Berlabuhnya Malam

Hatiku kegersangan -
Tandus dan kering
ibarat gurun
nan kekontangan.

Hatiku kegersangan -
Merindu kalam-Mu
yang bisa mensuci
dan memberi kesegahan
pada hati mati.

Hatiku kegersangan -
Inginku cari redha-Mu
kerna ku takut
andai daku kufur limpahan nikmat-Mu
atau daku riya' dan takabbur
dengan secebis amalku.

Tatkala berlabuhnya malam,
ku pohon ke hadrat-Mu
Andai bisa Kau selubungi
tandus hati ini
dengan siraman Rahmat
dan Maghfirah dari Mu
agar bisa menghidupkan semula
hati mati
dan membasuh kotoran
dedebu dan daki dosa.



Ya Allah, kini baru aku sedar nikmat masa lapang di kala aku kesempitan waktu cam sekarang. Setiap malam bila balik keja lepas mandi dan solat Isyak dan Tarawih, terlintas niat di hati mahu habiskan satu juzuk Quran tapi blom sampai dua page, aku da "syahid" dulu kesan rasa letih ke sekolah dan keja. Astaghfirullah.

Semoga malam nie berjaya capai target, insyaAllah.

"Ya Allah, ku pohon agar Kau tetapkanlah hatiku ini di atas landasan kebaikan untuk terus mencari redha-Mu. Ameen."

Nota Buat Kekasih

Tajuk entry nak gempak je eh? Ahaha~

Tapi entry nie memang ada kaitan dengan kekasih saya. Nama kekasih saya ialah Muhammad. Iye, beliau ialah Junjungan Besar Muhammad (sollallahu 'alaihi wasallam).

Saya nak kongsi lirik nasheed kat sini. Nasheed nie saaangat shweet, bagaikan menulis surat cinta kepada kekasih hati yang jauh di mata lagi dirindui.


YOU CAME TO ME

You came to me in that hour of need
When I was so lost, so lonely
You came to me, took my breath away
Showed me the right way, the way to lead
You filled my heart with love, showed me the light above
Now all I want is to be with you
You are my one true love, taught me to never judge
Now all I want is to be with you

CHORUS
Allahumma solli 'ala sayyideena mustofa
'Ala habiibika nabiyyika mustofa
[repeat another time]

You came to me in the time of despair
I called onto you, you were there
Without you what would my life be
Not know the unseen, the worlds between
For you I'd sacrifice, for you I'd give my life
Any thing just to be with you
I feel so lost at times of all the hurt and lies
Now all I want is to be with you

CHORUS
Allahumma solli 'ala sayyideena mustofa
'Ala habiibika nabiyyika mustofa
[repeat another time]

Showed me right from wrong
Told me to be strong
Need you more than ever, ya Rasulallah
You came to me in that hour of need
Need you more than ever, ya Rasulallah

You filled my heart with love, showed me the light above
Now all want is to be with you
You are my one true love, taught me to never judge
Now all I want is to be with you

CHORUS
Allahumma solli 'ala sayyideena mustofa
'Ala habiibika nabiyyika mustofa
[repeat another time]


Ini single nasheed terbaru oleh Sami Yusuf. Ini version English-Arabic. Saya lebih suka version full Arabic tapi masih tak jumpe liriknye lagi.


Dan owh, nak kongsi link untuk download nasheed nie. InsyaAllah bole free download direct dari website Sami Yusuf. [klik sini]




Kalo tak bole juge, [klik sini] la ye? :')


"Ya Allah! Ku pohon Engkau pertemukanlah daku dengan kekasih hatiku yang senantiasa dirindui ini. Ameen . . ."

Thank You, Miss BBM300!

I should be completing my kerja kursus agama right now, but here I am, writing a blog entry. Ahaha~

Let's forget about my kerja kursus agama for a while.

.
.
.

