Author: Sri Munawwarah

The gold in Umar.

 

I’m not a series person. I’m not patient enough to wait for the next episode until the next week. I’m not even patient sometimes to wait until the end! I have close friends who are big fans of the K-entertainment, so a few years back I tried to jump into the wagon by watching Boys Over Flower and the music videos of the K-Pop hits of that time and learning the dance moves, but none of these managed to make me sit still. I gave up the former after only four or five episodes.

But learning language coupled with my shyness to speak up forced me to diversify my ways of learning. Last year, when I was learning Turkish, I tried to start watching Turkish series, but anyone who has experience with Turkish series will know how even the freaking montage takes about five minutes and one episode could take up to two hours.

And now as I am nearing to my Arabic prep final and my Arabic is still not able to convince people that I actually studied Arabic, I had to resort to the same technique i.e watching series. Alhamdulillah this time it’s easier because :

  1. I can find series that don’t last for two hours
  2. It’s easy to find something that’s Syariah-compliant because really, sometimes it’s hard to find Turkish series/music video that don’t make you go Astaghfirullah every 3 minutes.

So one of the first on my to-watch list is the Omar Series.

download (2)

I’ve heard of Omar Series from my friends way before I decided to come to Turkey, but I never got the chance to watch it. Only after my Arabic course did I  make some time to see how it looks like. But this too, did not last long. I only managed to watch one episode then I got busy and completely forgot about it.

Then during my recent exam I had a bad case of anxiety. It was the second final exam before the major proficiency test this May-June, and my Arabic is still so bad. One day I was so anxious that I couldn’t study, which made me more anxious which made the mental block worse. But I gotta do something about it. Then I remembered about the series, and I came up with the decision to “study” through the series and binged- watched it that night.

What I got was not just a better understanding of some words I couldn’t use before, but also some enlightenment on the early days when Islam just started to be propragated. Finally I understood why not everyone was tortured by the Quraisy back in the days. To those who want to understand the history of early Islam better, Omar Series is definitely a recommendation.

Just as the title says, it’s a depiction of the life of Umar Al-Khattab R.A from before Islam until post-Rasulullah SAW period. The series is really good in my opinion as it gives a clearer picture of how it was and what actually happened back then. I really thought Umar was this ruthless man who would beat the cupcake out of the Muslimin, but apparently he was not that ruthless. But yes, he was tough. He joined the elderly heads of clans at Dar An-Nadwah (kind of a parliament of Quraysh clans), discussing about measures they needed to take to stop the new religion Rasulullah SAW was calling to which was ‘threatening’ them, as it was calling to many aspects that would destroy their tradition of idolatry, social class division and despicable practices that they firmly upheld.

Umar being a member of Dar An-Nadwah would mean he is the last person you’d want to see if you were to be a Muslim in the early period. The members of Dar An-Nadwah were among the most tyrannical and hostile towards the Muslim, and indeed Umar was so tyrannical that nobody had the faith that Umar would submit to Islam ever, that there was even a statement saying

“Never will Umar submit [to Islam] until his donkey submit [to Islam]”

Not sure if his donkey actually did, but we all know that Umar did embrace Islam eventually. The news of his submission created sensations among Muslims and the Quraiysh opponents, as nobody saw it coming.

After becoming Muslim, to everyone’s amazement, he became among the biggest defenders of Islam. He became one of Rasulullah SAW closest companions. His bravery put Muslims at that time into a safer position, and only after he enters Islam the Muslims were able to do their ibadah openly. He was also nicknamed Al-Faruq , meaning “he who distinguishes truth from falsehood” .  During the event of Hijrah, while most companions were leaving Makkah covertly, he went up to Kaabah and announced his migration, and challenged “those who want their wives to lose their husbands, their children to lose their parents, and their mothers grieving endlessly” to stop him.

Umar R.A is a nice example of one of the ahadith Rasulullah SAW.

From Abu Hurairah R.A, “Rasulullah SAW said : “The people are like mines of silver and gold. The best of them in ignorance are the best of them in Islam if they have understanding.””

