Book Review: The Quran, A new translation by M.A.S Abdel Haleem

Bismillah...

Another long weekend with few things to do. I was thinking the other day, why hadn't I booked any ticket to travel somewhere during this period. It's quite unusual for me to not notice an opportunity to go for a long holiday with just a few days leave from work. Perhaps Allah spared me from the hassle and stress of cancelled bookings so I can focus on responsibilities hahaha

I'm trying my best to fill my time with beneficial things these days although of course I'm screaming inside waiting for the day when I can do outdoor activities freely again. But this is still bearable although I've always been an outdoor junkie. To me travels, activities and also writing is a way for me to recharge and recalibrate. It's an important part of my life but I never see it as a life purpose. Rather those are the things I do to find balance between what I can offer to the world and what I 'earn' from this world.

I have some friends who confided that they are quite reluctant to start with beneficial things such as working out, Al-Quran classes etc. because they are afraid that they won't be able to commit and end up stopping midway. I think I started my routine somewhere during MCO phase 3, when the number of cases started to come down and my workflow started becoming more stable. Every day, I manage to allocate an hour in the morning to check on any medical updates on Covid19 except during holidays LOL. And since I don't have ward rounds these days, I'll spare about 2 hours for online CME for pharmacists. If I don't have enough time to finish the session in one go, I will find time to finish it the next day. And as for Al-Quran recitations and tadabbur, I'm trying my best to make sure I read the Al-Quran every day without fail and I aim to finish a minimum of two tadabbur videos or online talks every week. And I've been steadfastly going for my runs too. I can say I'm a moderately disciplined person, not too hard on myself but I always ensure that life is orderly. So far so good hahaha

I'm not sure if I can stick to these routines because life is ever evolving. To me the most important thing is to start doing. If you could keep on doing all the valuable and constructive activities come what may, then that is very good! But if you stop, that is not at all that bad. At least you did spend some time for good stuffs while you were able. Or perhaps, one day you'll go back again to doing them when the circumstances is more convenient for you. Well, honestly, I'd slowed down in gaining Islamic knowledge for the past few years myself. There were times when I even signed up for a free Islamic Studies diploma and stopped midway! And now that I'm able to go back again, it is somewhat refreshing. Okay, I think this 4 paragraphs rambling is going to be habit now haha so here's the book review~

While watching the videos I always have with me the Al-Quran and also this English translation book. Every IIUM student used to have this black cover English translation of the Al-Quran for our Islamic input classes and the language was poetic that I found it quite hard to decipher. But for this translation by M.A.S Abdel Haleem , the language is simpler and more fluid which you can see in one of the picture below. I read reviews about this translation and this is realized after many years of meticulous hard work. 

This is the table of content. I actually missed that Introduction part of the book and just read it last week although I've been using this book since earlier this year. This is a very concise introduction but, to me, it touches all the important aspects needed to understand the Al-Quran. I read the stylistic features twice; I always find this very hard to comprehend even when listening to talks. The historical account of how the Al-Quran was compiled and the initiatives taken to preserve the Al-Quran by the khulafa al-rasyidin has always fascinated me. The third caliph Uthman r.a ordered that copies of Al-Quran be distributed to different parts of the Muslim world during his rule and we saw one of it when we were in Uzbekistan!!!!

Below is an example of the translation. This is surah Al-Fatihah. As you can see, below the translations there are footnotes that further explain certain verses. Having this book while watching the tadabbur videos works very well for me. Since I watch the recorded ones and not the live session, I get to rewind the points that I didn't pay attention to and also pause the video so I can read further in this translation book. I think this active learning is much much better than just listening. I stopped listening to Islamic podcast during my commute to work because I keep on wishing I could write down what the sheikh is saying hahaha so I only listen to TedTalks podcast these days.

I actually just finished with Juz 7. Quite slow there but I think it's okay to not rush as long as I grasp the input properly. The guest speaker for that session was Dr Nazir Khan from Canada, He summarized on the objectives of Juz 1 to 7 which I will post, inshaAllah, in the future. But what I want to share here is what he said at the end of his discussion that the journey to Allah, to seeking the truth does not only call for spiritual growth but also for moral and intellectual growth.

