Hifz diary

Daily hifz class by...

2010-03-10T05:29:00.000-08:00

Al-Hafiz/teacher-Ustaz Firdaus Yahya

....alhamdulillah.

Monday-Friday
8am-10.30am
http://www.darulhuffaz.sg/
tel:96365353

(click on image to enlarge-in Malay language)

Fence yourself...

2010-02-12T14:15:00.001-08:00

I translate it word for word from the malay word-PAGAR DIRI.

I have learnt thru my experiences that we need to protect ourselves always with dua (supplications) and Quranic surahs.Often we have heard that Quranic surah is so powerful that it can also burn /kill the "evil" powers.

Alhamdulillah,there are many personal experiences that can vouch for it.But let me share with you this particular one..

I was with my school' staff one weekend and one of the students are "sick".Not that pysical kinda of sickness e.g cough,flu,fever ....but mainly was possessed by jin. Thus one of Ustaz jumadi students who is my Ustaz (al-Hafiz) students too came by to help out.

AS we go thru the series of interrogations and curing of the patient, sad to say the lady was possessed upteen times,one after another.It seems that the person who send it is adamant to make her go crazy or something allahualam.May God protects us all amin. Anyway, as we tried to change their perception and help them to escape from their "supervisors(jins also have those who guards them from escaping from the clutches of their masters/often called bomoh/black magic praticioner)by being muslims and be in the group of muslims in Mecca /mosques (cos they can move in a blink to these places), we realised that the jins (from interviews)that they tried to enter my Ustad's body too and personally they said they cannot enter and its hot, panas...bakar. At that moment, I was still "empty", I felt scared and that motivates me to polish up my hifz too.

So there u have it-confession from a real genis/jin...Memorizing the quran does protect you but all these comes from Allah swt and we should always be thankful for that.

For me personally, I exercise these surahs daily (asides from hifz).I make it into a routine.When I woke up, before Subuh....I often recite Yasin and Al-Waqiah and 10 surah Al-Baqarah (5 first ayat,surah Kursi (255) and last 3 ayat of Al-Baqarah)for daily dosage of dua.And before I sleep, Al-Mulk and 10 surah Al-Baqarah.Since I have difficulty to remember Ar-Rahman,so whenever I feel LOVE, I read it after prayers.Hoping that Allah s.w.t can give me some of HIS love insya-Allah amin.Mainly these are my daily rituals -so that our daily activities are smooth,protected from harm and abundance of rezki are hoped for.The rest, tawakal and have faith.Stay positive,helps a lot in daily rituals.First thing in ur mind-after being gratitude to Allah s.w.t (after waking up and before sleeping) is to be positive.Keep and open mind and think positively about everything.Insya-Allah ur day will be positive and happy.It also helps to boost that immune system too, if u must know.Cos the powerful source comes from the mind.So free yourself for a better and healthier life,today...start them with your mind...

Take care!
Love...

p.s:There was a time, I was disturbed by a jin.And often this was revealed in my dream..thus it make me to recite the Quranic verses and I saw and felt(in my dream) that the jin is burnt till it died.And it has not been disturbing me eversince.Wallahu alam.

Oh something just popped up in my mind which I need to share before I forget..(off-topic)

The regular daily food intake that was served and cooked by whoever can affect our akhlak too....so do take note of the chef of our food especially by strangers in public restaurants and all that...notice their way of handling the food,the type of people.U can feel it with ur heart.If was-was (in doubt),best to avoid it especially if the person has dubious personality and ensure that it is always HALAL-muslim owned/halal certified.u can go to www.putriberendam.com (halal food) and give her support for she is trying her best to showecase Halal food around the world....

anyway...best is to have homecooked meals....cooked by our loving family or ourselves,where Quranic surah is always uttered everywhere and anywhere...in every single step of preparing the food, hopefully the food is blessed...

REMEMBER:WE ARE INVITED TO HAVE THIS PLEASURE OF MEMORIZING THE QURAN...sodont ever give up.What u feel,the world of hifz members are feeling it too and going thru it...but remember at the end of the road,the rewards are PRICELESS...insya-Allah , May God help us all.amin.

Feel empty..

2010-01-27T03:13:00.000-08:00

I had been up and down this roller coaster ride and has never given up on hifz.But this time its different.I did something really bad, I neglect my best fried, the Quran.And I felt empty...inside...like a peanut shell with no nuts.Drained of life quirkyness and vibrantness, felt lifeless...felt empty,no motivations...

I need to summon all the leftovers energy to at least perk myself up then let it be completely lifeless,drained out...I prayed and dua and hope God will accept me back and invite me again to memorize hifz.I did a bad thing.Im wrong.I neglect the most wonderful gift anyone could ever have.Im sorry.Please forgive me, insya-Allah will not do it again...

I need to remove this laziness.And analyse what is it that Im leaning against.Is it my food intake? HAve i been neglecting on its HALAL-ness too?Or it is my eyes, had I been watching too much TV(not really) and so have I been listening to too much music?Hmm, probably...that kinda lul me to its melody and make me wanna engulf in its vibes...

I need to wake up...

What if death is at the door waiting?
What if death is couting down on u?
What if death is just beside u,watching u typing this blog?
But mainly...how do u feel to face God with all that Surahs washed down the drain after years of painstakingly trying to memorise them?Aren't u ashamed?

Im embarassed..I need to buck up.NO I need a slap of REALITY..sometimes u feel challenged by life's trials and tribulations, u feel negative...feeling helpless, not wanting toa sk God for help (Which is very wrong) ....u feel u sre stucked.Thus, always asked GOd for help irregardless how stupid it may seems or ur prayers are just for little things, HE always listen and HE is always near when u need HIM.Alhamdulillah.dear God,tahnk u for awakening me from my deep sleep...

Thank you....

Insya-Allah Im gonna take baby step to restart my engine and not scare myself off cos it may seems that I might need to start all over again but insya-Allah it is possible to tattain previous standards or achieve higher goals...insya-Allah.

Dua for me...my friends as I would for u, friends of hifs,insya-Allah I wanna be part of kekasih Allah...I wanna be Paradise Firdaus dwellers...insya-Allah amin.May God help us all and make it easy for us and keep us on the right track always...amin.
7.19pm 27.1.10

The Beginning of guidance

2009-04-17T02:12:00.000-07:00

Course Title: The Beginning of Guidance (Bidayatul Hidayah)

Description: This course is a discussion of the book “Bidayah Al-Hidayah” written by the eminent Imam Al-Ghazali. This course is useful for those who wish to understand the finer points of leading an Islamic life, from the time of waking up at dawn until the time of sleep at night. Imam Al-Ghazali defines the beginning of guidance as outward piety, carrying out the commands of Allah and His Messenger and turning away from all that have been prohibited. The course discusses the performance of the acts of obedience to Allah, the avoidance of committing sins, the good manners of association with people and acts of personal conduct.

Commencement Date: Friday 24 April 2009
Time: 8 pm to 9.30 pm
Frequency: Every Friday night
Teacher: Ustaz Mukhtar Habib
Text: Bidayah al-Hidayah by Imam Al-Ghazali
Medium of Instruction: English
No. of Lessons: 15
Fee: $15 notes + $10 monthly course fee
Venue: SimplyIslam.sg (152 Still Road) Madrasah Khairiah

About the Teacher:
Ustaz Mukhtar Habib studied the academic sciences in Singapore and completed the A Levels examinations. Subsequently he studied Islam and Arabic in Indonesia for a year under the guidance of Shaykh KHA Sohibul Wafa Tajul Arifin. He then went on to further his Islamic studies at the renowned Rubat Tarim in Hadramawt in Yemen, under the guidance of eminent scholars like Habib Salim bin Abdullah As-Shatiri, Habib Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Shihab, Habib Abdullah bin Umar bin Sumait and many others. The institution of Rubat Tarim has produced more than 13,000 scholars from all over the world, including Singapore’s famous and eminent scholar, Allahyarham Shaykh Umar Al-Khatib. In Rubat Tarim, Ustaz Mukhtar Habib studied the books of Fiqh (Jurisprudence), Nahu (Arabic Grammar), Tafsir (Exegesis), Hadith (Prophetic Traditions) and Tasawwuf (Islamic Spirituality). After spending 3 years in Rubat Tarim, he is currently in Singapore studying for his Bachelors Degree in Fiqh and Usul Fiqh.