Umar R.A was already a respected man long before he was a Muslim, but he had a dark pre-Muslim past. If the people during the Jahiliyyah period were coffee, Umar R.A would be espresso. There was one time when he was stalking Rasulullah SAW when Rasulullah SAW was praying, Rasulullah SAW was reciting Al-Haqqah. He was actually touched by the ayat, but he said (not the actual dialogue) :

“This sounds just like the Quraisyi poem”

Then the 40-41 ayat of Al-Haqqah said :

“Most surely, it is the Word brought by an honoured Apostle. And it is not the word of a poet; little it is that you believe.”

Then Umar R.A said :

“Then he must be a forecaster.”

To which, the 42nd ayat said :

“Nor it is the word of a soothsayer; little it is that you mind”

And that moment, he felt something in his heart, but the Jahiliyyah in him was too strong. He refused to let go of their Jahiliyyah traditions.

But ‘alaa kulli haal, Allah answered Rasulullah SAW’s prayer to make either of two Umars a Muslim (the other being Abu Jahal) by choosing Umar R.A. Allah granted Umar R.A understanding in Islam, and you see what happened?

That same man who were tough to Muslims before he become one became as tough to the Musyrikin as he was to Muslims after he became one of them. The qualities he had during Jahiliyyah did not diminish at all after he became Muslim, on the contrary he made use of that quality to contribute to Islam, and in the end, he is one of the significant figures who paved Islam its way to glory.

Fact is, all of us have the goodness in us that we can make use to help Islam. Allah has created us in the best form [At-Tiin : 4] and Allah has shown us the ways [Al-Balad]. Understanding is an effort, just like how we try to understand all the mathematical formulas. So we’ve got the gold. The only thing we need to work on now is the understanding. That’s what happened to Umar R.A. Already a gold himself, his value got higher as he understood what being a Muslim is all about.

Umar R.A maximised his gold and continued the legacy of Rasulullah SAW until the end of his life.

Have you found your gold yet? 🙂

Status

The Pursuit of Happiness.

When people ask me “How’s Istanbul?” I can’t help but cringe and answer in a very unconvincing manner that it’s okay, got few problems here and there but okay in general.

 

“should i say i hate it there?”

I always did this when I was home for the last summer break and it got to my mum’s nerve and she questioned why am I so doubtful that Istanbul is marvellous.

Well, it’s quite complicated. I’d say me and Istanbul are  like in a love-hate relationship. It feels like, it pisses you off again and again then it gives you a bouquet of lilies and roses (more like tulips tbh but I love lilies and roses hoho) to pujuk you off and it’s so pretty it swept you off your feet.

Like, I don’t hate it, but I don’t entirely love it either.

Then life slapped me so hard one day and I realised that actually, it’s not that bad that I have to whine so much about it. I contemplated deeply and realised that all this while I’ve been using a wrong set of eyes to view the situation, and a wrong attitude when handling it.

I learnt one day that the more we expect, the less happy we are.

I’d say I had quite a high expectation of everything. I didn’t get a head-up that I’d have to go through so many things. The datang sekolah-belajar-balik is no longer the way of life, and having to go through it with long-distance support was quite challenging.When I saw my friends studying in UK or Brunei I can’t help thinking how lucky they are to not have to go through what I was going through. I wondered how did they get by so easily.

But that’s where the problem lies. We tend to be so nosy peeking at somebody else’s lawn, and feel miserable later to see that our grass does not seem to be as green as theirs, and we wish that we had their lawn, forgetting that we actually only have ours to take care of, and their lawn is none of our business.

So actually, this is how one of the faces of ungratefulness looks like. It’s focusing on what we don’t have and neglecting what Allah has blessed us with. With ungratefulness, everything will look so wrong. We will never be satisfied with what we have because all we see is what others have that we don’t have. We need to start living our own life instead of wishing to live others’.

Hence, to be happy we need to start focusing on what is already in our hands, and the first step to happiness is being grateful. Being grateful lets go of the unnecessary worries that burden our heart. Being grateful means utilising what we already have to its maximum, benefiting ourselves and others.

Be grateful, and He will increase you. [14:7]

 

 

 

 

 

Muhammad Al-Fatih vs Abu Ayyub Al-Ansory

I’ll be hitting the big 2-0 this year. Yeay, I’m legal again. I’m sure I’m getting to the legal age somewhere in another part of the world haha. So, quite normally, a question arise when some friends are nearing to their new age.

“What have I done for the ummah?” Well, actually we ask ourselves this question quite often.

And one quite common question also,

“Sultan [Muhammad] Al-Fatih umur 21 sudah menakluk Constantinople. Aku apa dah ku buat?”

