Mungkin

Mungkin tak cukup ikhlas.
Mungkin tak bersungguh.
Mungkin tak semangat.
Mungkin asyik nak orang layan.
Mungkin mudah putus asa.
Mungkin senang sangat terasa.
Mungkin kadang nak dihargai.
Mungkin ada dua muka.
Mungkin cuma nak suka
Dan tak mahu duka.

Mungkin.

Tapi boleh tak?
Boleh tak kalau tetap nak cuba?

Boleh tak nak lupakan diri sebenar ni macam mana?
Boleh tak kalau still nak bayangkan diri ni boleh jadi baik walaupun rasa sangat susah dan fake?
This is so fake and insincere.
But ah, just be fake and insincere.
Than not trying at all.
Than risk losing what literally are HOPE and CHANCE.

Kadang kita terlalu kerap membenci diri yang semalam,
Sampai kita yang esok hilang terkunci.

Aku mahu yakin,
Yang Tuhan mahu pandang aku.
Dan mahu pilih aku.

Happy Friday

Alhamdulillah.
I had beautiful Friday yesterday.
In the morning, Nina and I packed up mira's stuff for shipping.
I Had lunch with Anati at Chicken Noodle.
I Had Dinner with my Arabic classmates and Ustadha at An-Najeeb.
I Went to bed early.
And after all those, I still have my weekend :P
Yahoo.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
I think I have problem in expressing my stand.
As in,
While Islam is what I think completes my life,
And Allah as the best companion for me to depend on,
I find it difficult to let others know.
As in,
I'm still not used to expressing my thought and my way of life.
I need to learn on how to express.
I want to let other people around me know that Islam is the solution,
Allah IS the best companion.
He really is.
But well, I want to express with hikmah of course.
As in,
knowing when and how to express.

For instance,
when I tell my friend that I normally go travelling in order to find peace
what I really meant is,
travelling allows me to reflect and depend and ask to Allah alone.
Thats how I find peace.
It's not just a normal travelling.
But I can't make myself to say things I'd wish to say.

Oh Lord.
Sepatutnya tugas aku bagi orang makin kenal Engkau.
Bukan makin kenal aku :(

Inspiration - Episode 6 (The Women Of Our Lives)

"Your mother", as the uncle says, "She did not only change your diapers. She built your character." 

Sweet video indeed. 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 

“The best of you are those who are the best to their wives, and I am the best of you to my wives.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3895; Ibn Maajah, 1977; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi

Inspiration - Episode 5 (Rules Made Not To Be Broken)

The beauty of obligation.

Islam has always been a religion which teaches discipline- how people can refrain themselves from eating all day long during fasting month just because Allah ask them to. How people pray when they can simply choose not to.

To do things or not do things 'cause we know our Lord is watching. To know who we are, and under whose rules we are governed by. To know that He doesn't need us but it's really us who needs Him.

The Ehsan comes because Allah wills it to come as part of our conscience. May He choose us to be a person with Ehsan till the end of our life.  As on our part?
Make prayer and strive hard..

Inspiration - Episode 4 (A Helping Hand)

It was related on the authority of Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu ‘anhu, that the Prophet,sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said: 

“Whosoever relieves from a believer some grief pertaining to this world, Allah will relieve from him some grief pertaining to the Hereafter. Whosoever alleviates the difficulties of a needy person who cannot pay his debt, Allah will alleviate his difficulties in both this world and the Hereafter. Whosoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter. Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother. Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, except that tranquility descends upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them, and Allah makes mention of them amongst those who are in His presence. Whosoever is slowed down by his deeds will not be hastened forward by his lineage.”

[Muslim]

Inspiration - Episode 3 (I almost sold Islam...)

"Honour the trust of those who give it to you
Do not betray the one who betray you”

Bait Syair As-Syafie buat penuntut Ilmu

Imam as-Syafie menyebut dlm rangkap syairnya kpd seluruh penuntut ilmu....'Wahai saudaraku,sesungguhnya engkau tidak akan mendapatkan ilmu kecuali dgn 6 syarat,aku akan memberitahukannya dgn jelas iaitu: Mempunyai kecerdikan, Minat yg mendalam, Bersunguh-sungguh, Mempunyai perbelanjaan, Hubungan baik dgn guru dan Tempoh masa yg panjang'.

Inspiration - Episode 2 (Power Without Piety)

اللّهُـمَّ إِنِّـي أَعـوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أَضِـلَّ أَوْ أُضَـل ، أَوْ أَزِلَّ أَوْ أُزَل ، أَوْ أَظْلِـمَ أَوْ أَُظْلَـم ، أَوْ أَجْهَلَ أَوْ يُـجْهَلَ عَلَـيّ

O Allah, I seek refuge in you from going astray or leading others astray and from falling or causing others to fall and from being unjust or being the victim of injustice and from wronging others or being wronged by others.