Course Overview

Lesson 1
a. Course introduction
b. The importance of knowledge
c. The benefits of seeking knowledge
d. The different types of seekers of knowledge

Lesson 2
a. Adab (praiseworthy manner) of awaking from sleep
b. Adab of wearing clothes
c. The adab and sunnah (traditions) of entering the bathroom

Lesson 3
a. The steps of making wudhu’ (ablution) (fardh and sunnah)
b. Rules of washing the body – ghusl janabah

Lesson 4
a. Cleanliness with Tayammum (dry ablution)
b. Rules pertaining to tayammum

Lesson 5
a. Adab of going to the Mosque

Lesson 6
a. Adab of preparing for daily ritual prayers
b. Adab of sleeping

Lesson 7
a. Performance of daily solat (ritual prayers)

Lesson 8
a. Adab of leading and following a ritual prayer
b. Adab of Friday congregational prayer

Lesson 9
a. Adab of fasting

Lesson 10
a. Restraining oneself from acts of disobedience
b. Guarding against sins of the eye
c. Guarding against sins of the ear

Lesson 11
a. Guarding against sins of the tongue

Lesson 12
a. Guarding against sins of the stomach

Lesson 13
a. Guarding against sins of the genitals
b. Guarding against sins of the hands
c. Guarding against sins of the feet

Lesson 14
a. Sins of the Heart
b. Remedies

Lesson 15
a. Adab of companionship with Allah
b. Adab of companionship with people
c. Association with students & teachers
d. Association with parents
e. Companionship with unknown common men
f. Association with friends
g. Association with acquaintances

Shaykh Yahya Rhodus talks ...

2009-04-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

http://simplyislam.com.sg/new/

SimplyIslam.sg and Darul Arqam is pleased to announce the visit and programs by Shaykh Yahya Rhodus, from 16 to 21 April 2009.

Shaykh Yahya was born and raised in America, and 19 years he became Muslim and studied with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and other distinguished scholars. He spent a year in Mauritania studying the Islamic sciences.

In 2000, he moved to Tarim, Yemen to further his studies at the prestigious Dar al-Mustafa, guided under the hands of Habib ‘Ali al-Jifry, Habib ‘Umar bin Hafiz, and many others. After 5 years, he returned to America to serve as a resident scholar at Zaytuna Institute. Insha’Allah Shaykh Yahya will be in Singapore to deliver the following programs:

Friday 17 April 2009 Lecture
"The Search for Beauty in Islam"
SimplyIslam.sg
152 Still Road
Free Admission. All are welcome.

Sat 18 April 2009 Workshop
"Disciplining the Soul"
Based on the "Ihya Ulumuddin" by Imam Al-Ghazali SimplyIslam.sg
152 Still Road
* Fee (Normal Adult): $40 per person
* Fee (Student): $30 per person
* Fee (Groups of 4 or more): $30 per person

Sat 18 April 2009 Maulid & Talk
"Traditional Values in a Modern World" To be announced
Free Admission. All are welcome.

Sun 19 April 2009 Lecture
"Loving the Prophet - Effective Habits for Muslims" SimplyIslam.sg
152 Still Road Free Admission. All are welcome.

Tue 21 Apr 2009 Lecture
"Testimony of Faith" To be announced Free Admission. All are welcome.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Darul Arqam Auditorium
The Perfection of Character - A Glimpse of the Prophet

Yesterday'c class...

2009-04-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

I do not know why Sura Ar-Rahmaan is a challenge for me but insya-Allah it has its blessing in disguise.

So I came early around asar to squeeze in some ayats that failed to register while reading at home. I like the ambience at the kampung Siglap furthermore, there are many budding huffaz around so I hope that my duas/wishes will be granted. amin.

So somehow I did get to squeeze in half a page of sura Ar-Rahmaan in between the crevices of my tiny brain.

Then night falls, slowly staggered myself with heart beating fast towards class. Today it is full house 16 people! This has got to be one of the most packed adult hifz class ever. I felt the jitters already.

As usual , teacher signal to me cos Im always the first one to trial my hifz but today, Im not so confident but I came forward anyway. To me, the first one to read his/her hifz can get to relax the rest of the time after that. So suffer first, enjoy later..hehe!

Anyway, jitters crawling in from all angles. Suddenly, the first ayat....stuck...disappeared...kept repeating still stuck...teacher ask me to relax then read again. same problem. My mind blanks out! Teacher said take a look at the Holy Quran and read. Sat there for 10mins, tried again...same thing happens. Then I was asked to go back ashamedly but teacher was motivating me with a story.

He said Imam Syafie had this problem before. C'mon we all know how religious Imam Syafie is , right? How can he ever forgets? He has memorized zillions of hadith and the Holy Quran in such an early age. But it did happen, his teacher Imam Malik was surprised and so he asked Imam Syafie to reflect what he did wrong today. Imam Syafie cannot find anything amiss/wrong cos he felt that day is the same as any other day. Imam Malik ask him to think carefully again and reflect...and then Imam Syafie remembered that "He accidentally glanced upon a woman who passed by him"... OMG...accidentally? And u know how the women of Mecca dressed up in that timezone, rite? So modestly covered up. Subhanallah, just by glancing accidentally, he forgets that ..how about us...who actualy immersed ourselves in maksiat/zina mata everyday with TV watching, gossips spreading, magazines.....and other media that actually promotes maksiat...directly or indirectly. Especially maksiat mata (sins of the eyes) wil go directly to the heart cos it is sharp.

hmm...something to ponder about and reflect ourselves....

Anyway, I was stuck..and so I buck up then the isya prayer was heard and we went for congregrational prayer. Somehow I was abe to pray taubat too (Teacher suggested) , and alhamdulillah , I get to recite fluently as usual. I do not know what is my problem with Sura Ar-Rahmaan and it caused my teacher to feel perplexed too cos he knows that I normally will do my hifz well....

Anyway, next week, teacher will tell us more on problems faced by huffaz. Not that huffaz got many problems but due to their goal which is extremely delicate to the heart, body mind and soul both dunia and akhirat, it can be quite challenging sometimes, insya-Allah teacher will tell us next week and he will give us some ayats that can make us confident to recite our hifz especially infront of teacher.

TIP:
1) So do lots of sunnah prayer like taubat prayer to seek forgiveness from God directly

2)Take care of our organs well, prevent it from sins of the eyes, mouth, ears...and take care of our diet/food. Especially when there is a tiny voice telling u that dont eat it those food (even when it is HALAL certified or muslim owned eatery), best to avoid it...

3) When the Iqamat was heard (after azan), read subhanallahwalhamdulillahwalaliahilallahualhuakhbar 3X and Surah An-Nas 1 X, this helps to remove the jitters and boost some confidence..given by a Malaysian imam to teacher when he was supposed to lead terawikh congregational prayer (and he realised the Sultan was one of them!)Subhanallah...

Maulidur Rasul at Tampines stadium on Saturday 11th April 09

2009-04-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

By Jamiyah Singapore and other local Islamic organisations.

Whole day event...
Date: Saturday 11th April 2009 (15 Rabiulakhir 1430H)
Venue:Tampines Stadium
Time: 4pm-11pm

There will also be a talk/lecture /forum .
Topic : The Last sermon/will of Rasullullah s.a.w
Panelists: Ustaz Dr M Samsudeen Jamali, Ustaz Prof. Muhd. Riza Dalkilic,Ustaz Azmi A Samad (moderator), Ustaz Dato' Ismail Kamus, Ustaz Hj Badli Shah Alauddin, Ustazah Dra Hjh Farines Asdjar

There will be a mini parade and play showcast "Al-Qamah aka Tanggang in the Prophet 's (s.a.w) era."

Recitation of Al-Quran by little bro Mukhlis Saputra and Hj Ahmadini Hj Amir.

There will be Nasyeed performances by local and Malaysian artistes: Rabbani, Yasin ,Muslee Ramlee (the P.Ramlee musical), Dato' Sharifah Aini. Faridah M Amin, & Elfie R. Ismail.

Check this site out!

2009-04-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

This site is done by Bro. Ibrahim .....
(May God reward u for ur efforts ...amin)

http://www.geocities.com/faith_of_ibrahim/

Fish head can be eateN?!! Hmm..YES!

2009-04-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

Last week's class, teacher talk about food that is permissible and not especially for those who memorized the Holy Quran.

The popular taboo was "FISH HEAD curry. Teacher said that there is not a reliable source/nas or hadiths that do not allow that. But there is a catch.... Teacher said that u can eat fish head curry but not the brains (Huh?!!) So confused right? Well, then cook it yourself. Or just avoid the brains at all cost but then when they cook it normally, they dont separate the brains, yeah but from what I was told, the fish head was immersed in the boiling gravy for a while so its ok but if in doubts, just avoid it or ..ask ur mama to cook for u (removing the brains first)...

There are many other food great for brains too.... such as raisins, purple grapes, lots of vegetables and fish and white meat, soya bean products, almonds.... to be continued.....