IMG_6851

My first Ayasofya shot #proudbruneian #generasiberwawasan

Honestly, I’m no different. I have been asking myself the same question not too long after i turned 17. So that’s almost 3 years ago and, if i took Al-Fatih’s achievements as my benchmark a bit seriously, I’d have one more year to go. But I don’t wanna get into trouble for vandalising the remnants of the Wall of Constantinople.

Okay i kid.

Let’s take a stroll down the memory lane shall we?

Istanbul was previously known as Byzantium before Emperor Constantine the Great made it as the capital of East Roman Empire, which led to it being named Constantinople. Although the ‘Uthmaniyyah Caliphate besieged the city in 1453, attempts had been made since the time of the Umayyad Caliphate.

While the Muslim attempts to capture Constantinople were motivated by the prophetic revelation of Rasulullah SAW, other foreign powers were also trying to seize the city due to it’s strategic location. But the wall was unbreakable. None of the numerous attempts managed to pass the fortress with victory.

However, finally, the epiphany of Constantinople being captured by the best leader with the best army was proven with the success of Sultan Al-Fatih entering the city after quite a challenging journey, mentally and physically, at the mere age of 21.

His success at such a young age can be a motivation for us youngsters who most of the time do nothing except lazing around to get up and do something for the world.

The story of Feth-i Istanbul as we call it here, together with the fact that it was a job of a brave young man is quite a pride for the Muslims (tho we have not much to be proud of anymore).

A recent tazkirah session with some friends however showed me another perspective on the story. Remember that Al-Fatih’s attempt is not the first one and the Umayyad Caliphate made the first move, 8 centuries before them? And even during the ‘Uthmaniyyah time attempts had been made since the previous sultans.

So the Siege of Constantinople is not a one-time event, but it was a series of attempts made by generations of Muslims who were holding the power at the time. And it all started with the first Arab Siege of Constantinople. In the campaign, there was one important figure that we tend to overlook.

He was Abu Ayyub Al-Ansory.

He was the lucky sahabah whom Allah had chosen to receive Rasulullah SAW as his guest during the Hijrah to Yathrib, now known as Madinah (Al-Munawwarah TEEHEE). Rasulullah SAW stayed with him for a few months while the Masjid An-Nabawi was being constructed in front of Abu Ayyub’s house. So, after the construction was done, they remained neighbours.

Can you imagine how old he was during the Umayyad Caliphate? Yes, very. He lived through the time of Rasulullah, Khulafaa Ar-Rasyideen and the Muawiyah I of the Umayyad Caliphate. However, that did not stop him from joining the campaign. In fact, he never missed any war campaign in the early Islamic history except for when he was on another mission.

He could opt to stay and retire from joining war with that age, but he didn’t. Constantinople being set free from the hands of the Eastern Roman Empire was a promise of Allah that every Muslim at that time was looking forward to. Abu Ayyub wanted to see for himself the victory that Allah had promised. How impressive it is that his spirit did not age with his body.

He, however, did not get to see Constantinople being conquered. He fell ill during the campaign and requested to be buried to the nearest point the army could reach to the Wall of Constantinople after his passing, so he “could hear the sound of the footsteps of the horses of the army who would liberate the city”. His grave had been developed into a mausoleum and a masjid was built nearby by Sultan Al-Fatih right after his victory, making it the first masjid built after the Fall of Constantinople and it was named Eyup Camii.

You see, there are so many ibrah (lessons) that we can get from this epic story of success. When we see the bigger picture we will see the tiny,tiny details formed together that make the picture beautiful. What appeals to me the most is the fact that age is indeed just a number.

Al-Fatih’s young age did not stop him from realising the dream that rooted back to the first Daulah Islamiyyah, just like Abu Ayyub’s old age did not stop him from participating in realising the dream that he witnessed being promised to happen. They both could use their age as being “too young” in the case of Al-Fatih or “too old” in the case of Abu Ayyub, but they didn’t. All they had in themselves was determination to just make it happen, by hook or by crook, win or lose, dead or alive.

No matter how old we are now, what matters the most is the desire to make a change and the effort in working towards it. It’s never too early and it’s never too late. Creating a tomorrow requires a work today. It’s okay if you have passed your 21st year of life, and it’s still okay if you have passed your 80th year. But of course it’s better if you haven’t. The goal is to create a change to the world, whether or not you are 21.