Last night, I was on a date with Miss BBM300. She's so damn hot, and good looking too! We spent like, more than an hour, together. I helped her kneaded some dough until I fell asleep. Even I've fallen asleep, she still doing her job persistently. And when I woke up this morning, the dough was ready to be used to bake a bread. *touched*

This is Miss BBM300's product of hard work :')


Miss BBM300 scolded me when I wanted to make a bread out of the dough. She told me to go see abang S first, only then she would allow me touch the dough.

I obeyed.

As I came back home, Miss BBM300 welcomed me joyously. And I, too, was happy to see her. With determination plus imagination, I made a sausage bread out of the dough. Took me sometimes to bake it but the result was superb! No, I mean, sumptuous. Ahaha~ Let's look at the result, shall we?




This is no pizza. This is sausage bread, Chouji-style~


Note to Miss BBM300:
For all your effort, Miss BBM300, I thank you sooo very much! Let's date again sometimes? Hee~ X'D


~p/s: If you are sooo curious, here's my Miss BBM300:




Oops! Sorry~ That's my gf, Miss SX10IS. Ehehe~ Okay, here's the real Miss BBM300:





Yes, Miss BBM300 is a breadmaker. Thank you. :')

*back to completing kerja kursus agama*

Allahumma Balighna Ramadhan

Hanya beberapa hari lagi sebelom Ramadhan tiba ke bumi NZ ini. Sedikit berdebar rasa di hati, takot tak sempat ketemu. Tapi lebih terasa lonjakan di hati kerna diri berharap untuk mengisi Ramadhan kali ini dengan lebih banyak amalan soleh, tidak seperti tahun-tahun yang lalu ketika diri hanyut di dalam arus dunia.

Tahun nie aku berazam nak revisit amalan-amalan yang pernah menjadi amalan wajib tahunan bersempena Ramadhan, yang malangnya makin aku "ter"tinggalkan bila makin tua remaja. Aku nak pastikan aku:
1) Abes khatam Quran sepanjang Ramadhan, preferably satu juzuk setiap malam.
2) Tanak tertinggal Tarawih. Keja bukan alasan, bole je buat sorang-sorang lepas balik keja. Saket pon bukan alasan, masih bole tunaikan juge.
3) Menjaga mulut dan hati dari perasaan mazmumah sesama insan.
4) Melakukan amalan-amalan sunat seperti bersedeqah dan lain-lain dengan kadar yang lebih banyak.


Bunyi macam agak sukar untuk dicapai tapi jika yakin dan istiqomah, insyaAllah mampu. Allah akan bantu mereka yang ingin berubah ke arah kebaikan. :')

Dan owh, di sini aku nak kongsi sebuah nasheed dari Rabbani yang bertajuk Ahlan Wasahlan Ya Ramadhan. [klik sini]

Walaupon lirik dah ada kat video tue, aku nak kongsi jugak kat sini~ :'D

Ahlan Wasahlan Ya Ramadhan

Ahlan wa sahlan, marhaban
Ahlan wa sahlan, ya Ramadhan
Ahlan wa sahlan, marhaban
Ahlan wa sahlan, ya Ramadhan

Ramadhan menjelma lagi
Menghimpun Rahmat dan Maghfirah
Bertambah keberkatannya
dengan amal ibadah
Diri tunduk keinsafan
dan rasa berdosa

Bulan kemuliaan yang dikurniakan ini
Usah biarkan berkatnya
berlalu sia-sia saja
Ia hadir bagai air bah
membasuh daki dunia

Sambutlah Ramadhan dengan jiwa terbuka
seperti ketibaan orang yang kita cinta
Dengan ucapan
Ahlan Wa Sahlan Marhaban Ya Ramadhan
Hati gembira pintu terbuka
Rahmat Allah Yang maha Besar

Kita beroleh mutiara hikmah Al-Quran
Lantas dibelenggu nafsu dan syaitan
Didatangkan pula Lailatul Qadar
Pengorbanan yang dibuat balasannya syurga





"Allahumma, balighna Ramadhan! Ya Allah, ketemukanlah kami dengan Ramadhan! Ameen~"

Do You Like Cooking?