I have lots to write about but still lagging behind cos I had not blog about the previous talks that I went such as in Kg Siglap Mosque with Dr Danial and also Bro. Lemu a Nigerian Speaker invited by Darul Arqam.

hmm....insya-Allah will continue...

Interactive lecture series by Dr Danial Zainal Abidin

2009-04-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

He is the author of 10 BESTSELLERS books (in Malaysia) entitled : Scientific Quran, Medicine in Islam, Modern Science, 7 formula for Individual excellence...and lots more..(U can get these books at local bookshops too!)
http://mindasuper.com/

1) "Cun bersama Al-Quran"
For youth and others...
Date: Saturday 4th April
10.30am -12.30pm
Multi-purpose Hall in Sultan msque
Fees: $5 only.

2) 4th april
2-4pm at Darul Ghufran Mosque
(Multi-purpose HALL)

3) "Dakwah Zaman Teknologi"
Untuk Pencinta Islam and dakwah
Saturday 4th april 2009
7.45pm-10pm
Sultan Mosque Auditorium
entrance fee :$5 only

3) "Al-Quran the Catalyst of Excellence"
(Bagi mereka yang ingin merapati Al-Quran
Tak kenal maka tak cinta)
Date: 5th April 2009
10.30am-12.30pm
Kampung Siglap mosque
Fees : $10 only

Notes and light refreshments will be provided.

His books will be sold on these dates too.
So make a date with him, jot these dates in your diary!

Seats are limited. Register now...call:
Ustazah Nur Hafizah @ 62437060 or
email : nurhafizah@mks.org.sg

Today is about determination...and time

2009-03-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

Went to a new class tonite but same teacher. Kinda sad that my class had to split but everything has to happen for a reason, blessings in disguise.

Teacher was emphasing to us (especially me) to make the best use of our time. If we know how to divide our time wisely, we can succeed in memorizing the Holy Quran eventually, insya-Allah.

Teacher also told us to upgrade our knowledge by going for more classes and to frequent the "khatam" of Al-Quran so that we can get accustomed to the Quran.

Teacher wasnt really happy that we took our time to recite our memorization to him. He wanted us to do our memorization at home and come well-prepared (luckily, I went first, so am I still being zeroed in? Hmm...)

But personally, I think most of the lecture today is about individuals. To me, I felt a big part of it referring to me and my Sura Ar-Rahmaan and my old hifz that has been forgotten (I hope not, insya-Allah). Kinda motivated too since most of my classmates are adults and retired teachers. Felt motivated talking to them and sharing our "Struggling moments" together.

First time , I was in Darul Quran class. Normally I will be at the old mosque for hifz but this is a new change. We need to take off our shoes before entering the state of the art class .The class has a big tv and can access internet).We need to be CLEAN in and out to memorise the holy Quran, shoes are dirty so its a NO-NO! (that reminds me when I travelled to Holland, there were lots of dogs' poo everywhere. They paid some kinda of dog poo tax so they need not pick up after their dog's poo only limited areas like parks, it is compulsory , so I am very vexed when walking on the streets trying to jump, hop or avoid poo at all costs and I embraced raining season well, dancing in the rain in fact...)

Okay back to the topic....
Teacher said something like :" Determination will lead to success but u need great patience too especially when calamities befall u." Hmm..kinda answered some doubts twinkling in my head. Is he some kinda of psychic? Or perhaps he saw my "switch off mode" face...Hmm...

Next week topic supposed to be on food and memorisation and I heard hint2 of FISH HEAD curry..Yum! (err..I think Im supposed to avoid this..well, lets wait n see!)

TIP 1- 2 know whether u are memorising correctly ...

Only spend 20mins for memorizing 10 ayats

for full-time or expert student hifz ,
30mins = 1 page of the Holy Quran.
(hmm, when will I reach that stage? Insya-Allah, don't be dishearten my heart....if there's a will, there's a way...)

Such kindness...

2009-03-29T15:21:00.001-07:00

The day, I actually (finally!)go to Hifz Quranic class, I was surprised 2 see 2 male adults joining us. Either they are new or I am...cos

I had been MIA from Hifz class (Quranic) due to schedule clashing but mainly unable to memorize the Sura Ar-Rahmaan.I had been religiously attending mostly HADITH memorization but skip the Quranic one. It felt weird because this Sura is one of the popular ones and even my teacher was stumped when I seeked his help. About 6 months, I was struggling to remember , just the first page of Ar-Rahmaan.

Then I started thinking, is it the method of memorizing is wrong? Should I changed it? I tried reading it 40 times over and over again (supposingly if u read something 40 times, u can remember it automatically) but it did not register in the brains at all. Tried 60 times. Then i relent..I need my teacher advice.

The advice he gave me :He said that though the time that I chose to memorize is of peace and tranquility (before subuh prayer and during maghrib isya) Perhaps, I should choose a different timing. He said that there must be a reading time and memorizing time separately. When u read that does not mean, u should memorize. So perhaps, should try afternoon or whenever cos He said that memorizing can be done any time, anywhere.

So after I get to memorized 28 ayats (its nothing great cos by right , 6 months I should memorized few juzuks, hmm...) and reluctantly meet my teacher, kinda skeptical on his reactions and a bit of fear seeps in cos the last date of hifz (in my report book) was dated 2008. My worry was unfounded, he was great and very motivating. But still I made silly mistakes which is a GREAT blunder cos even a single stroke that is wrong will give that ayat a different meaning.So demoted from A student to Z student. But at least, I took the courage to come and face my fear...

Then upon my exit to go home, I heard someone called me "Cikgu" (Err my nickname that my teacher gave me) I did not want to turn around cos I knew only Teacher called me by that and that tone of voice is different. But after repeated calls, I did turn somehow.

I turn around, one of the so-called new male adult student came to me. He hand over a small piece of hard thick cardboard with supplication paper pasted on it which I believe he made it himself. He asked me "U r memorizing the Surah Ar-Rahmaan, right? May this help u... "something like that...

I was surprised at the sudden gesture of kindness from this stranger (which I only meet today) and that someone did listen when I was actually pouring out my hifz woes to Teacher. People might think that it is nothing. It meant a great deal to me. It motivates me to push harder to strive for excellence and not to slack. The main thing is I felt sudden faith renewed "God listens"....

May God bless that person and help him and the rest in their HIFZ and get to khatam our Quranic hifz too. May all of us end up as Huffaz dunia & akhirat .amin.

The irony is that...that particular day was probably my last class there cos the class had been move over from As-Syafaah mosque to Kg Siglap mosque. And all of us will be separated into various classes. Hmm...

Okay Teacher's word of wisdom todays is "Al-Quran itu akan hadir dalam hati yang bersih, yang ikhlas kerana Al-Quran itu mudah "(from my teacher's teacher)

"The Holy Quran will enter the heart which is cleanse and sincere, because the Holy Quran is easy." something like that...if there is error, please forgive me.I'm only Human.

Darul Quran Opening Ceremony & khatamul Quran

2009-03-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

These 3 days :27-29th March, in conjunction with the official opening ceremony of the Darul Quran, there will be Quranic recitation (mass) and Khatamul Quran held in Kampung Siglap mosque (near East coast).

Address:
Masjid Kampung Siglap,
451 Marine Parade Road
Singapore 449283

The programs are as follows:

27th March 2009 (Friday)

8.30-11.00am
1st Khatam (old mosque Hall)

11-2pm
Official opening ceremony of Darul Quran (main prayer hall)

3pm
Discussion with Qurra' regarding Al-Quran and education in Singapore
(Level 2, Darul Quran building Class 3 & 4)

4.20pm
Asar azan by Ustaz Wan Fakhurazi

5pm
2nd Khatam(Old mosque Hall)
Qasidah performance (main prayer Hall)

28th March 2009 (Saturday)

8.30 am
3rd Khatam -5th (Old Mosque Hall)

9am
Forum: To discover the secrets the Holy Quran and its knowledge (Main Prayer Hall)

9.30am
Al-Quran Clinic (Sura Al-Fateha and one short sura)
Level 2, Darul Quran Building Class 3 & 4

2pm
Froum: Discussion about Tajwid of the Holy Quran
(Level 1 ,Mosque Auditorium )

3.35pm
Certificate presentation of Sijil Tajwid and the art of Azan (kursus seni Lagu Azan)
Level 1, Mosque Auditorium

4.15pm
Azan Asar by Ustaz Husny

5pm
Various versions of Azan (Level 1,Mosque Auditorium)

7.30pm
Tarannum Al-Quran for Qari and Qariah (Main prayer Hall)

29th March 2009 (Sunday)

2pm
The journey of a Qari, sharing the life experiences of a life of a Qurra, the ups and downs of Qurra life/sweetness and bitter life experiences (level 1, Mosque Auditorium )

Asar prayer-The end

Note: The above are translated from Malay language to english. Thus please forgive me, if there are errors.