Said when leaving your house (Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, An- Nasa'i, At-Tirmithi)

Inspiration - Episode 1 (Whipped Cream and Cheerios)

Allah’s Messenger kissed Al-Hasan ibn `Ali while Al-Aqra` ibn Habis At-Tamim was sitting with him . Al-Aqra` said, “I have ten children and have never kissed one of them.” The Prophet cast a look at him and said, “Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully.” (Al-Bukhari)

My worst distraction

Degil

Aku jealous sebenarnya.
Jealous dengan orang yang degil.

Aku cemburu dengan orang yang degil, dunia suruh mcm ni, dia tetap "Argh, this is NOT how I roll. This is not how Allah ask me to roll".

Dari jauh, ada rasa cemburu lah. Ada cemburu pada itu sifat degil. Degil pada tempatnya. 

************************************************************************************************************
Sejak cuti haritu sebenarnya lagu "All of Me"  by John Legend asyik menyentuh hati ni.

Bait lagu part  

My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues

dan

My head's under water. But I'm breathing fine.

My favourite parts. 

Which render me thinking.

Benda atau yang kita sayang. 

Thats our rhytm, buah hati payung, whatever. 

Yang itulah juga yang jadi blues atau benda yang menyedihkan kita. 

Mana lagi sedih, kawan mengumpat kita ke musuh mengumpat kita? 

In essence, The one which matters to us most affects us the most.

For that same reason,
Benda yang kita paling sayang mampu jadi worst distraction kita.
What is distraction?

Distraction as in Oxford Dictionary: A thing that prevents someone from concentrating on something else.

In our life context, an object or person or anything per se, could be a non-sinful thing, but can still turn up as a distraction. And this is when those things are not given its due right. Yup, DUE RIGHT. Yakni bilamana dia buat kita lupa ataupun mungkin tak lupa, tapi berlengah-lengah daripada cuba mencapai tujuan hidup kita sebagai hamba Allah dan khalifah yang menegakkan kalimah tauhid kat muka bumi ni.

Setiap orang ada benda yang appealing to him or her. Benda yang diminati atau dekat di hati. Benda atau orang atau perkaraa tulah yang buat selalu buat kita rasa happy. Tapi kita kena selalu reflect dan fikir apa tujuan sebenar kita diciptakan. Kalau benda tu benar-benar dah jadi distraction, we may somehow need to say goodbye to it. Sometimes, what we need is moderation when too much attention is what making that something a distraction.

DIstraction ni boleh jadi orang yang kita sangat sayang yang buat kita jauh daripada Allah, hobi yang kita minat yang buat kita terleka daripada ingat Allah or benda yang kita rasa kita suka tapi Allah x berapa nak redha (kita kan memang suka guna perkataan xberapa kan? macam lah itu mengurangkan intensiti realiti), atau mungkin ego diri yang tinggi atau suka rebel yang membuatkan kita susah nak ikut tarikan ke arah kebaikan itu sendiri. Atau mungkin sifat takut-takut yang kata "siapalah aku untuk jadi sehebat itu?" (bunyi macam baik tapi merendah diri pun ada tempatnya. Give its due right! Jangan sampai perasaan tu halang kemampuan atau peluang yang Allah bagi kat kita.)

Benda ni sangat subjektif.

Kadang-kadang sampai aku tersenyum sinis sorang bila fikir macam mana ada banyak sangat benda yang aku sayang rupa-rupanya adalah suatu distraction. 

Mungkin dah tiba masanya untuk berani mengaku sesuatu yang kita sayang tu adalah distraction. To say it our loud to our innermost soul, and start thinking what those distractions' due rights are. 

We need to know how Allah loves us so much. 

And to know that we can actually say "O Allah, I realize this is my worst distraction and I'm leaving it just for you. O Lord, I know I can ask for all this back when I return to your Jannah later. Can't I?" 

Don't you dare saying "This, I know is my worst distraction, my rhythm and blue. With it, my head is in the water but hey, I'm breathing fine". (Suka hati ubah lirik) My point is, jangan nak breathing fine sangat lah walhal kita sedang lemas. 

Benda ni tiada siapa paksa.

Antara kita dengan Allah.

Antara kita dengan diri sendiri.

Wahai orang-orang yang beriman! Bertaqwalah kamu kepada Allah dengan sebenar-benar taqwa, dan jangan sekali-kali kamu mati melainkan dalam keadaan Islam.(A-li'Imraan 3:102)

Japan trip: Just some tips

Tips for Japan Trip

Okay, so this so-called  (or self-acclaimed) miss green had planned to do her travel log during her trip to Japan, but ended up not doing.. lalala~

This miss green has also planned to record all the budget and expenditure for that trip on daily basis but the record was only done up to day two. SO yeah. Miss green is quite good at planning but not so much on executing.