Today, I went to ACI to "demonstrate" how to prepare my specialty: Tuatarina. It was Mimi who asked me, with the excuse that Ed haven't sampled the fingerfood in prayer room last Wednesday.

When I was there, a person asked me this question: "Why you seem to like cooking recently?" I just answered "Dunno" with a shrug.



So, what's the deal with the question eh? Ohoho . . . wait a sec. That was not the first person who asked. I had answered the same question from God-knows-how-many-people-because-I've-lost-count and of course, I answered with the exact same answer.



Okay. Now when I think about it while off-tasking from doing my kerja kursus agama, I seemed to be able to draw out some "excuses" as to why I seem to like cooking recently. Please scroll down to read my "excuses":


1) She Cooked for Me, But I'll Cook for Her
Back in Malaysia, whenever at home, I always let my mom cook. Or more precisely, she would rather cook for the family with my other female siblings helping in the kitchen and the males help preparing the table or help my dad to look after the shop.

You see, I always ended up as a nuisance (when I was a kid) whenever I imagined myself to be of a help to my mom. My mom always told me to just go and help preparing the table. But sometimes I just didn't listen and remained in the furthest corner of the kitchen, observing how she cooked.

And now my mom's not as healthy as she was. That's why I'm learning to cook a bit of this and that so that when I go home end of this year, my mom doesn't need to cook for me (on daily basis) anymore. Instead, I'll cook meals for her. :')


2) Grasping Opportunity by Her Hands
Living overseas has the advantage that you are allowed to cook for yourself, unlike living in hostels. I know it sounds like, what, a year too late to start because I'm going back in 3-month time? Ah, well. Better late than never, no?

In fact, I just bought a breadmaker two days ago. InsyaAllah I will have more opportunities to prepare my own food - breads, pizzas and other flour-based dough, you name it.


3) Sharing is Caring? No, Sharing is Satisfaction
Whenever I cook, I don't eat that much. So in the end, I'll end up giving out them food to others - my housemates, my other friends, and whoever. Some people say, that is a waste of money. I'd say, that is path to charity.

Don't you feel happy seeing other people smile happily when they eat food you prepared? It is not the "thank yous" I want from them (I seek mardhiah from Allah alone, not human's), but it is their smiling faces I seek to look at. Smiles are contagious, remember? :')


4) When You Feel Like Cooking, You Cook
Really, do you even need an excuse to prepare your own food? I believe not. It is better to cook whenever you feel stressed out rather than crying or freaking out by which you'll end up tired as you ran out of mental and physical resources, and your energy depleted.

But if you cook, you'll end up full and perhaps you can use a bit of a nap before starting to focus back on your daily tasks.



I think those are enough "excuses" as to why I seem to like cooking recently. Just my two pence: Don't ask a man (or a woman too, I think) as to why he (or she) does a good deed, that will turn him (or her) off and lift up the value of sincerity from his (or her) heart.

So. I like cooking. Don't you, too? Hee~ X'D

Pergimu Diiringi Du'aku

I grew up with his songs.
I love his songs
even when others don't.
I love his voice the most.
I learnt a lot from his songs -
of love for Allah
of love for the Prophet
of love among Muslims.
I looked up to him
as one of my role models
when I was a kid.
Even until this very moment
I think very highly
of him.

But now he's gone.
Forever gone.

So long, ustaz Asri Ibrahim, the former vocalist of Nadamurni and was the vocalist of Rabbani before he passed away this morning. [click here]


May Allah forgives all your sins,
and I pray your soul be placed among the Believers.


Because to Allah we all belong, and to Him we shall return.


But I will continue listening to your songs as they always make me feel soothed whenever I'm troubled.


Thank you for your songs.

I Miss Home

Out of the blue, I remember this one beautiful song.

Ma Maison C'est ta Maison.