I can see the rainbow emerging....

2009-01-23T09:41:00.007-08:00

Dark clouds parading in my life
Slowly moving away as they
began to emit rays of lights
from the warm gorgeous sun

The sky is clearing
The peace is heard
The war of the jungles are slowly ..
hush..hush..quieten down

I need this...
I need a break

I need to get crazy
I need to let my hair down

I need to be me
Let me be me
And let me be me
please.....dont be anything else but me...

2009-01-23T09:41:00.005-08:00

2009-01-23T09:41:00.003-08:00

2009-01-23T09:41:00.001-08:00

Today I learnt HADITH 19 and 20!

2009-01-23T09:12:00.001-08:00

It's been a long time since I updated what I was learning.
And without me realising, we are reaching half of the HADITH compilation. WOW! SO fast?!?!!
Will upload the images soon, insya-Allah...

Okay HADITH 19 is...

----------------------------------------------
ADAB WHEN JESTING
(adab bergurau)

From Ibn Umar, Nabi s.a.w said: "I will not speak except the truth even while jesting"
(At-Tabrani) (SAHIH)

Lessons learnt:
1)Jesting is natural and is permissible in Islam
2) When jesting, ensure that all adabs are met
3)Stay away from lying, slandering and insulting when jesting
4) Adding humour when preaching is among the sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh)

Ustaz said:
-It's normal to joke about. But dont joke about between man and woman and anything that can go beyond boundaries of Islam e.g hugging , holding hands while joking or jesting....

-Dont joke about others weakness or physical outlook such as black skin or race , soft ladylike walk or handicap, fat physical outlook ..or anything that could hurt ...

HADITH 20: Benefit of SAYING SELAWAT UPON PROPHET (pbuh)

From Anas bin Malik, Nabi s.a.w said:
"Whosoever say the selawat upon me, Allah will reward him with 10 blessings, 10 of his sins will be forgiven and he will be exalted by 10 degrees." (al-Bukhari) (SAHIH)

Lessons learnt:
1)Muslims are encouraged to constantly say the selawat upon the Prophet s.a.w.
2)Allah's selawat for his servants is in the form of blessings and goodness for mankind.
3) Saying the selawat upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w is an ibadah and a remedy for problems faced by mankind.

Ustaz said:
-The sins meant here are little2 sins e.g come late for class,... not those BIG SINS like out of ISLAM, disobedient towards parents, adultery...
-Other umat (before us like Umat Adam a.s -alaihissalam and not like Nabi s.a.w (sallahualaihisalam) did not get the same benefits like us...

BONUS tips:
-Every drop of our Wudhu/ablution water will erase our little sins
-Kafir people or those who commit suicide will not get judgement but will go straight to hell
-Crazy/Mad people will be free from hell-fire
-"MAHA" word cannot be used on humans but it denotes the HIGHEST level which can only be use for GOD.
-Who say the SELAWAT upon the Prophet often >act as a PENAWAR kehidupan (cure of all life ailments/problems)

That's all for today...
(actually I lost my little notebook where I kept my notes, hmm..)

Okay, Im happy that there is a long break of holidays. I need to PUSH myself to finish the Ar-Rahmaan and As-Sajdah....

Suddenly after weeks ..err months actually of not attending the classes, I saw new students. But I think they are old HIFZ students that transfer. I have a new competitor because I heard this young student (perhaps in pre-teens) practising the AR-Rahmaan...suddenly, I felt that I need to press on the gas to accelerate!

Er, I suddenly remembered that Ustaz said last year that , this year, all of us will join the HIFZ competition (cos I saw the Musabaqah tilawah competition poster)..........YIKES!!!

And dont forget before you sleep or anytime of the day, do it NOW!!

"Say the Selawat...." NOW!! Dont wait..say it 10 X then God will do it 100X upon u by bestowing more good things for you...insya-Allah amin.

Perhaps those stern fiery membara feelings of anger will subside if I read this constantly....insya-Allah.

Have u ever felt..

2008-12-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

Have u ever felt like giving up just cos...

U are not worth it
.......U dont deserve it

.......U dwell in the luxury of the world
U are the worst of mankind
........U slack so much that u dunno where to start
U felt so alone fighting ur "battles"
........U were left in the lurch by ur loved ones
U had no time
.......U are breathlessly tired

U had no improvement
.......Ur hopes were dashed
U fall and make a fool
.......U fear what others say

U are scared
....U need more motivations
U were squashed like a fly
....U felt like there was no hope
U felt like dying
.....U felt empty
Ur tears are all dried up
.....Ur loved ones left u
U end up failing
.....U get into worse troubles
U create more problems for urself
....U just kept on drowning
U shout but no one can hear ur cries
....U felt numb
U felt devastated

Just pick up ur hands, cupped them up and make a supplication...

He is always there
He is always listening

and He will answer ur prayers...

don't be dishearten....

from the heart...

2008-12-14T20:43:00.000-08:00

http://munirfa.wordpress.com/

A lot has been happening lately.

2008-12-14T20:33:00.001-08:00

So much teardrops and sadness thruout these months. Cannot concentrate...

Felt that I dont deserve this. I felt so "kerdil" (tiny) in that far tiny corner of the world, evaporating.

I felt submerged in my sins that kept on accumulating.
I felt my heart is gasping for help...

Suffocating in the desires of the world
...................wanting to find a way out
lost amongst the thorny bushes
Thruout the stony hard rocky path

I kept telling ,yself
I dont deserve this
God, but I do need this
Dont deny me this gift
Dont take it away from me
But show me the light
the right path
the right way

I hope Im not too late
So much for me to learn
To grasp the knowledge
To remember as much
To love as much
But I can only do as much

I cannot bear if I were to lose this
I cannot bear to leave this

Oh God, please help me, ur hamba...
ur servant who is always struggling
to ur right path.....
amin.

Damba cinta mu

2008-11-27T10:12:00.000-08:00

Raihan - Damba cintamu

Tuhanku ampunkanlah segala dosaku
Tuhanku maafkanlah kejahilan hambaMu
Ku sering melanggar laranganMu
Dalam sedar ataupun tidak
Ku sering meninggalkan suruhanMu
Walau sedar aku milikMu

Bilakah diri ini 'kan kembali
Kepada fitrah sebenar
Pagi kuingat petang kualpa
Begitulah silih berganti
Oh Tuhanku,Kau pimpinlah diri ini
Yang mendamba CintaMu
Aku lemah aku jahil
Tanpa pimpinan dariMu
Ku sering berjanji di depanMu
Sering jua ku memungkiri
Ku pernah menangis keranaMu
Kemudian ketawa semula

Kau pengasih
Kau penyayang
Kau pengampun
Kepada hamba-hambaMu
Selangkah ku kepadaMu
Seribu langkah Kau padaku
Tuhan,Diri ini tidak layak ke surgaMu
Tapi tidak pula aku sanggup ke nerakaMu

Kutakut kepadaMu
Ku mengharap jua padaMu
Mogaku 'kan selamat dunia akhirat
Seperti rasul dan sahabat
Seperti rasul dan sahabat

This song describes perfectly what I'm feeling....

Not good enough....

2008-11-26T08:08:00.000-08:00

I always have this problem. Whenever I got the "uzur" (pms) I always take that as a "holiday" and I neglect my hifz. I am a person that cannot take any break. I need to istiqamah all the way both old and new surahs. I realised that if I stop, its hard to get back on track.

I had visited the cemetery recently. But this hard as rock heart do not feel anything. Either I was numb thinking about worldly affairs or I'm really a goner. I had lost my way....

I need to recite the Quran again. Actually I can read those Surahs that I fear I will forget during "uzur" but I rather not to, I dunno why.

I cannot follow my heart...there is a malay saying "kalau ikut hati, mati"..if u follow ur heart, u will die...the truth has spoken.

I need to muhasabah diri and think hard about the "sins" commited that cause this heart to have a "plague" like the teeth. Need to scrape it off. Need my Quran.

I think I need to thinkback why I chose this path , why I love Hifz, why I wanted to be ahuffaz..I need to re-think and evaluate my goals and aspirations again. I need to watch "the mesage" video again to bring back those hot tears and to reminisces the hard path that the Prophet (pbuh) had to go thru to bring Islam and Al-Quran to us...

yeah indeed I need to do that...

Ok, its HARD work but I can do it!!

2008-11-24T09:24:00.000-08:00

Stucked at Ar-Rahmaan.

Had not been in class due to very busy schedule. So tired to go to class, the mind is exhausted.