 “The best of people are those that bring most benefit to the rest of mankind.”

-Rasulullah SAW-

May Allah ease your affairs 🙂

 

 

 

 

Never too late.

School has started last Monday, but to my amusement, it’s kinda a thing here to unofficially extend the holiday into another week, so we basically has not started our class yet because guess what, nobody came!

And it’s been 4 days!

Well some people did come but.. still. The study vibe is just not there when there are only 3 people in the class, plus or minus you. Only one person came yesterday, and after the first period we decided to just leave. And today I was the only one who came, and I guess the girls have talked to the teachers so there I was in the class waiting for the teacher, who apparently was not gonna come, to enter the class. One hour passed by and I gave up and returned to my dorm.

Phew! It’s been a while since the last time I ranted on my blog. But actually, the real reason why I’m writing this is because I finally have decided to take up hand-lettering as a hobby.

Well, I know it’s not really a big news, lol. But here’s my first attempt on hand-lettering.

IMG_8717

I really love this quote of a senior of mine.

OBVIOUSLY it needs a lot of improvement since it was my first time taking it seriously. So it all started when I was just so done with revision two days ago (padahal nda jua batah banar haha)  and I thought, I need a new hobby. I was reminded of a friend of mine who’s taking Dentistry. She mentioned on her facebook about her lecturer who suggested them to find a hobby to channel all the pressure from work. Like, imagine having to face teeth every day. Things can be gritting (pun intended) if you have to do the same thing every day, so it’s good to do something to chill out once in a while (Disclaimer : This is not the exact thing she said.) Then I remember how I doodle a lot in my books, and I remember how I like nicely drawn quotes like this

I’ve thought about it before but I just didn’t have the determination to pursue it. And that night it came to me like an epiphany, so I searched on Youtube how to start doing hand-lettering. I looked up for tips and etc, and started practicing right away that night.

IMG_8729

Tilt your head. haha

It’s kinda a big deal to me, because my life has changed since the past few years and when I look around, I realise that I’ve left many things that I used to love doing and there are so many things that I wanted to do but didn’t get the chance to do because some people told me not to. One of the life lessons that I’ve learnt from this is ALWAYS take everything you listen from people with a pinch of salt, and when they stop you from doing something, ask yourself is it really worth stopping because the person told you so. or if the person even deserves to stop you.

I used to love drawing, and I wanted to be an architect at one point in my life. I even wanted to take Art as my elective for Form One but my family didn’t let me. So I totally stopped drawing after Primary 6. I didn’t regret it though. I never, ever resented them for that because, I didn’t really mind and thinking again now, if I were to stay firm with my decision, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So actually there are goodness in listening to people sometimes. Don’t be too hard-headed, but don’t be too soft either.

I actually am more interested in colours, I guess. I still like drawing, but colours attract my interest more. Well I don’t know! But here I am trying to start a new hobby and actually be good at it. I realised how half-hearted I have been in many parts of my life, so this time, I’m challenging myself to take up the pencil and get it drawing. I know that if I started some times ago, I’d probably be good by now. But hey! It’s never too late, right?

 

Allahumma Inna Nas-aluka Lisaanan Rotiban Bidzikrik.

“What actually made Hassan Al-Banna compile the Ma’thurat?” I asked my friend one day.

“Nothing significant, he just compiled it. It just contains authentic dzikr” She said. How ignorant I was to not see the real significance of it.

I was introduced to Al-Ma’thurat by a friend. Al-Ma’thurat is actually a compilation of dzikr and prayer derived from the Qur’an and authentic hadith, compiled by Imam Hassan Al-Banna and recited in the morning and evening. It has a short version called Ma’thurat Sughra and a long version called Ma’thurat Kubra. I usually read the Ma’thurat Sughra only.

After getting a copy for myself I started reciting it every time I was on my way to school in the morning and back to home in the evening. I was in Upper Six at that time. But I couldn’t be consistent doing it every day, and there were times when I stopped for quite a long period of time before resuming and stopping again and again. One time when I started again I actually came to a point where I memorised almost the whole Ma’thurat Sughra, yet it was still a cycle of stopping and resuming.