Yup, it's in French. It means "My Home is Your Home", a song from a French musical theatre titled Notre Dame de Paris.

Click here to listen.





. . . isn't it beautiful? :')

Call Her Katrina? No, Please Call Her Tuatarina :')

I never intended for this blog to be a site where I post recipes.


Nope, never had that in mind because I don't have talent for cooking.


But today is different.
Nothing special about today, nope.
But,
just because today I made this fingerfood
called TUATARA.

Yup, this is the so-called Tuatara :')


Owh, I'm sharing the recipe here today. Isn't that a good news?

. . . maybe not so much. Ehehe~


What you need:
1 can of sardines
1 green onion
Blackpepper
Oil
8 to 12 tortilla wraps
3 eggs
Cheese (optional)
Chilli powder (optional)
Breadcrumbs (optional)

How do you prepare it?
There are 3 stages to preparing this tuatara. You see, it IS time consuming which is why I rarely make this fingerfood. I'm lazy, thank you.


Stage 1: Preparing the sardines

1) For a starter, heat some oil in a frying pan. Put in the sardines without the tomato sauce into the oil and fry them. This is to ensure the sardines are not hanyir when you eat them later.

2) As the sardines are well fried, turn them into smaller chunks according to your likings. I prefer them mashed. :') Only then you add in the tomato sauce from the can.

3) Cut the onion into two. Diced one half, and cut the other half into thin thread-like pieces. Add the diced onion first and stir the sardines. After they mixed well, add the the other half.

4) Then you add in some blackpepper. If you like it spicy, put in more blackpepper. And if you like it hot, add some chilli powder.

5) Let the sardines on the stove for about five minutes.

6) If you like it cheesy, melt some cheese in the pan and mix it together. Let the sardines on stove for about another 10 minutes or until it looks less watery before you remove it from pan into a blackpepper-ed bowl.


Stage 2: Wrapping

1) Take 1 tortilla wrap and cut it into 4 smaller pieces.







This is how the small tortilla pieces should look like

2) Put some sardines on the small tortilla pieces and wrap it like you wrap a springroll.







These what you should get as you finished this stage :'P



Stage 3: Fry 'em all!

1) Break 3 eggs into a container. Beat them.

2) Heat some oil in a frying pan.

3) Dip the "springrolls" from Stage 2 into the beaten eggs. If you like your Tuatara crunchy, then dip it in breadcrumbs after it was dipped in egg.

4) Fry 'em all

5) Ready to serve~

If you haven't noticed, the one closest to you was fried with breadcrumbs



Okay, that's all about it. Easy, right? Just requires some effort. :')










Owh, you asked "Isn't tuatara an iguana-like creature exclusively found in NZ?"

YUP, IT IS. But why I call this fingerfood tuatara?

. . . go ask Zack. Thank you. X'D

Innocente

One peaceful afternoon on Cuba Street, a small girl stood by the iconic water cascade. She stood there long, wondering and amazed by the fountain's mechanism. She looked at the water cascade in amazement, I looked at her in amusement.





After many times she watched patiently at how the fountain works, she marched towards the fountains. With chests forward and head held high, she silently declared a "war" with the fountain: Come what may, I'm ready!





As the uppermost bucket lost its balance and spilt a big amount of water, cascading down from bucket to another, there was a gleam of cheerful amazement in the very corner of the small girl's eyes.

But of course, she dodged the spill. With little laughter, she marched towards the water cascade yet again and repeated her "ritual".

I smiled as I passed by . . .







. . . ah, the innocence of a child. :')

I'm No Baker

I don't feel like writing at all in this entry.

I have a photo to share here, though:





Yup, that's a strawberry-ed chocolate cheesecake topped with cornflakes I baked.

An achievement for me, since I can bake now but it is nothing to be proud of.






Why?


Because.


Officially, this is the third cheesecake I made on my own. But they are always there, those fissure-like cracks.

Anyone knows why cakes have those cracks?




. . . perhaps I have no talent in baking cakes.