But that should not be an excuse. I still remember Ustaz told me that he believes I can khatam my hifz. With such conviction and confidence he said..I must prove him right! Insya-Allah amin.

Stucked at Ar-Rahmaan and as-sajdah then its test time. I need to set a goal for this year. Time is running out soon. I need to get back on my feet to those glory days , i need to be motivated. Push everything aside for a moment and persevere! I know I can do it! And I will!

I need this!

I dunno what to do...

2008-11-24T09:19:00.000-08:00

I admit, I felt so GUILTY. I was too engrossed with my work that I neglect something precious dearest to my heart...my best friend the Holy Quran.

I wanna cry but I can't
I wanna shout at the top of my voice "HELP" but I can't

I just can doa in my heart with all my sincerity that God help me
Help me in opening the right path for me again
a better way for my heart to allow Al-Quran back into my life

What has happen to me?

Why did I allow such tragedy to happen?

Why am I so engrossed in chasing worldly gains?

I dunno....

I had been invited time and again to embraced Hifz and yet I did not treasure that invitation and cherish the time I had on earth.

What is wrong with me? I dunno

I am at loss..
I need to get back on my feet.

Stop, look and listen.
Listen to my heart and Al-Quran.
Read those hadiths and understand them by heart
Practise it!

I know i can do it!
I am and I will conquer this hurdle.
Because I know i am the BEST!
Insya-Allah.

Tiada gunanya...

2008-11-24T09:14:00.001-08:00

Hati membatu keras
Tidak mahu dengar maupun membaca

Hati ku keras seperti permata
tiada mampu menembusi

Hati ku keras seperti besi
tiada yang dapat melembutkannya

Hati ku...
Oh hatiku, mengapa engkau berdegil sekali

Kenapa engkau engkar?
Kenapa? Kenapa?

Dunia penuh muslihat
Dunia permainan sementara

Tidak mahukah engkau kepada yang hakiki?
Yang kekal selamanya
yang tinggi ,cantik,suci
Jannatul Firdausi?

Subhanallah
Ya Allah lunturkan kekerasan hatiku ini dengan bacaan Al-Quran.
Lembutkan hatiku dengan tangisan mendengar Al-Quran.
Lembutkan hatiku ini untuk menghafal Al-Quran....
Amin.

Why the heavy heart?

2008-11-24T09:08:00.000-08:00

Why does my heart felt heavy all of a sudden?

Is it because I had left
something valuable behind?
Is it because I had left
My soulmate behind?
Is it because I had left
and not looked back...

Why,why,why the sudden change?
Why did I ignore ?
Why did I left it stranded?
Why did I let it untouched?

Dunia is just temporary
The heart has been misled with the symphony

I'm stranded
With a heavy heart
Misled by so many attractions

Need to get a hold
Need to get a grip
Need to get back to reality

Reality of life on dunia and hereafter

Got to get back
Got to get my motivations
Got to return to my friend, my best friend dunia akhirat
............................... the Holy Quran.

Scanned images of Al-Quran

2008-10-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

To facilitate my learning, I actually scanned or took pic (digital camera) some of the surahs that I am going to memorized or had memorized. Because its easy for me especially when the laptop is by my side always. And sometimes during inconvenient times, I can view it without touching and I can repeat my old memroization.

And then I found this site. IT had done the job for me. I oly scanned a few pages (juz 30, surah pilihan )SUbhanallah. May Allah reward those who put in so much effort for the benefit of all muslims.

Subhanallah.

http://www.ceramahislam.com/online-quran.html

Islamic lectures

2008-10-20T10:37:00.001-07:00

http://www.ceramahislam.com/

I can and WILL do it!!

2008-10-17T13:18:00.001-07:00

I know I can finish this Surah-surah pilihan and faced the test with complete ease of mind. I know I can finish 5 juzuk at the end of this year (seriously?) insya-Allah.

I know, I can and I will do it!!!

I will do it!
I can do it!
I will do it!
I can do it!
I will and I can!!

I need to finish within 1.5 years or less than 3 years and grab that Nasi briyani that Ustaz has promised ..heheh!!!

Home based Quranic learning.

2008-10-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased that there are mosques that have the home based learning of Al-Quran. This is to inculcate Quranic reading as a part of each muslim's life. Now, u cannot push it any further. U can have the "class" at the comfort of ur own home and at ur own free time.

SO dont procrastinate, if u cannot read the Holy Quran, do it now, it's never too late! U can get a group of ur friends too!

The mosques that participate in this program are listed here:
http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/services/Mosques.aspx?id=5822

Darul Ghufran (Tampines)
http://www.darulghufran.org/courses/quranic-courses/home-tuition-scheme/

Bought 2 new books, recently!!!

2008-10-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

The first one is at Muslimedia bookstore (my favourite!) @ Sultan Mosque (34, kandahar st). It was a HUGE Juzuk Amma (30th juz of the Holy Quran). The 1.5litre bottle is to show its size. Cost about $5.+

The next book is about motivational stories on those who had succeeded in memorizing the Holy Quran (subhanallah!) Sorry, I have trouble with my laptop....so the image hehhe!!

Anyway, there are stories about how the elderly, the blind and some very young kids memorized the Holy Quran. Have not finished reading yet. Interesting...

Found this at Joo Chiat level 2 (the biggest book shop nearest to the external escalator)

Hadith 1-5

2008-08-02T21:44:00.000-07:00

Been busy lately. Down with fever, flu and stuff. Starting a whole new job......Wanted to scan every page but no time, so I took pics instead..

These 2 hadiths are repetitions of what I wrote previously....

Hadith:

We are at hadith 8 now. This week, Ustaz start using the $2.50 small book to test our hadith. This time, he asked us what we perceived from this hadith. What does it teaches us? In our own words...

As usual, I had already practise and memorized but when faced with Ustaz, i started all the stammering, loss of memory and blabbering ..... sigh! I need to get over this fright!

Memorization of Al-Quran:
Stuck at Al-Waqiah. I was so busy with my new job that I kinda "neglect" my memorization.

Then one day, I had a dream that my Ustaz was so disappointed with me. I was in a graduation ceremony or something. Everyone was anticipating my recitation till I told Ustaz, I had not finished my Surah Al-Waqiah... And Ustaz face showed a great disappointment which I never forget . Even though , it was only a dream, I can feel the disappointment even as I woke up!

I felt as though I had disappoint him thus everytime I think of his disappointment face, I buck up, I improve and work harder.... Alhamdulillah. It helps...

Now I'm starting with Surah Ar-Rahman , and left with one surah and I will complete this group of Surah Pilihan.

Then the test....YIKES!

The Quran Miracles Encyclopedia...

2008-07-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.55a.net/firas/english/

Check it out!

New things i learnt today...lesson 2

2008-07-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

JUICY TIP!!!
Read the supplicaion (doa) below before U start ur memorization :

I love this! I read the translation, Subhanallah...
(Fyi, U can click on the image above to view the enlarge image of the supplication)

Ok, today, I learnt...

I found out that Imam Bukhari memorizes the Holy Quran 30juzuk first before memorizing 600000 hadiths. Imam Muslim memorizes 300000+ hadith. Subhanallah. And that in order for Imam Bukhari to accept a hadith from that particular person, He will investigate the background, characterisitics, akhlak, religion , generation and even the "kemantapan hafazan" (whether that person memory is good). WOW!

Anyway, I learn that the hadith " Gather knowledge till China" is Dhaif thus Hadith that is dhaif can only be used for ownself. (because last time, there is no China).

And also another hadith which is something like, do not fear that ur wealth will decrease for every alms given....something like that...so dont be scared of donating and fear that ur money wil go bye-bye! God will repay generously for ur deeds. Insya-Allah amin.

Next week, is the "outburst" of Juz Amma.(Outburst for me because I need to let it out!!) Need to khatam that juz 30 then take test and then go for surah-surah pilihan: Al-Waqiah, Al-Mulk, Al-insan, As-sajadah and Ar-Rahman then after... Juz 29, 28,27...till 5 juz. EVery juz will be given test. My heart cringes at the thought of test...YIKES!! Scared...

note:
Ustaz ask us to read the transliteration of Surah Waqiah-many interesting facts. He also further commented that there is a milk river and arak (wine) river in Paradise. The milk river is readily drinkable straight from the river. Subhanallah.The wine river is not intoxicating and tasted zilion times better than u can ever imagined! But only in PAradise. Those who drank on EArth will not be given the chance to taste it (...unless perhaps, taubat...)A single drop of alcoholic drink that we drank will cause our amalan not to be accepted by God for 40 days.(but still wajib to solat 5 obligatory prayers) Now, that applies to a drop, how about a can or bottles? AStaghfirullahalazim. Ya Allah jauhikanlah...