Maybe, what I can do is to give few random here and there tips for you if you are visiting Japan. (although i believe you can get better tips from other blogs or websites. haaa)

My one and only sister who's a real good travel-mate and manager ;p

Japan Rail Pass: 

Buy Japan Rail Pass if you are visiting more than one city. It would be good if you can sort of check the price of each train you'll be boarding and total up. If the total prices exceed the cost of Japan Rail Pass, then JRP is worth buying. Basically JRP is a pass you buy before you arrive in Japan to be used for a specific duration of time for unlimited ride of trains under JR (Japan rail). Just for you to take note, some trains are not under JR, example is Subway.

Shinkansen or bullet train is under JR. Yeay! You will be going to Japan, so lets not miss their bullet train! (check out JRP page for more info)

I, myself got a JRP which cost me RM980-ish from AppleFlex in KL. The agents which sell JRP are mentioned in JRP Page.

Friendly Japanese ladies who helped assist  us when we first boarded the trains

Shinkansen is no doubt, comfy :)

Get ready with your passport and JRP to be shown to the officer at the train station Thats my sister in her new shoe bought in Euno. (caption hang campur2 pasai apa?)

Suica Card: 

This suica card is like a Touch-n-Go card. You top up and you use the money charged to the card. Suica card can be used to buy rail tickets in Tokyo (I used suica to buy tickets for train not under JR), to purchase from vending machine, as well as from some of the shops. I think its more convenient to have a card to pay, than to count the cash or coins you have each time you are purchasing. Save time sikit. Especially when you need to buy train tickets and you are running out of time. 

If I'm not mistaken, I bought suica card from one of the shops at Tokyo Train Station which costs me 2000 yen. Basically, it's 500 yen for the card, which is readily topped up with 1500 yen. Oh, and they dont use the word top up for the card. They use "charge" instead. But anyhow, they don't speak english that much, so information centre is always the place to ask things. Alternatively, learn some Japanese words! It's not hard, trust me. And it's fun! :D

By the way, there are other cards which have the same functions in other cities in Japan.
Done using the card but still have some money left in it? Well, you can claim the money and return the card at the train station but there are charges for that service. Sobs, I know. Around 2000yen-ish.

Disney Sea:

You can buy ticket from the counters at the train station. Make effort to arrive at Disney Sea early. Yes Early. 9 am is considered late. We made a mistake as we went to Akihabara first and only got there at noon. Dont ask me why you have to go there early. You go there and you'll know why.

Disney sea ticket

You'll be given a booklet with map of the whole place. Refer to booklet for info on FastPass. Okay, i'm not giving the info here, but i'll highlight some of the points we missed and end up queueing for so longggggg at each ride due to this. 

Point number one: The Fast Pass is for Free. We thought we need to pay so didnt pay attention to it

Point number two: The Fast Pass let you to go for the most popular, major rides without having to queuing up for too long. You have no idea of how long you need to queue without this pass. Nangis.

Point number three: Before you try any ride, you first activity should be to collect fastpass for the major rides mentioned in the booklet, okay?

One of the shows at the park

I honestly enjoyed Disney Sea :D

Muhasabah: penat rupanya menunggu ni. Penat sangat. Patutlah kita patut doa Allah masukkan kita dalam syurganya tanpa hisab. Waiting here in dunya is tiresome. Can you imagine how much worse it would be in akhirah? Mahu fastpass in akhirah.

Apps:

It is extremely useful to have an apps which you can use to find japanese common phrases and to search for tickets info. I'm suggesting Tabimori- travel amulet . Extremely useful. There are also other features in the apps. Another useful apps is Hyperdia.

Hyperdia apps, useful for checking train times, track and prices.

Accomodation:

I booked my accomodation online from Agoda.com. My dad has an Agoda account, so he got emails on promotions by Agoda. Quite cheap all in all. To summarize (im hungry now, want to eat breakfast!), my sister and I stayed in Osaka Namba Washington Hotel Plaza for one night, Hostel Komatsu Ueno Station for four nights, then at my friend's house in Nara for a night. Basically our stay in Hostel allowed us to experience the traditional way of Japanese people. I mean, we slept on mattress on the floor, was given a yukata each, had shared bathroom (so we always had to look for time to shower when no one else is around!). The hostel is not a highly starred hotel, but it was a good stay and the people who served us were friendly. Oh, by the way the checkout time is 10am. We missed the time and the hostel good old man had to remind us. Erk. Sorry, we thought its at noon.

p/s : at the front door of the hostel, they even wrote "Welcome Nursyafizan Amalina Rahamzan" with a cute malaysia flag drawn. awh, terharu.