My friends and I recently are quite obsessive about studying the history of the Islamic world; from the Prophet's pbuh time to the khulafa al-rasyidin and then to the rest of Islamic empires. Having also visited some of the Islamic historical sites made it even evident to us that all these greats names in Islam, who are not only known for being pious and righteous servants of Allah but are also known as excellent people in their respective fields were, during their lifetime, motivated by none other than iman (faith) and taqwa (fear of God). If we truly understand our amanah as the vicegerent of Allah then perhaps we won't take the many roles that have been bestowed upon us lightly.......

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Recipe for Success: Believe in the unseen

Bismillah...

Another long weekend this week. I don't feel like cooking and has yet to regain my appetite for  outdoor adventure although some of my friends are already going for trekking and diving. I think, partly it's because of my current responsibility. Although these activities are already allowed at this point, I still prefer to stay at home as advised. I still have to be ready if there are to be another surge of cases (Palis2...).


I started 2020 with a lot of plans and goals and now nothing is going according to plan hahaha. In fact, I've been busy with reorganizing my schedule and emailing for refunds (luckily not much because most of my scheduled travels are work-related). For the first time in my entire life, I have nothing planned ahead! I'm learning to live life as time goes by hahaha If you've been reading my blog, you might've learned that I've been since forever a busy person with so much going on in life. Even as a kid, my schedule was always full. Not only with tuition and 'mengaji' but with sports clinics and trainings, with free art classes or sometimes I would just be at a best friend's house to do homework or play.

At my 20's, I was so eager to satiate my curiosity and tried many different things to discover if there is any hidden talent or will that something be a new passion. And at 30s, I have a thirst for progress, especially in my career. I've always been passionate about my career although I don't usually talk about it. I'm afraid if I started to,  I'll turn all blue like a Super Saiyan God mode sebab terlampau bersemangat hahaha. My definition of 'settling down' has always been to be in a HALAL (must emphasize this first lol), stable and purposeful relationship so I can focus on important things in life. This has always been one of my main principle thus I tend to be blunt in asking a guy what is his intention in approaching me. I get misunderstood as a desperate, man hunting woman all the time hahaha but I don't care about what they think, as long as I uphold the 'covenant' I made to myself and with Allah.


It's really easy to think that this Covid19 has made my plans come into a standstill. The international congress that was previously postponed to a later date has now been cancelled. And the professional exam that I was looking forward to sit is also now still uncertain and I figured it is safe to not register yet due to the travelling restriction (the test center is in KL). However, Alhamdulillah, my friends and I were engaged in some fruitful 'stay at home' activities in Ramadhan that somehow have enlightened me that Covid19 will only be the cause of stunt if I allow it to be. So here goes the main point of this post after 4 paragraphs of rambling because I have so much time hahaha


In the Ramadhan edition of my Recipe for Success, I mentioned about this tadabbur videos in Yaqeen Institute webpage that I've been following. I'll try my best to post the points that resonate with me and I hope whoever get to read them will learn something and benefit from them too. We will start with the first juz' which starts from surah Al-Fatihah and extend to surah Al-Baqarah verse 141

I remember my cousin once asked me, "Cuba teka, doa apa yang paling banyak kali kita baca?"
Of course ustajiah answered it confidently,

ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ

Guide us to the straight path.

In surah Al fatihah, the Al Quran starts with glorification and praises for Allah followed by doa asking for guidance. This surah is a concise yet very comprehensive as it sums up our relationship with Allah in entirety and it is a surah that we repeatedly read in our 5 daily prayers.

This is then followed by Surah Al-Baqarah which is the longest surah of the Al Quran. I studied the first 5 verses quite extensively back in the university however every time I hear someone expound the gist of these verses, I'm spellbound over and over again. This essential part of the surah, besides introducing the basic tenets of Islam, it actually emphasize that the Al-Quran is the book of guidance.

ذَٰلِكَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبُ لَا رَيۡبَۛ فِيهِۛ هُدٗى لِّلۡمُتَّقِينَ

This is the Scripture in which there is no doubt, containing guidance 

for those who are mindful of God

Sh. Abdullah Oduro in his explanation highlighted the importance of sincerity in seeking guidance when reading the Al Quran. That is to read the message from Allah to find the path to Allah and not to find 'evidence' to justify our wrongdoings by misleadingly self-interpreting the content. He also focused on the phrase 'those who are mindful of God'. He explained that not only should we be contemplating the message in the Al Quran, we should always be aware of our surroundings, of the things that happen in our life and be able to associate them with the attributes of Allah and be in constant remembrance of Allah.

ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱلۡغَيۡبِ

Who believe in the unseen

The context of  'the unseen' that I've always understood in this part of verse 3 is the nature of Allah, the angels, the Hereafter and predestination. And as I said before, previously I took the point just as it is. What amazed me was when the sheikh explained that this part is a reminder that we should always have a strong believe in Allah and only upon Him we rely on for the things that are uncertain in life. This doesn't mean that we should just wait for things to miraculously work out for us. But this should be the reason for us to push ourselves to do things in excellence and then leave the rest to Allah. So if in the end the result do not turn out to be as what we expect, the strong believe in Allah's wisdom and grace will hold us steady in facing failure, inshaAllah.

And then the surah talks about hypocrisy. During the first few episodes, the sheikhs actually didn't mention clearly the verses number so I was a bit lost but the discussion on hypocrisy starts at verse 6. What I like about this part of the discussion is Sh Justin Parott (who is actually a revert!) talked about INTROSPECTION. He began with how the companions were most afraid of hypocrisy for themselves and always prayed that they don't fall into that. I won't go into detail on the types of Nifaq here. His main point was, for the parts where the characteristics of hypocrisy is mentioned, we should do self reflection whether there are signs of hypocrisy within ourselves. We might not be aware of it if we don't self-examine ourselves. Then if there is, we should improve, pray to Allah to make us firm in our faith and always be humble....

Since we are already talking about hypocrisy, I like to share this scene from the Omar al-Khattab series. After the Prophet's (pbuh) demise, Abu Bakr (ra) was facing with a lot of challenges especially hypocrisies and apostasies. This series made me appreciate the companions even more and I adore Abu Bakr's (ra) firmness in handling hypocrisies and apostasies. This scene was when a tribe came saying that they will still be Muslims and practice Islam except pay zakat. My favourite dialogue for this scene is this,

"Islamic principles constitute a single line. The whole line will soon be shattered 

if you undo one of them today"

This is very common in this modern world where Muslims who called themselves the 'liberals' would accept some portions of Allah's message and deny what is not convenient for them. Honestly, I do not judge such people. To me that is totally between them and Allah. But what I dislike is when they preach their ideas and get more people to accept and follow them. This part of history depicted in the series shows that we should not take some portions of the religion and disregard what is not in our favour. Islam is timeless and each and every part of Islam will always be relevant because Islam is not a rigid religion...

Okay to be continued~

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Recipe: Non-bake Cheese Cake

Bismillah...

So lets continue with the recipe post first. Like I said, this is for easy future reference. Who knows if one day khairulaming decides to close his IG account. I made this one the day after he posted the recipe. Not because I'm a top fan or whatsoever. I just happened to have all the ingredients already in my kitchen! Including those aluminium cake molds. Oh! But I didn't have strawberries so I went to buy them before going to work that afternoon. I made the cakes before going to work, chilled them  until I came back from work and then decorated them with biscuit crumbs and strawberries.

So here are the ingredients:

For crust,

15 pieces of biscuits (Digestive/biskut Marie)

125 g melted butter

For the filling,

500 g cream cheese

1/2 can condensed milk 

1/2 lemon- squeeze the juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

First, the crust is made of crushed biscuits (I used biskut Marie because I can't eat digestive biscuits lol) mixed with melted butter. 

Pressed the mixture into thin layer inside the molds and chill for at least 15 minutes

Mix all the filling ingredients using a blender. Make sure the cream cheese is soft enough or the blend will be too thick. I forgot to pour in the lemon juice and my blender suddenly stopped hahaha only then I realized that I left out the juice. Ooops! I don't think this is convenient using a hand mixer because actually the batter is not that much thus a blender is more suitable for the task. Place the filling on top of the crust and chill for at least 2 hours

Dah siap~ \(^^)/

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Recipe: Ayam Percik

Bismillah...

The movement restriction made me stay at home like never before hahaha Thus I had more time to try out new recipes this Ramadhan. Some friends were saying, "Rajinnya ko!". But close friends already know I cook during my free time so there's no surprise to my many cooking experiments. 

This ayam percik recipe is from khairulaming IG, his 30 hari 30 resipi on Day 18. I tried making ayam percik before with a more complicated recipe and to my surprise this simple recipe of khairulaming's produced the same taste as that one! So here goes...