Rusty crusty brain...

2008-07-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

Wow! today is the D-Day ...the day of Hadith memorisation. Was given 2 simple hadith and I got stuck at the second one. It was perfectly fine when I was "Rehearsing" on my own. But as I face Ustaz, my hands became clammy, the heart beat very fast, I began to panick! ARGH! Suddenly I've forgotten what I'm supposed to recite in front of the teacher! ARGH!!!

Since Im an old bird, I felt that I should be better than others (the beginners) and that I should show good example thus the pressure piled up as I slowly walked to the mosque. But end up, I plonked !

Nevermind that, I have to work harder. I just had to learn to relax...breathe in and out ..perhaps should read lots and lots of supplications...

Oh by the way,
fyi : The Taqwiyatul Hifz solat (on Thursday but its night is called "friday night"), recite: Yasin first rakkaat, then Ad-Dukhan then salam. Third rakaat recite as-sajadah and then al-mulk for the last rakaat.

Yesterday was the first time ever, I tried doing it. It was tough. First time, I had to go thru a long period of standing in prayer. But I felt relieved that I am able to do it . Alhamdulillah. I had doubts as to whether I can withstand the whole solat. But somehow I did it. Alhamdulillah.

I nearly did not because even my wall clock gave up on me. I kept waking up seeing the clock was only 12.45am.(battery died @12.45am) Luckily someone woke me up at 5am. Its tough for a lady to get 3 weeks of taqwiyatul hifz (due to pms) continuously and if I miss even 1 week, there goes my chance!

There is one doa/supplication that our teacher ask us to memorise (Esp. for hifz students). I like it when i read its meaning. Will post it later insya-Allah.

My brains are just spinning the whole 2 days. Ate panadol, sleep well but then the brains are still crammed. Rusty perhaps...or need some sort of engine oil to smoothen the dry joints...hehhe!! Warming up...

The first 2 hadiths....

2008-07-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

Just to share what I had to memorize for my first class of Hadith memorization:

| View | Upload your own

Hifz class 1

2008-07-02T08:37:00.001-07:00

Alhamdulillah, I was chosen to partake in the course!

I will take it that this as another valuable invitation (from God) that I should not let go and take lightly. I better make best use of it!Insya-Allah, I want to be the best hifz student dunia akhirat and hope that one day, I can be the best hifz teacher dunia and akhirat!amin.

Today went to class, let me just blurt out all these info before I forget them...

Ustaz mentioned that anyone any age ,anybody can memorize. Need to believe in it that he/she can make it.

Also benefits of HIFZ are:
-parents of those who memorised the Holy Quran will be crowned in the Hereafter.
-the hafiz/hafizah can enter Hell to look at the punishments and the victims and can bring out 6-7 people out of hell into Paradise. Even those mati syahid cannot do that. The privileges. Subhanallah.

Words of wisdom/advices:
-Check ur niat. Ensure it is for Allah s.w.t sincerely from the heart, ikhlas.
-Those not fluent in Al-Quran , need to spend more time with Al-Quran. Recite more and gain more confidence.
-Dont read Al-Quran in ur shorts, must read with adab (with proper aurat)
-It's best to recite the Holy Quran in tartil (not too fast) but for those learning hifz, it is allowed to recite in faster pace (only those who learn hifz has the privilege). But ensure,though it is fast speed, ensure that the mahkhraj and tajwid is maintained along the way.

-Dont forget theAl-Quran ever, because its like a camel being left unattended, it will run away from u and disappear. If u forget Al-Quran, Al-Quran will forget u.
-Spend 30mins after solah to recite Al-Quran everyday/ memorise 3 pages-1 juz per day.

-Try to khatam at least once a year, once a month or once per week. Not once in ur lifetime.
-To memorise at least read the sentence minimum 20 times. I've heard also other Ustaz says 40X , some even says 60 times. From my personal experience, beginners will take a long time, perhaps 40-60times to memorise than as they move upwards and become regulars at memorising, then the repetition become shorter. There was a time in my teens, I read one time, and it straight away enter my brains. But those were the days, I was so enthusiastic and very motivated thus the work of memorization is easier.

-Recite Al-Waqiah in the morning -Rezki (could be in monetary form, assets or food or anything)will come without u anticipating it or if too long then dzikir "Ar-RAzak" often.

-Ask ur mother to doa for u if u have difficulty in memorizing (Mother's supplications are express but these mothers are the taqwa ones. If those who did not pray, that is difficult)

I remembered another Ustaz said that "forgetful is a test for all of us because that will help remove takabur (prevent us from being arrogant) thus whenever I forget, I embrace it and think positively that GOd is testing me and that He wants us to be good and must work harder.

And never think that our success is our own from our own hard work,..its due to God helping us. cos without HIS help, nothing can happen...

So if u have difficulty, ask God for help..insya-Allah....and dont forget the taqwiyatul Hifz, the 4 rakaat (2 salam) solat sunnat whereby it can be done only on friday night. But the surahs needed to recite in the solats are quite long (Alhamdulillah, u can hold up the Quran in ur solat) . But the benefits are HUGE! It is said that u need at least minimum 3X of fridays and the max is 7X continuously insya-Allah, u will have no problem memorizing anything...subhanallah.

Well, that's it for now...

I do have another notes that I wrote down during the orientation of the class from another Ustaz. Well, that is another story insya-Allah...

Someone has posted some notes from Tahfiz centre @ Kg Siglap mosque :
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2438230/Kaedah-Menghafal-AlQuran (in malay)

Bought these 2 books recently...

2008-06-18T00:04:00.001-07:00

Recently, I read in the newspaper that the course Sijil Tahfiz wa sunnah (Memorization of Al-Quran and Hadith) is open to public. Alhamdulillah. Thinking of trying out. There is a test to go thru. Maybe I will go. I just berserah ..leave it in God's hands. If I succeed, that means its an invitation , if not, that means I must try harder and work harder....

The course days are every wednesday and friday. Hmm, I got my intensive beginner Arabic course which I just started. Luckily, it is an online interactive course. But then again...I might need to forgo my wednesday class, how? I asked them if it is possible to come only on friday for the new Hifz course but they replied that best to attend both classes since this course involved Hadith.

So again I berserah....We'll see how it goes. I just doa that if it is good for me, then let everything flow smoothly and may I excel in both studies. If not, then there must be another way for me or maybe I'm not good enough, then I just concentrate more on my Arabic course and my hifz of the Holy Quran (own time own target). But I wont give up, insya-Allah one day, I will still pursue this course.

I think I need to re-enter this class badly. Because I need some motivation and need to instill some competitiveness within myself...hmm..

Anyway, amidst this great decision making I wander around Joo Chiat Complex level 2 bookshop (the biggest one which sells books, scarves, jamu....) . I browse thru the books and ended in the back of the bookstore. I found these 2 interesting books. The kiddie book cost only $13 and the hifz book is about $5.

The Juz Amma for kids is quite interesting because they are colourful and has 2 languages for its translation. One is Indonesian Malay and the other is English. They also included basic solat, wudhu and some daily doas for the kids.

The best thing is that they have little cartoon images of transports (good for little boys!) as symbols for basic tajwid. Subhanallah. My son was addicted to it. Cannot wait to read it. Often bring it here and there wherever and whenever. Wanting to know in depth about each surah. And this book covers the whole juz 30 only. Just nice for budding hifz kids, dont u think?

As for the other book, its for me...just started reading it...interesting.

p.s: I just started training my little boy (4yrs old) memorizing al-Fateha, An-Nas,Al-Lahab). He has so many questions wanting me to explain what he is reading and so I need to do some research and equip myself with some answers before I can face him.

Learning Arabic?

2008-05-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

A good detailed in pdf file of online learning :
http://www.sacredlearning.org/classrooms/arabic/

Recently enrol myself in an arabic course . I am truly a newbie dummie of arabic language....zero knowledge. I was procrasinating on mandarin or arabic course. The fact that I can undersand mandarin well but not able to write, read or speak (can say some owrds but shy cos scared people will laugh at my pronunciation).Most arabic course taught us to speak arabic but this course is intense, it taught read,write ,grammar and composition. How cool is that?

I think arabic is important to undertand the Holy Quran so that can "menghayati dengan lebih mendalam " (appreciate) the true meaning of Al-Quran although its just basics. Furthermore sometimes, we need to wakaf that certain ayat and might wakaf wrongly unless we have a good grasp of Arabic knowledge..and of course going to Mecca, Medina will be a breeze if u know their language.

This is a one year interactive course (includes chat,interactivev program and online learnig) where I will learn Arabic read, write, grammar and composition from Jamiyah with the Al-Madinah University international (combined). So insya-Allah, by the end of the year, I should know some basics ,I hope...