The recurring failures to stay istiqamah eventually made me wonder why it was really hard for me to stay consistent. Until one day I decided to take some time and recite the Ma’thurat along with its meanings only then I realised that I’ve been understanding it wrong!

alice

It’s not like I’ve never read the meanings before. I have, but knowing the meaning and understanding the meanings are two different things.

The real significance of Ma’thurat is not because it’s a compilation of dzikr to be recited twice a day, it’s actually the effect of reciting it on your relationship with Allah and being His true servant. It’s the outcome, not the thing itself.

We often forget because we are human after all. This is when all these reminders and prayers come in handy to keep us aware of not crossing the boundaries set for those who sincerely submit to Him.

May Allah make us among those who understand.

2015 in review [and hopes for 2016]

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Alhamdulillah thumma Alhamdulillah, 2015 is ending in a few hours, and yesterday WordPress.com sent me a summary of my blog’s activities which can be checked out at the link below :

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 920 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 15 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

2015 has been a good year for me. Yes, of course there are some goals from 2 years ago that I’ll be carrying again with me in 2016, and I hope that I’ll have the perseverance to achieve them before I turn 20 this year.

A friend of mine introduced me to One Little Word, where basically you choose one word every year to focus on and apply to your daily life. It’s my first time doing this, and my word for this year is “Rise”.

rise
[rʌɪz]
verb
1.
move from a lower position to a higher one; come or go up.
“the tiny aircraft rose from the ground”
2.
get up from lying, sitting, or kneeling.
“she pushed back her chair and rose”

noun
1.
an upward movement; an instance of rising.
“the bird has a display flight of steep flapping rises”
2.
an increase in number, size, amount, or degree.

And yeah, this word is taken after my recent short-story-turned-movie, “Bangkit” which was released last month.

I must rise from under the pile of the delayed tasks I was supposed to finish months ago.

I must rise from under the layers of ignorance that I have let to wrap me, shackling me.

I must rise to be a better me.

I must r(a)ise my writings in this blog into 20, beating my 2015 record of 19 posts

May Allah ease our way, bless this new year with abundance of barakah and make it one of the best years of our life.

p/s : Have your one little word? Share yours below in the comment 🙂

 

Bangkit | Beyond the story and short movie.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

If you are one of my Facebook/Instagram friends, you might know that a short movie adaptation of my short story Bangkit has been released. If you haven’t watched it, here you go

 

 

Original piece :

   Penggera telefon bimbitnya berbunyi. Tangannya mencapai telefon pintar tersebut, dan matanya yang masih berat dibuka. “Eh, subuh kan habis!” teriaknya dalam hati dengan mulut yang terlopong. Hilang berterbangan segala rasa mengantuk yang membelenggu tadi. 15 minit kemudian dia selesai bersolat. Dia kembali ke katil, duduk bersimpuh, lalu dia mencapai naskhah Al-Quran serta tafsir berwarna biru kesayangannya yang diletakkan di atas meja kecil di tepi katilnya. Dia mula membaca.

    Dia cuma membaca satu mukasurat, lalu dia membaca tafsir ayat-ayat yang dibacanya tadi. Namun perasaannya kosong. Hatinya tidak mampu merasa getaran seperti yang dirasakannya seperti selalu ketika membaca ayat-ayat Allah. Kusut. Kosong. Serabut. Entah sudah berapa lama dia merasa begitu.

     Naskhah kecil itu kembali diletakkan di atas meja. Hawa yang dingin menambah daya tarikan kepada katil yang sedia empuk. Dia kembali berbaring lalu selimut tebal dan lembut ditarik menutup seluruh tubuhnya. Dia mengiring menghadap dinding. Dinding berwarna hijau itu direnungnya tanpa berkedip. Fikirannya menerawang.

     Tidak keterlaluan jika dikatakan dia sudah hilang arah dalam hidup. Semangat jihadnya yang berkobar dulu kini layu dan kaku. Dia tidak pasti di manakah dia tersilap langkah, namun apa yang pasti kini dia telah rebah. Dia mengeluh. Tangannya mencengkam selimut yang semakin membalut kemas badannya. Dia menangis tanpa air mata.

     Dia beralih posisi, dan di hadapan matanya Al-Quran birunya melambai-lambai. Dengan longlai, tangannya mencapai Al-Quran itu, dan sambil dia berbaring jarinya membuka lembaran demi lembaran dan akhirnya terhenti di Surah Al-Mudathir. Dia membaca dua ayat pertama.