Blend the following together

3 Lemongrass

Thumb sized ginger

5 gloves garlic

2 onions (I actually used Holland onion because I only have those in my kitchen lol)

2 tbsp tamarind paste

1/2 tbsp chili powder (Mine was oxidized and turned all brownish. Luckily I noticed it before pouring it into the jar with the other ingredients. I replaced it with my homemade chili paste)

Separate the perfect blend into 2 equal parts

One part is used to marinate the chicken that's already been mixed with sugar and salt. Leave the marinate for at least 1 hour. I left it for 4 hours hahaha because I went to work before break fast.

The other half of the blend is used to make the gravy by cooking it with coconut milk, sugar and salt. And finally put 1 tbsp of rice flour that has been mixed with water to make the gravy a thick finish

Grill the chicken like this.. I frequently pour the marinate on the grill pan to avoid the grill from drying out. And then when the chicken is about to cook, pour the gravy on the chicken and let it cook for a little while.

This one after I finished grilling

And this one was when we were about to eat them, I poured the gravy again on the chicken..

I find my dad's grill pan quite annoying lol after I finished making this ayam percik, I ordered a double-sided grill pan on shopee and currently still waiting for the delivery hehehe I think my dad will be pleased with my purchase although it was initially out of my annoyance towards his grill pan :p

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My Uncle~

Bismillah....

I'd wanted to update the blog more often this Ramadhan but it seems that I was more occupied than ever. Surprisingly, while the beginning of the Movement Control Order (MCO) left me clueless with what else to do with my time, MCO during Ramadhan proved to be more productive as I discovered more and more activities to fill my time.


I'd thought of writing about my uncle for so many years but I don't know why I never get myself to do so. I'd wanted to write about him during Teachers Day because he is of course my number 1 favourite teacher but I was up to something else. So I'm going to do it now, on this rainy yet sweltering hot afternoon of 1st Syawal in the year of the new norm~


My friendliness towards the opposite sex are often misinterpreted. In fact, being misunderstood as 'a flirt' was something that I had to struggle with in my teenage years. But in adulthood, I just ignore people's false perception, don't even bother to explain myself and let my character speak for itself. What people don't know is I'm surrounded by too many males! I'm the only girl sandwiched in between an elder brother and a younger brother.  While other girls are naturally more inclined towards their aunties despite having uncles too, I have no choice because I only have an uncle. And my foster family whom I stayed with during short semester breaks during my study in university has 7 sons!


I was kind of tomboyish during childhood. I was allowed to do all boys' stuffs except cut my hair short; a rule enforced by uncle and big brother. This basically also explains why I have so many guy friends. They are my so called 'Bruh~' hahaha and nothing more than that. My gradual 'transformation' actually started when I start working. Before that it was normal to hear close friends say, "GG yang macho" hahaha


My uncle is someone I would describe as an ambitious and hardworking man. I remember when I was little, he worked for a few months as a substitute teacher after he completed his STPM and that was when he discovered his passion in teaching. My grandmother was reluctant to let him go to UPSI  (Formerly known as Maktab Perguruan Sultan Idris) and insisted that he should study at a nearby maktab, but he manage to convince her that UPSI was the best place to learn to become a teacher. I remember crying as we sent him off at the airport and I got really excited whenever his letters arrived or whenever he called. He didn't stop there, he already got his bachelor degree and masters today.


To my horror, he became a teacher in my school when I was in primary 1! But he was assigned to teach the upper primary classes so I was slightly relieved. He has a quiet demeanor but still warm and friendly; as a teacher I think he was very good at it,  his students loved him although  he was actually quite strict with his students. The pressure that he put on me was... he liked to register my name into all sorts of activities and competitions without asking me first... I remember I joined colouring contests which I eventually won in some of them... He registered me in story telling competitions and I eventually won first place at state level in two consecutive years. He registered me to compete in sports too. Well, I guess it was this crucial part of my life that shaped me into being someone who is not afraid to try something new because after a few times of 'surprised competitions', I got used to it and was sort of 'numbed'. The good thing was, my family was very supportive in helping me prepare for all the competitions.