What I love is the vast library books online that is provided by www.mediu.edu.my and I cannot wait to get my login and password. YIPEE!!

And I hope at the end of the course, all of us can go some place where the Arabic language learnt can be applied on.Since the first teacher is Morrocan so how about Morroco? hehe!

Anyway our first lesson with this Morrocan teacher is quite interesting. Its actually practising our makhrajul huruf (alphabets of the holy Quran)and like reading from IQRA bk 1, heheh! Felt like a kid all over again!

But I realised the way our teacher pronounced it is different from the ones we practise from reciting the Al-Quran and its tajwid. Probably could be its dialect and accent. Anyway, I just doa that I can be exceptionally good..in Arabic...I hope, I prayed..insya-Allah.

fyi-total cost is about $1200 and u can pay within $300 X 4months. Alhamdulillah.

Our Prophet pbuh

2008-05-24T05:38:00.000-07:00

Beautiful song by Hijjaz

2008-05-24T05:26:00.000-07:00

Rasulullah dalam mengenangmu
Kami susuli lembaran sirahmu
Pahit getir pengorbananmu
Membawa cahaya kebenaran

Engkau taburkan pengorbananmu
Untuk umatmu yang tercinta
Biar terpaksa tempuh derita
Cekalnya hatimu menempuh ranjaunya

Tak terjangkau tinggi pekertimu
Tidak tergambar indahnya akhlakmu
Tidak terbalas segala jasamu
Sesungguhnya engkau rasul mulia
Tabahnya hatimu menempuh dugaan
Mengajar erti kesabaran
Menjulang panji kemenangan
Terukir namamu di dalam Al-Quran

Rasulullah kami umatmu
Walau tak pernah melihat wajahmu
Kami cuba mengingatimu
Dan kami cuba mengamal sunnahmu

Kami sambung perjuanganmu
Walau kita tak pernah bersua
Tapi kami tak pernah kecewa
Allah dan rasul sebagai pembela

Nasheed videos

2008-05-24T03:54:00.000-07:00

To motivate oneself in hifz...(sorry songs are in malay)

Tahifz + Sunnah =new program of HIFZ

2008-05-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

Recently read in the news that they might create a program whereby students memorize the Holy Quran and the hadis together. They will do a trial run this july and 30 students will be chosen. This programme is the collaboration of Kampung Siglap (Marine Parade) mosque and As-Syafaah Mosque(sembawang)

Alhamdulillah, its a dream come true...

I hope one day, I could join that program too! I've always wanted to find HIFZ of Al-Quran and Hadis-2 programs into 1. Always, and somehow my prayer is answered.Alhamdulillah.

Fact or fiction?
Someone told me that those who memorize Al-Quran only, is different than those who memorized Al-Quran and Hadith. This can be seen in the character of that individualistic. Hmm...fascinating...

Whatever it is, if one can memorize anything from AL-Quran of Hadith, to me, is a champion!

wallahu alam.

I will doa many times so that I can train my kids (or myself) to memorize both Al-Quran and the Hadis.I wish to start a new generation in my family line. A generation of huffaz. I think that would be perfect, insya-Allah. Amin.

I fall out with many good people...

2008-05-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

I have been keeping mum for the past decades and suddenly as I aged, my patience are running short and my temper grew. Still I bite my lips and suffer in silence. Oh, the agony of not able to retaliate back or just do something or burst out...

Then one day, I realise I cannot take it any longer!!! I just EXPLODE...and I really mean EXPLODE!! I let out streams of hot tears and knife-like words to anyone who has cause grievance and danger to me.

Cannot do it anymore....

I really cannot tolerate anymore nonsense...

But as I let out, I felt better. Of course the truth hurts but somehow, they can improve and changed for the better. I should have done this earlier, should not have waited so long . I should have told them on the spot when that happens, no need to build or accumulate over the years.

Of course some retaliate with dagger -like words, worse than mine but at least all of us say our piece..and life goes on with less burden in the heart.

Some relationship grew better but somehow just burst like soap bubble and nowhere to be found..

Maybe this is one way, I can cleanse my heart so that I wont be so preoccupied with the worldly affairs as I indulge in Hifz...perhaps..wallahu alam.

Food to help ur memorization...

2008-05-13T02:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, today I heard in IKIM fm Malaysia Islamic radio channel abut having good memory especially in order to be a huffaz:

There are many facts but most are common ones such as raisins eat 21 pieces everyday, daun ketumbar (coriander leaves) and green apple -its no good to eat them, make u forgetful and sourish items can cause more phlegm/lendih..honey is good...

other than common food listed above...these are some tips:
1.milk is good
2.eggs are good too, they are complete food for brains
3.kundur fruit aka winter melon fruit are good..if I'm not wrong Nabi s.a.w asked us to soak the fruit overnight in water and then drink it or eat it in the early morning before any breakfast
4.this is very interesting: if u eat a pomegranate fruit aka buah delima , ur heart will be bersih/sinar/cahaya (clean/cleansed/enlightened?)for 40 days (subhanallah) .Something like that...I think, one fruit cost about $5...though expensive , look at the benefits, masya-Allah. Mustafa centre always have.

Almonds/walnuts..are good

Also always have wudhu 24X7, thaT ALSO HELPS...

Sins...will make u forget ful too..even minor ones...like visual ones u watch on tv every day...

Allahu alam..that is all i can remember...if any error, please forgive.. that is my weakness...

p.s: Oh by the way, I bought FAQEH recently a compilation of goats milk,habatus sauda, raisins and others , I think about 14 items that are essential and are often used in the olden days...in Arab. My sons love it! Will check the ingredients and post the pic insya-Allah. Any one can eat them , any age...

Other hifz students/huffaz experience..

2008-05-11T22:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.shukur.org/v4/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,105/topic,17728.0/

Anyone has similar stories, do give me the link....

OCBC islamic banking

2008-05-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

These islamic banking has automatic zakat payments...GOOD!

and if u want to save to Hajj or anything else, there is a fixed savings plan for 2 years whereby there isnt any interest earned...HALAL. Read more below...

http://www.ocbc.com.sg/personal-banking/banking/Bnk_Dep_Inf_Listing.shtm

So when are u saving $$$ thru Islamic banking way?

FAQ on savings account:
http://www.ocbc.com.sg/personal-banking/downloads/banking/Al-Wadiah_faqs_english.pdf

Talking about my lowest point...

2008-05-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

Recently there was a time that i got so low that I have no desire to live. I have nothing to look forward to. Everything looked so bleak, so dark, no ray of hope. I felt that I'm slowly drowning and no one can hear my cries. Silently, Im slipping away into the darkness.

It could be a personal experience of family "hiccups" or family "war" or recent demise of loved ones ...many recurring fitnahs tossed on me ..Everything in one. And I dont like to confide in others. I just let it rot within myself.

I used to confide in God but as my confidence slipped away and I felt that I am not a good muslim, not a good mother, not a good daughter or whatever... I tend to shun away from God too (my mistake)

And writing this blog, I felt that I need to be rigid and not open with my thoughts but I think again..Blog is like a diary of thoughts. If I cannot share my feelings and experience then what other channels can I go to, rite?

And s o I dont care what others think, I know my own niat...so here I am, opening up a little...

Anyway, I felt so low that I dont deserve to live...i know those are crappy thoughts and that syaithan are just happy I have those thoughts probably they add more fuel to my fire and thus the negative thoughts grew.

i cam to a point that I dont care about anything even my kids and then I think, I must do something. I began to watched movies that can bring tears to my face like "The Message" or nasheed with death as a message...

It worked a bit then I started to think that I must do something..I cannot continue doing this...

and I have left my best friend behind..the Holy Quran...

then, I decided to slowly....gain that confidence my slowly refreshing my old surahs...slowly and no pressure...for fear that my heart refuse and just turn away again...

Sometimes, we got to pujuk the heart/console it, say nice things...kata2 manis....

to be continued...

Motivational tools

2008-05-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

I often heard that Human beings only use 1% of their brains... (What happens to the rest?!!!)

SO lack of motivation since I'm on a lone mission (in my household that is), I started to read many types of motivational books. I borrowed from libraries and also bought a few such as Lahirnya seorang jutawan, the birth of a millionaire by Azizi Ali.

U must be wondering why has millionaire and hifz got in common. Actually this book builds up my goals as I goes by. Because it illustrates that anyone can be Millionaires if u want to. And there was a time where I said and listen a nearby mosque Azan and somehow the particular sentences "Haiya Alas Solah, Haiya Alal falah...Let us pray and let us go towards excellence.