      Dia bangkit, dan selimutnya dilipat kemas. Dia menghela nafas baru.

 

Bangkit is one of my works for The iRead iWrite project, whereby every week, participants were required to send their writings according to the set weekly theme. I only managed to send 3 out of 4 required piece of writing, two of them, including Bangkit are short stories and the other one is a non-fiction.

The idea of developing Bangkit into a short movie began around a month after my last summer break started. I felt like I needed to do something productive and I got the idea of turning one piece from my short stories collection (no I don’t have a lot, to be honest) into a short movie. So I discussed with a friend of mine who has a connection with Momentteller.bn on collaborating and Alhamdulillah, the suggestion was well-received and a short meeting was held to discuss about the movie adaptation. In roughly a month, it’s up on Vimeo for viewing. The movie adaptation is 90% work of Momentteller including the script.

Personal Thoughts

I found joy in writing fictions. Despite of not taking it seriously, whenever I got to write stories (mostly during exams and to practice for exam) I always got carried away. A seed of idea grew wildly as soon as my pen touched the paper and my hand would move fluently until the last quarter of exam hour. Unfortunately I was, at that time, oblivious to the impact a writing could have to its reader. I didn’t realise that the emotion game played by a composition could be very strong. But unfortunately, the love I had for writing wasn’t nurtured as it deserved to be, and I admit that was my fault.

I slowly left writing due to some reasons (a few can be found here at no.1) and after regaining myself again (and a laptop) I decided to start blogging again, which was my main medium to share my writing and I also decided to join the national story-writing competition and after winning the first place, I started to remember the compliments – that I took as mere compliments, I received from my teachers for my writings and I realised that I could make good use of this talent to spread goodness. After a long period of ignorance I came back to my senses. I finally found the reason to live in this dunya. I found Allah. I found out that Allah is not just a god for the Muslims. Allah is the only God and there are no god other than Him. I finally knew that my purpose to live in this world is to serve Him.  As His servant I realised that it is my responsibility to spread His words in whatever way I could, and writing is what I’m capable of.

Back to Bangkit.

It was actually spontaneous. As the deadline for submission was nearing, I couldn’t think of anything to write. Coincidentally, I was at one of my lowest points when things weren’t just feeling right and all I could think of was cuddling in my bed and spend the whole day sleeping. But at the same time I knew that I had a huge responsibility on my shoulders that I couldn’t put down whenever I please.

I needed a motivation.

I needed a hard slap on my face with a chair.

And who could slap you better than His words?

No one.

So I started looking for something in Quran.

Thus, Bangkit was penned, in the hope that it could slap me and everyone who is in need of one. In the hope to remind myself first and foremost and  those in need of reminder that our difficulty in clinging to the rope of Allah is not a reason to stop striving. I really hope that this humble authorship of mine benefits everyone who comes across it, whoever you are, from whichever walk of life you come from.

Thank you to those who encouraged me to keep going.

May Allah grant us goodness.

 

8 Things To Do If You Want To Stop Writing.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

image write

(photo)

I strongly believe in the power of writing. Many great ideologies in this world were spread by writing. Karl Marx was working for a newspaper when he began to work out his theories on social and economic activity, and after being exiled he continued to write, published numerous books and his work is now one of the important theories in Sociology  – Marxism. Darwin’s “Origin of Species” is particularly influential in the world of biology, in which his theory up until today is still sparking debates. Ibn Sina “Al- Qanun fi At-Tibb” was the reference for medieval medical practices for centuries. “The Art of Wars” by Sun Tzu has helped leaders like Mao Zhedong and Yamamoto in their respective war.

These are just a few of great examples of how a pen and paper (or in the current day, a computer, papers and printer) are able to shape the world. So I decided to take up writing as a means for me to contribute to the ummah. This decision has connected with other writers. However, I realised that I am WAAAAAAAY better in NOT writing than I am in writing. I am just unbelievably good at it that I feel like I need to share with the world the steps and guidance on how to slow down in or completely stop writing, if you are ever considering it.

