttering. And I discovered an album of greeting cards that my late father had collected over the years from his children , grandchildren as well as his  relatives. So I thought to myself why not digitise them and share with my siblings since there is only a copy. After all  the technology is there. I used a few apps that I purchased online from the apps store. Downloaded an instrumental music played on the piano and after lots of trials and errors I managed to produce a 3:34 minutes video. Alas, I could not upload it via the WA chatroom because of limited MB allowed by the apps . So managed to send to 4 of my siblings who have a telegram account. The telegram apps is more accomodating.Easily that video was  downloaded straight away. Time to permanently switch chatroom apps I’d reckon? That was on the first of Febuary.

Yesterday , I got a little wiser. I discovered that there was such an apps as a video compressor ( no excuse for new learning even at this late stage in age😁)  I downloaded the apps and wallah! Problem solved!  

Looking forward to more video production after this! Done by  amateur videograher, that is.

Its never too late.

My Ramblings

1.1.2021

 

Page one, 2021. Another 364 pages to plough through till the year ends. God willing, Insha Allah we will all reach there. Well, not all of us .  Some will  bow out , the numbers we are not certain  of. Who amongst us will make it , only Allah knows.  Its Allah’s work. We don’t’t know what lies ahead, what’s in store for us. We can all plan, but Allah knows what is in store for us .

 

Indeed your Lord is the Doer of what He wills (Quran 11:107) 

 

When I was working, both at schools and at the training institute, strategic planning, tactical planning were  the order of the day for the heads of schools , for the teacher in the classroom. The input, the output / expected results and the contingency plans are all well mapped out. We make predictions on how many of our students are going to make it , how many topscorers, the average and those who below average.Sometimes what we planned worked to the letter T, sometimes not. So we have the postmortem… what went wrong. What need to be improved on etc. 

 

But if only that personal planner that is determined by the Almighty is given to us on the day we were born, wouldn’t  it be wonderful. To be able  to know what lies ahead, what’s in store. What age we will die and how we will die. 

But it is  not how things works. 

 

“And He created all things and determined them in full determination” (Quran 25:2)

 

Looking back to 2020, how many us ever imagined that the whole  world one day wake  up to the fact that a microscopic organism would rule the world and cause the whole world to literally shut down . Total choas. While the majority of us acknowleged that we need to do something about it, listen to the scientists , there are others who think it is all a hoax. Be it a hoax or a reality, at the end of the day, it is Allah who created this microorganism, not man. It is Allah who decides what is to happen and what will happen.

 

“Indeed your Lord is the Doer of what He wills” (Quran 11:107) 

“He is the Doer of what He wills “(Quran 85:16)

 

This means that everything in existence occurs because Allah wills it to be. 

 

So let us stay patient in these hard times. One of the best remedies for tough times is to be patient. It requires that we do not resort to complaining , but remember Allah often. We know from the Quran that when we remember Allah in good times, Allah will help us in tough times. We learn that lesson from the story of Prophet Yunus (peace be upon him) when he was swallowed by a whale.. Out of His mercy, Allah finally relieved him out of that calamity. He tells us in the Quran: “Had he not been of them who glorify Allah, he would have indeed remained inside its belly( the fish) till the Day of resurrection”( Quran 143:144)

 

And as the pandemic continues, let us continue with our  Muslim practice of quarantines in the form of lockdown, self-isolation and physical distance. And InSha Allah, with Allah's help we may find a vaccine to slow down the effect of this micro-organisms on us. 

 

The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said, “If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place”(Bukhari,#5728). He also said, “Do not graze a sick herd with a healthy one,( or, Do not put a sick patient with a healthyperson ‘( Bukhari #5771;Muslim.#2221)

 

The Quran relates, “he has succeeded who purifies it”(Quran91:9): “Truly, Allah loves those who keep themselves clean (Quran 2:222): ‘clean your garments ‘(Quran 74:4)

 

The Prophet (pbuh) emphasized and elaborated on this in several Hadith: “cleanliness is half of faith” ( Muslim, Hadith #223): “ No salat is accepted without Wudu’( Muslim,##433). The prophet urged hygiene and handwashing, even cleaning nasal cavities every morning. 

 

Praise be to Allah. 

 

Allah has decreed everything that happens in the universe according to His prior knowledge and the dictates of his wisdom.  This is al-Qadar.

 

May Allah protect and heal those that are in pain, help those who are in need, make it easy for those suffering, and guide those who are lost. 

 

 Ya Allah, I know this is your plan, please help me through it. Aamiin