Ketika ku sujud di bawah bayangan Kaabah..~!

Khamis 23hb Disember 2011.

Umrah bersama isteri, Amirul, dan Luqman.

Tiada tempat di dunia ini, di mana tangisan bukan kerana kesedihan tetapi kerana kesyukuran kecuali di bawah bayangan Kaabah Mu. Di sini, mengalir air mata mengharapkan pengampunan dosa! Di sini basah pipi ketika menyebut doa untuk ayahanda dan bonda. Di sini, kerdil rasa diri, Kebesaran Mu meresap ke jiwa.

Tiada destinasi di dunia ini di mana tetamu sentiasa merasai paling istimewa, kecuali menjadi tetamu Nya - mengelilingi Kaabah, mengatur tapak di antara Safa dan Marwah! Bersatu, di antara jasmani dan rohani, di antara kata-kata dan detik di hati, jasad dan roh - menemui erti damai dan harmoni!

"Di dalam hati manusia ada kekusutan dan tidak akan terurai

kecuali menerima kehendak Allah swt.

Di dalam hati manusia ada keganasan dan tidak akan hilang

kecuali berjinak dengan dengan Allah swt

Di dalam hati manusia ada kesedihan dan tidak akan hilang

kecuali seronok mengenali Allah swt

Di dalam hati manusia ada kegelisahan dan tidak akan tenang damai

kecuali berlindung, bertemu dan berjumpa denganNya

Di dalam hati manusia ada penyesalan dan tidak akan padam

kecuali redha dengan suruhan dan laranganNya serta qadha dan qadarNya serta kesenantiasaan sabar sehingga menemuiNya

Di dalam hati manusia ada hajat dan tidak akan terbendung

kecuali kecintaan kepadaNya dan bermohon kepadaNya.

Kesentiasaan berzikir kepadaNya adalah keikhlasan sebenar kepadaNya

Andai dunia dan isinya diberikan kepada manusia masih tidak lagi dapat membendung hajat hati sihamba itu." - copied from a forwarded email.

Ya Rabbi, Alhamdullillah dengan nikmat Mu kepada kami - di antara yang terpilih untuk ke sini~!

InshAAllah, kami ingin ke sini lagi...

The real secret of a happy marriage...!

Will all married men or women who have never had a fight with your spouse, please raise your hands!

Okay, I only see one hand in the audience.

"Tell me ma'am, how do you manage not to have a fight?"

Silence and lots of blinking.

"Oh, okay. How many years have you been married ma'am?"

A smile across her face. Then rather shyly she answers, "Two months!"

The rest of the audience applause!

That, in itself is an achievement! I mean, to have two full months of marriage without any argument? Wow...such bliss!

The real secret to a happy marriage is to be able to argue as often it calls for, fight if necessary, and to be able to sit down afterwards and make up!

Couples who do not fight are often stressed and unhappy - even if outwardly they put up a happy front! These couples could be 'suffering' from one or more of the followings:

- Bottled up emotions, waiting to burst.

- Their relationship is so fragile, they fear any argument may break them up!

- They do not trust each other.

- Their love for each other are so conditional that they do not wish to risk offending one another.

- They simply do not how how to communicate their thoughts and opinions freely and objectively.

- Lots of compromises taking place in the relationship.

- Either one of them or both are having affairs outside their marriage.

...................and, the list can go on!

In having an argument, it helps greatly if both husband and wife follow some basic civilized rules such as showing respect, doing so in private, focusing on issues and not on the person, etc. Name calling (e.g.,fat ass, lazy bump), gross generalization (e.g., you are always messing the kitchen, you always want your way every time!) , and abusive language of any sort is a NO NO!

Some other side rules are;

> fight outside and make up inside the bedroom.

> fight in private, and make up in even more private place.

> fight fully clothed, and in making up keep an option to easily go naked!

> don't believe any advise that marriage is a 50 / 50 arrangement! A marriage is about two people giving their full 100 / 100 !

If you have secrets of your own, I hope you are happy to share!

Amirul in the News!

I received a call from Dato Wan Asmadi, the President of Malaysian Business Council (MBC) di Jeddah early morning today to tell me that my son Amirul was in the Saudi National News paper - the Arab News.

There was a whole page article about what he and his colleagues have achieved. There were a few things about the accomplishment which made me proud...the entrepeneur spirit he showed in getting sponsors, the independence and self-and-team leadership he displayed throughout the period of the project, the positive attitude and camaradrie in his approach towards overcoming obstancles, and the fun he had in pursuing excellence with a passion!

They have put the Saudi Flag amongst the victors list, and fully deserved the full page splash in the national newspaper!

Yet again, I am reminded of one of the main reasons why I am here - for a better quality education for my children. They are exposed to a learning process which prepares them to succeed in a borderless global village - which awaits their generation in the not so far future!

You may read the article online HERE.