  1. Stop reading.

I had the honour of meeting Kak Aisyah Muharikah and I took that opportunity to ask her, “Any tips for writing?” and she said “Read a lot. Writing a book requires reading 3 books.” Reading is important as it develops your perspective and insight, hence giving you more things to say and talk about. I would say I was quite an active blogger back then in 2008-2009 despite of it being mostly the rants of my teenage self (hermergerrd). I read a lot back then, but somehow not long after that I replaced my hobby of reading with other useless activities (and I had problem with computer as well). Only after I managed to detach myself from them I found my strength back in writing, which is still a struggle for me to maintain now. Then I realised a pattern. I write better when I read more. So, to kill your hand and brain ability to write, stop reading.

2. Occupy yourself with useless things.

Distracting yourself with activities such as hours of mindless scrolling on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Ask.fm (Oh, ask me here! hehe) helps a lot. You also have other options like chatting the night away with a friend etc. Do whatever you think is okay, except reading. This is basically to help you do the point above. For best result, do this until you get addicted to it.

3. Don’t have passion.

Passion is what keeps you going. The less passionate you are, the less is your willpower to reach your PC and write something that will blow everyone’s mind. Keep your passion tucked at the very back of your closet and don’t let it break free.

4. Don’t take note of your ideas for new contents.

You will encounter something that sparks your idea for your new content at some points in your daily life. From one event chains of ideas will link together, and out of them you can write something out that is totally cool. Don’t. Jot. Them. Down. Jotting them down will make you remember that you wanted to write something. Leave it unwritten, and wait until it diffused out of your head. By the time you remember that you had these ideas, you won’t remember what they were and the hard time to recall will make you give up.

5. Always keep in mind to impress your readers.

Trying to impress your readers will lead you to putting your best effort in a composition that may or may not be read. This will take up much of your time looking for extravagant words to describe a simple idea, which requires you looking into the dictionary every 5 minutes, and in that 5 minutes approximately a third of it is wasted on arranging the words as complex as yourself. This process is tedious, will slow you down and in the end, will break your perseverance to continue. So please, always, always, always try to impress your readers.

6.  Don’t practise.

Practise makes perfect. Being not good at something increases the possibility of you to stop doing it. Hence, practising is your biggest enemy. To stop writing, one must perceive one’s ability to write as a threat that will make one continue writing. Avoid practising as much as possible.

7. Be too self-conscious on how people would think of you if you published that piece of yours.

“Will people like it?” “Will my friends laugh at me?” “Is it even relevant what I’m talking about?” “What if they think I’m weird?” Always ask yourself these questions. Leave every inch of the space in your mind for self-doubt. Self-confidence is a big NO. Protect yourself from being confident with your opinions.

8. Don’t set time for writing.

Setting aside a portion of your time for something enables you to do it (duh, logic!). Make time for everything, but never for writing. EVER. In the attempt of eliminating writing as a part of your life, this is one of the effective and simplest method.

Why are you doing this?

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Raise up your hand if you want to score GPA 4.0 flat this sem!

I like to ask my friends.

“How’s uni life going?”

and their reactions are mostly

“Banyak assignments 😦 ”

“Ngaleh”

“Hmmmmmmmmmmm”

Now that I have (kinda) entered university, and despite of only learning Arabic Language every day I can’t help entering my room feeling

  _52272673_crying-baby

I’m very sure I’m not the only one.

And I’m very sure we all have had this since secondary school years, when we are expected to progressively mature ourselves up, and this distress gradually increases as we enter the next level.

Let me tell you a story.

I was one of the lucky (was I?) students from the first batch on SPN21. I got into the 2-year course and being typical Asians, we were expected to score good grades (read : straight A’s) for our O Levels. I didn’t do well at first, but Alhamdulillah through the encouragements from my family, teachers, friends, and most importantly by the grace of Allah I managed to get through it alive and well. I worked hard, got sick at least once in every term, dropped 4kg of my weight in a month and I thought, it paid off. This was 4-5 years ago.

Everyone wants to succeed. But only some are willing to strive for it.

For those who are willing to do so, ganbatte! May Allah make it easy for you.

In doing so, however, have you ever thought – “Why am I doing this?”

I have, and I wish it crossed my mind 4 years ago.

It’s not wrong at all to work hard for the reward awaiting at the end. However, if we did get the reward, then what’s next? No one will remember our achievements, and when we leave this world, everything that happened will have little significant value to anyone.

Are you willing to work for something, that in the end you will leave?