I started speaking in front of big crowds very early and that's why I don't have stage fright. Of course, my uncle was the one to be 'blamed' for my first ever appearance on stage! I remember those days, it was always the kids in standard 6 that would emcee the morning assembly on Monday. I have no idea what made my uncle think that it was a brilliant idea to let his 9 year old niece become the youngest ever emcee. "In two weeks, you'll be emcee during Monday assembly. I already put your name." I was very furious and stubbornly refused. And he went like, "You have no choice, I already put your name. You still have time to practice. You'll make history, being the youngest emcee in SK Kerupang.." I didn't further disagree because I know nobody in my family will back me up. "Just do it!" has always been a family motto, perhaps even before NIKE~


I will forever remember that morning. It went out well. I didn't do any mistake, I read the text coherently, my voice was clear with, to me, just a small trace of nervousness but inside of me I was very very very very nervous. I was praised by every teacher that made speech that day so the crowd cheered and applauded to my so-called 'bravery' many times. I don't know why I didn't feel proud at all despite 'making history as the youngest emcee in SK Kerupang' but I saw my uncle was the one who was beaming with pride. And after that, there was never a nine year old emceeing the assembly again. It was only after this experience that I started to participate in story telling, pantomime and whatnot. And later in secondary school I was active with debate and public speaking. I participated in two small public speaking events in university and after that I just don't feel like it anymore.


My academic journey was also very much influenced by my uncle. My mom was also very particular about my education and she supervised my grades actually until I was in the university. I was never forced to perform well, but my family instill in us the desire to do our best in everything. When I was in primary 4, my uncle keep saying to me that the reason why you should get straight A is because "...that is easier to remember. So if someone ask you in the future, what was your UPSR, PMR and SPM result? Just say straight A. That's simpler than saying 2 A's, 2 B's, 1 C's..." I took that quite seriously.....


I'm forever proud with the fact that I played a role in his meeting with his wife. My mom's office had a picnic one weekend and I was assigned by my mom to persuade my uncle to drive us to the venue. I'd persuaded him by saying there are many beautiful single ladies at my mom's office and I did mention my aunt's name. So he did go with us, they met, dated and got married hahaha I remember he was so excited that he built his own pelamin! With, of course, the help of his loyal assistant, ME!


And then he continued to live a good life; he has a stable marriage and blessed with smart children. He is always honest in his dealings, good with his finances, very proactive, and always always always have projects going on may it be his school activities, his fruit orchards, his DIY projects etc. I always thought my uncle is just someone who is meant to live a near perfect life, although perhaps his struggles are not apparent to me. But in 2013, he was tested with a test so big that I couldn't imagine how I would've handled it if I were in his place. That morning on 16 June, he received a call from the police informing him his first child perished in a car accident.


When I reached home from Europe, everything very much have settled. Although I was still in disbelief that we were doing tahlil for Nurul, we were all already in acceptance. I almost snap at him when he said jokingly, "Kesian GG, tiada sudah bestfriendnya...". But when I look at him closely I didn't see sadness. But what I saw was a father who is redho with Allah's decree and was trying to be strong for the rest of us. This reminds me of what the Deputy Dean said to me when I had to undergo a semester with a broken leg. He said, "Allah will never burden a believer with something that he cannot handle. And with every hardship, He will give ease. But we decide what we become after we are tested. Do we want to learn from it, and be close to Allah or vice versa"


Nurul's passing hit our family really hard. It got us thinking a lot about life and death than ever before. She was so young and she departed so suddenly. In the Al Quran, Allah promised that He will not take something without replacing it with something better. After the tragedy, our family started to better our relationship with the Creator realizing that we will all go back to Him one day. It's not that we didn't know that earlier, but death never seem so REAL until we lose her. Partly, I do think this was how Allah grant one of my doa too... We were tested. With patience and acceptance, inshaAllah, we will be rewarded. Then, I get to witness our family leaning, understanding and practicing the religion more, Alhamdulillah.


I'm still very close to my uncle to this day. I still visit him and his family in monthly basis although I seldom go for a sleepover since Nurul died. My mom always said I'm waiting for a guy like my uncle  to come into my life hahaha I think that is very true. Well, my dad is a good man too but as a child, I only spent time with my dad during school holidays so my uncle was my father figure in his absence. Hahaha I used to be very annoyed when people said I'm being choosy. These days, I don't even bother being judged like that anymore. After all, I am from a household with men that are respectful towards women, very helpful, very hardworking and always improvising themselves. And this, from my observation, is also seen in my cousins; close and distant... And that's all about my uncle...

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