Yukata. Or was it Kimono? Haa.. forgot already

We cooked our own dinner in the hostel. Ingreadients: seafood, hot water, black pepper, and salts ;)

Food:

I am a Muslim so I do have some suggestions on Halal food or restaurants to visit. You can contact me personally if you wish to ask anything. I'll try to help if i can. To name one, you can enjoy halal chicken rice at Chicken Man stall in Euno. 

Had Udon noodles and tempura at Kansai Airport

This is a nice restaurant in Nara where Pujah brought us to. 

I dont really have the time to write about my whole trip, but if you ask me, i may be able to share some info on places i have visited i.e where to buy souvenirs, where can buy cheap electronic gadgets, where can eat halal bbq, etc.

Where you should buy souvenirs from. Real Cheap! it's in Asakusa.

Places I had visited include Tokyo, Ueno, Akihabara, Asakusa, Shibuya, Shin-Osaka, Namba, Nara.. So, I may have something to say if you ask me on those places.

Okay la, just sharing this because if it simply stays in my mind, it wouldn't be of good use to others. At least, if I share, hopefully someone by 1 in a billion chance may stumble upon these and benefit from the tips.

Am too lazy to proof read. Sorry for any typo, misspelt, grammatical errors. Most pictures are in our video cam which is far far away in Malaysia. So, there are not much to be shared. I only have few pictures captured at Osaka Aquarium in my phone.

Ferris Wheel near Osaka Aquarium

Thanks Pujah for being a good host to the two of us

Real large jelly fishes at Osaka Aquarium!

Lastly, Japan is an awesome country to visit. Seriously!! :D

Additional tips added by Taufiq Ersyad in FB:

Bring a coin purse, avoid wearing high heels,carry a sling bag to avoid excessive sweating,learn key words (niku (meat) and alcol (alcohol) je aku rasa penting). Kasut selesa tu penting :D

Back in Leicester. Lame Title =='

Bismillah.

SO. Now i'm back in Leicester.

Leaving where the heart is, to where the mind is. Eh.

Metaforayanghiperbola.

Im now a Third Year Medical Student alhamdulillah :D

Our Phase One examination is the big assessment this time around. It's in January. My intention to revise during the summer break has been proven an epic fail, well, as wisely expected. My intention to do hafazan on Juz 30 has also been a disappointment. Boo sama dia. Haish, don't boo yourself.

I want to start afresh. With new spirit. Renewed intention.

I need to realize that this life is not for me to laze around.

There are so many things to learn.

So many things to explore.

So many responsibilities to fulfill.

So many books to read,

So many people to meet,

So many ilm to earn and practise,

Akhirat itu pasti. Mati itu pasti. Tapi, preparation x nampak pun? ngaa nangis..

Tahu FB je setiap hari.

My summer break

Eid

Alhamdulillah. The Eid celeb was as great as always. Great but Well, actually I have also been thinking  about the whole celebration. What does Eid supposed to mean?

Being an annual celebration (referring to just Eid-ul-Fetri here), people thus treat it with a set of yearly routines. 

You buy baju raya only 'cause not buying baju raya doesn't make raya feels raya
You buy kuih raya as you can't have empty table in the living room, only to end up having lots of kuih unfinished as Eid month comes to its end,
You visit the same houses each year, only to shake hands and eat while your parents do the talking with the fellow relatives whom if you meet on the streets, you would hardly recognize or greet.

First of all, this is no doubt a very obvious over-generalization. But without being cautious, we can easily be trapped in that robot-like soul-less, meaningless routine. hah.

Secondly, I think talking about Syawal is incomplete without mentioning Ramadhan. If you really think about syawal, it's a celebration for the Muslims. Subhanallah. How can you make a meaningful celebration as just a set of routines without putting your heart in it? 

I'm not writing the meaning or fadhilat of Syawal month here. But i'd just like to say that as Malaysians, we have very excellent Malay cultural tradition embedded in our Islamic practices which alhamdulillah helps us to practise what Islam has promoted to us to do (e.g ziarah menziarahi, open house etc). Sadly, however, the lack of knowledge and right intention in doing all the practices will cost us to lose the fruit of the celebration.

This is what I think I should do in the next Syawal if I have the chance to get to it:

1. Muhasabah on my Amal throughout Ramadhan.

2. Buy modest baju raya which i can wear in other occasions (x membazir this way), and kick out the intention to boast.

3. Buy at least one baju raya for a poor person.

4. Buy good, tasty kuih raya which my guests can enjoy rather than just cukup syarat. If still have balance towards the end of the month, make it as snacks when watching tv or studying.

5. Talk and ask khabar, know names and stories about relatives met in each house visited.

6. Donate some of the duit raya earned.

Okay. thats the raya part. Saja. Rasa nak bermuhasabahsarawak.

#notsodeep

Refer next post for tips on Japan trip.