Or maybe we are working hard to beat that someone up in a more subtle manner like gaining more money, status, promotion, popularity or anything.

Why stress up to impress the people we don’t like?

Whatever the reason is, we have to ask ourselves, “Is it really worth it?”

a1394c871733b915371bfbde08db5375

I did not regret working hard, but I do regret not working hard for the right reason.

Imagine whatever we do is not with the intention to please Him, to help His Deen, to actually be His servant, and all the sweat and pain are wasted for something temporary, and we don’t carry enough of good deeds to present to Him on the Day of Judgement.

Hence, we must be mindful towards our actions. In every effort we make, we have to make sure that it is not just “I need to be excellent so I can get good job,” but  “I need to be excellent so I can get a good job that can help me support my family and my effort to serve Allah.”

May Allah grant us steadfastness in living this life for Him.

19 things I wish you knew.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Alhamdulillah thumma alhamdulillah, another year has passed by and today, I’m one step closer to finishing my second decade of life. Being 19 in the current world is considered as still young, but honestly speaking, I feel that I’ve lived too long and done too little for everything. After 19 years of handling this responsibility called life,dear Young Warah I wish you knew that :-

1- Hidayah has been around since 1400 years ago.

You don’t need to wait until you get a dream showing you getting thrown into the Hellfire to make you start to be a practicing Muslim. It’s there when the Azan is echoed, it was there when your mother asked you to put on the tudung, it was there when you got enrolled to sekulah ugama. It was there when you were yearning to be a better Muslim.

2- Be wise in choosing your friends.

If you surround yourself with 5 successful persons, you will be the 6th. If you surround yourself with 5 passionate persons, you will be the 6th. If you surround yourself with 5 idiots, you will be the 6th. I can’t stress enough how important it is to be careful in choosing your friends.

3- Time waits for no man.

Procrastination gets you nowhere. You snooze, you lose. Everybody gets the same amount of time everyday, but it’s up to you how you would like utilize it.

4- Moving on isn’t about forgetting.

It’s not about losing your memory on what’s happened, but it’s about not feeling a great amount of pain when it enters your mind, and being able to not cry as you go to sleep. Detachment hurts, and it takes time. Yet, you will get through it eventually.

5- Stop being too self-conscious.

Yes, people will look at you, and people will judge you. But whatever, they will forget about it in the end.

6- You always have a choice, and to a certain degree, it’s okay to be selfish.

You can choose to do what you want, you can choose to eat what you want, you can choose to go wherever you want to go, you can choose to walk away when the situation is not to your liking.

7- There is another life after this one you are currently living.

It lasts forever. Make jannah your aim.

8- Habit is like a building.

You can construct it, you can destruct it, and the latter is much more easier than the former.

9- Good things take time, and it’s okay to take time.

It’s not about being able to read a 500-page novel in an hour. It’s not about getting toned arms after 7 days straight of weight lifting. It’s not about mastering the grammar rule the first time you come across it. The most important thing is being able to retain whatever the good outcome is in a very long period of time. Also, time heals all wound

10- Be careful with your words.

This includes your facebook posts, tweets and blog posts. They may haunt you in a horrific way.

11- You are responsible for yourself.

In the end, you have to live your life alone. You can’t rely too much on others, and you shouldn’t hook yourself onto anyone else except for Him. For every action and decision you make, the biggest impact is always on you.

12- Financial intelligence is crucial.

Because almost everything needs money, and it’s very important for you to be smart in making any purchase. Always let the needs on top of the wants.

13- Never underestimate the power of Parents…

Always keep good relationship with them. Sometimes in the storm of life, their prayers are what you need in order to keep yourself going strong.

14- and the power of Siblings.

They can be your life saver. Without you realising, they are actually like the stink on your feet. They might not be entirely pleasant, but they stick more with you more than anyone else does.

15- Read a lot.

Like, a very lot. It sharpens your brain, and the humanity is having more than enough ignorance than it should bear.

16- When you love something, you will make time for it. So will you when you really want something.

You are never passionate about something until you make sacrifices to achieve it.

17- You don’t need to work hard to prove yourself to others. You don’t even need to actually.

Action and outcome speak louder than words.

18- You can always do better.

Given that you are willing to fight that devil inside of you.

19- The perfect time to make changes is NOW.

Not later, not tomorrow, not your next birthday.

Best of luck in sailing this stormy sea of life.