18years & counting

In the name of God, most Merciful, most Beneficent. 

This blog post is especially dedicated to my parents, Ibu and Ayah. 

Ibu and Ayah sudah banyak berkorban untuk ku. I do not think that I could ever, ever repay and thank them. My love and my respect for them is who I am. They taught me so much about life, love, and most importantly, God. Who they are reflects their love for each other and for God. I pray each and every night that one day I too will be able to love someone so much and strengthen my love for God. 

Why do I chose to write about this today? Lately, dugaan-dugaan Allah has been even more apparent in my life. I am a college student, living with my parents. Yes, I LOVE it. The support, the love, the screaming, the reminders... these are the things that motivates me to be and do better. Just before my meeting today, my parents told me to make sure that I do not come home so late at night. While I do realize their concerns for me, as long as I am praying, I think that they should not worry about anything. I have pretty much found myself -- don't drink, pray, humble, respectful, selfless. I may be gullible, but I am not stupid. I am a strong person. Insha'allah I will continue to be the person I am describing and if I am not, I pray that I will be.

--------------------------------------------

Dearest Ibu. Dearest Ayah.

I have walked. I have said my first word. I have rode my first two-wheeled bike. I have gone to school by myself. I have reached puberty. I have graduated from high school. I have finished my one year of college. Alhamdulilah.

Soon, I will be driving. I will be traveling. I will find a job. I will find a guy and fall in love. I will graduate from college. I will be living on my own. Insha'allah.

So don't be scared. For I know who I am. I know who I seek for help and refuge from. I know who I pray to.  Let me drive, let me travel, let me work, let me fall in love, let me graduate, let me live on my own. Because without you both and your support, I can not do all this. 

I will forever love you both. I will forever pray for Allah to have mercy on you both. And to bless you with all the happiness in this world and in the HereAfter.

Amin.

 

Your Doubt

In the name of God, most Merciful, most Beneficent.

Some things happen unknowingly. This is the beauty of life. We try to predict, we try to guide our life... but eventually, we run into a road blocker. In the end, the road blocker is a part of our life... is what shapes the rest of our life. I believe that we should not have doubts because when we start doubting, we start questioning the power of God. Whether it is easy or hard, stick to it because nothing bad can come out of it. You may even surprise yourself by learning something new about yourself. What doesn't break us will make us stronger. && I realize this recently.

Adios.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

don't baby...

don't baby don't doubt love...

because doubting love is,

doubting that the sun will rise...

doubting that the birds will chirp of love...

baby don't...

don't doubt in our love...

doubting love, you doubt that God brought us...

because doubting love is,

whispering goodbye.

doubting love baby,

is doubting in God...

doubting His miracles...

the miracles that showed us the path...

the path that not once I doubted...

because baby doubting love is,

whispering goodbye.

Qada' and Qadar

In the name of God.

Dugaan-dugaan Allah (God's tests) are the most challenging and most of the time difficult to comprehend and understand. Yet all we can and should do is accept it with full of love for and faith in God. 

"So verily, with hardship comes ease. Verily, with hardship comes ease." - Surah Al-Sharh: 5-4

If I Had A Million Dollar...

In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate.

The camera I have been using for the past four years, Canon 20D, is finally coming to an end. The shutter can no longer function at high speeds... Ayah (my dad) said that my years as a sport photographers contribute to it. I must say however, through it all, I've learn that I have fallen in love with capturing people and their emotions. In many ways, a portion of me is in every pictures -- it documents what I am actually seeing and how I feel. It is an extension of my eyes and my heart. Photography is a passion...

Disposable cameras were out of the question after being able to take pictures using digital cameras. It is impossible to (and I do not want to) forget the first time I picked up a digital camera and attempted to capture the way Ayah did. At that time Ayah was working very hard on his qualifying exam and I remember bothering him about teaching me how to take pictures using Aperture and Shutter setting. I can not imagine how annoying I was -- for that Ayah, I thank you forever for your patience. 

Below is my first few pictures I took using Aperture setting using our first digital camera, Canon Powershot G3. 

I have been blessed with parents who supports me in pursuing my passion. Since then, I have taken hundreds of pictures. A dream of mine is to be able to not only capture what is around me, but of what surrounds other people -- their cultures, their lives. I have been inspired by Tengku Bahar (Ayah's ex-student) and my very own Ayah to keep on photographing. As the days pass, I realize the deeper my passion of traveling to photograph becomes. 

Each and everyday, I pray that somewhere in the future, my parents, adik2, and myself will be given the chance to do our Hajj and that I will be given the opportunity to travel everywhere and anywhere.

Salaam.

Dearest mother, dearest father

HYPERTENSION IN MALAYSIA

The Minister of Health opened the 7th Asian Pacific Congress in Hypertension yesterday in KL. In his opening address, he quoted the National Morbidity and Mortality Health Survey 2006, which found the incidence of hypertension among Malaysians 30 years and above to be about 43%, a 10% increase from 1995. He was also quoted as saying that of those on treatment, 26% achieved control, a figure I find had to believe. It may have been a miss quote. In an almost identical UK Health Survey 2006, the incidence of hypertension is about 60%, and about 21-22% are controlled. For those detected, about 40% are on treatment and for those on treatment, about half are controlled. I still have not seen the Malaysian National Morbidity and Mortality Health Survey data in Medical literature, so I do not know if the honorable Minister had been misquoted.
Be that as it may, the important message that I would like to highlight is the Hypertension is a silent and often serious problem. It can be prevented with diet ( less or no salt ), greens and fruits, and control of weight with a BMI of 24 and a waistline of 34inches for males. Exercises also helps. Early detection is vital. All above 40yrs should go for a medical check-up to ascertain your health status. That I think would be reasonable. 

Courtesy of hmatter

Yesterday, today, tomorrow

In the name of God.

Waking up to the summer breeze, the birds chirping of love, the squirrels munching on their winter stocks, and the sky as blue as his eyes. These beautiful creations He has given to us, I wonder what beautiful moments He has planned for me today. 

With that said, I am going to end here and do whatever it is that today has planned for me, walking where ever my feet takes me.

Au Revoir.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I miss you yesterday,

I miss you today,

I miss you right now,

I will miss you tonight,

I will miss you tomorrow,

I will miss you until the day of your return. (c)atiqahk

Menunggu

In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate.

This was written at 2:30 am on a Friday night. I found the urge to write and as the Malay people say, "melayan fikiran". 

Just a heads up-- To me, the beauty of writing is the imperfection that comes with it. So, kindly pardon any grammatical and sentence structure mistakes that you may come across. I title this post "Menunggu" meaning "waiting". I like the way the Malay word sounds. Hehehe.

Fi-amanillah.

---------------------------------------

Reminiscing the smile that strike her eyes.

That night of the full moon.

Patiently, she awaits for his return.

And in pursuit of happiness, she prays.

Kneeling on the prayer mat,

Raising her hand,

She recites to You.

"I seek refuge in you to shelter his safety.

Return to me an answer. 

A sign. 

That his return is nearby."

Where does she go from here.

During this night of silence.

Enclose in this loneliness.

She compiles together the words of her heart.

Late tonight.

Hoping to ignore how much she yearns for his touch.

Pondering into the night.

As her eyes slowly blinks.

On the verge of dreaming.

She wonders,

Will she still feel his touch when the night falls.

When the moon sets and dawn breaks,

Will she still remember.

The smile that once strike her eyes.

That night of the full moon. (c)atiqahk