Somehow deep down some thing clicked. We were asked to achieve excellence in everything and that includes work. And I believed that Huffaz are the ones that are Millionaires. Because they memorized a book that contains so much information of anything and everything that cannot be found even in encyclopedia.

Thus I believed that they have inside info to be millionaires. But once the memorized the Holy Quran, I believed they are "Millionaires of info" not money but information...wide vast of information that are useful.

Anyway, I read this book to build up the confidence , the motivations and goals that are slowly slipping away since I embark in homemaker. I used to be a dynamic work person often multitasking and able to work well under pressure and active thus when I chose to nurse and take care of my kids full-time, part of me is gone. That career-mindedness is gone. MY future looked bleak. I was only motivated to mould my kids to be a success, future hufffaz and others but none for myself. I began to feel inferior and often, turn down my working friends invitation to meet-up for fear that I felt so lowly and thus no similar interest or whatsoever.

After reading a few books such as DARE, fight your fear ...I began to feel that there is a fire inside me , growing , motivating me to memorize again...start from scratch (Actually I stop for awhile because I felt that I'm not good enough, because I felt that I don't deserve to memorize the Holy Quran but then...not many will be "INVITED" to memorize the Holy Quran.So I should be thankful.Alhamdulillah.) I've tried convincing a fair deal of people to memorize the Holy Quran be it the beginners or those who are good in reciting. But not a single one willing to carry that responsibility (my circle only). I've told them that anyone (even though u are not good Al-Quran reciters)can be Huffaz. Just need a great determination and good niat. The rest will be open to you slowly.

Once u take the plunge , the doors will open wide for u.

SO get a huffaz to teach you and get ijazah till khatam Al-Quran.I believe any Muslim can do it irregardless of age. (What I wrote is to motivate myself too). Its never too late...seriously, trust me. I am doing it...so why can't u.

I have my ups and downs but I wont GIVE up, insya-Allah, I doa...

Places to pray in Singapore (Musolla)

2008-05-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Have u like in the middle of shopping or working or eating, u need to find a place to solat in a hurry? Or places that u are not familiar with? WEll, look no further, someone has compiled a "makeshift" musolla... (mashaAllah, May God bless that person)

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~mansal/musolla.htm

Documentary videos on our Prophet s.a.w

2008-05-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

1

2

3

4

5

6.

7.

8.

9.

10

11.

12

If cannot view, go straight to this:
http://www.youtube.com/user/jarhood

Free Quranic software online!

2008-05-04T05:15:00.000-07:00

this is very good for memorising The Holy Quran....
http://www.imaanstar.com/juz30.php

Hope it helps those future HUFFAz out there!

Found some great links...

2008-04-10T00:04:00.000-07:00

A collection of free online islamic books and others - http://kalamullah.com/hearts.html
Also have lectures - http://kalamullah.com/lectures.html

Dont delay your repentance! (a powerful lecture)

Beautiful recitation of Yasin part 1 (with english translations)

Beautiful recitation of Yasin part 2

I never knew this reciter but was a fan immediately after hearing him..
Fahd Al-Kanderi

Top ten Reciters (This is good for hifz, u can choose which reciter u feel comfortable with or like and then can revise using his recitation or even let it be a motivation goal for urself)

top 5 Qari

pick up my strength again..

2008-04-07T08:56:00.001-07:00

Change my method again...

I tried memorizing 5-15 juzuk then insya-Allah will enrol in my ex-school again (though 90% of them are kids and teens, few -56 yr old man, 60 yr old granny and young adults..)Sometimes u need to be in a group of hifz students to feel the drive and motivation to "beat one another" positively.

Its not easy but got to PUSH oneself. After reading about the 82 yr old granma, I felt rejuvenated and more positive in me finishing my hifz. Insya-Allah will try my best!

And the funny thing is that when I try to memorize , suddenly there came lots of problems that crammed up in my tiny brain. This somehow make my mind sway away from memorizing the Holy Quran. But after a while, I just redha and leave everything to Allah s.w.t and I felt peaceful. Alhamdulillah.

Hifz @ 82, NOT IMPOSSIBLE!

2008-04-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

Whole Quran memorised at the age of 82
An Interview with Umm Saalih,A Grandmother Who Completed Memorizing the Qur'aan at Eighty-Two Years Old

Al-Hamdulillaah (All-Praise is due to Allah), the One Who said (what means): "And in truth We have made the Qur'aan easy to remember; but is there any that remembers?" Surah 54: 32

Many all over the world memorize the Qur'aan, and it is not strange to see the youth memorizing the Noble Qur'aan and an early age. Al-Hamdulillaah, the One who made the Qur'aan easy for remembrance, had made it easy for Umm Saalih age 82. In an interview with Umm Saalih,she was asked the following questions:

Q1: "What was the reason that drove you to memorize the Qur'aan after so many years?"

She said, "I always hoped to memorize the Qur'aan from the time I was young. My father always used to invoke Allaah for me to become one of the memorizers of the Qur'aan, like himself and like the elder brothers of my family who memorized it. So I memorized in the beginning about three parts and then after I completed the age of thirteen, I got married and became busy with the household and the children. After I had seven children, my husband died. They (the children) were all young so I took the time to raise them and educate them, and then after they grew up and got married, I had more time for myself. Therefore, the first thing I directed myself to focus upon was the Qur'aan.

Q2: "Tell us about your journey with the Noble Qur'aan."

She said, "My younger daughter was going to high school and she was the closest of my children to me and the most beloved, because she stayed with me after her older sisters got married and got busy with their lives, and because she was a quiet girl,upright, loving, and good. In addition, she was interested in learning the Noble Qur'aan, and her teachers encouraged her.

Furthermore, she was very enthusiastic and always told me of many women who were driven by this great motivation to memorize the Qur'aan, and this is where I started."

Q3: "Tell me about your way of memorization."

She said, "We assigned ten verses (meaning her and her daughter who was going to high school). So each day after Asr, we used to sit together. She reads and I repeat after her three times. Then she explains the meaning to me, and after a while, she repeats that three times. On the next morning, she repeats them to me before she goes to school.

She recorded also the recitations of Ash Shaykh al Husary, Rahimuhullaah, repeating each verse three times and thus I continued to listen most of the time. Therefore, the next day we would go to the next ten verses if my memorization was good.Otherwise, we would postpone taking additional verses until the day after. Moreover, we assigned the day of Friday to review the memorizations of the entire week. And this was the journey from the beginning."

Then she said, "Over four years and a half, I memorized twelve juz" according to the way I described to you. Then this young daughter got married. When her husband knew of our task concerning the memorization, he rented a house close to me, close to my house, so that he could allow the continuation of the memorization. In addition, he, May Allah reward him used to encourage us and sometimes sit with us listening, explaining and teaching.

Then after three years of her marriage, my daughter got busy with the children and the household and our schedule was interrupted, but that did not make her give up. To the contrary, she sensed that my eagerness for the memorization was still established so she looked for a special good teacher to continue the journey under her supervision. So, I completed the memorization by the success of Allaah and my daughter is still working to finish the memorization of the Glorious Qur'aan. She has a little left, In Shaa Allaah Ta'aala.

Q4: "This motivation of yours, did it have an effect on other women around you?"

She said, "It really had a good strong effect. My daughters and stepdaughters were all encouraged and worked on learning and teaching the Qur'aan to their children and learning it themselves.

Q5: "After finishing the Noble Qur'aan, don't you think about working on memorizing hadith?"

She said, "Now I have memorized ninety hadith and In Shaa Allaah I will continue the journey. I depend,in my memorization, upon the tapes and upon the Qur'aan radio station. At the end of each week, my daughter comes and checks for me the memorization of three hadith, and I am trying now to memorize more.

Q6: "Over this period of memorization of the Qur'aan, did your life change? Was it affected in one way or another?"

She said, "Yes, I went through a major change and I tried always, all praise is due to Allaah, to obey Allaah before I started the memorization. However, after I started the task of memorization, I began to feel a self-comfort, a great self-comfort and all worries began to move away from me. I even reached the stage of freeing myself from all these excessive worries concerning fearing for the children and their affairs, and my morale was boosted.

I had a noble objective to work for and this is a great Ni'mah (Favor) from Allaah . upon me, since we know that some women, when they get old and they do not have a husband, and their children got married, may be destroyed by the empty time, thoughts, worries, and so forth. But, AlHamdulillaah, I didn't go through this and I made myself busy with a great task and a great objective.

Q7: "Didn't you think at one point, to join one of the circles focusing on teaching the Noble Qur'aan?"

The answer was, "Yes, some of the women suggested this to me, but I am a woman who got used to staying at home, and I don't like to go out everyday, and Al Hamdulillaah, my daughter sufficed me from all difficulty and I was so happy while I was learning from her. My daughter had set an example in goodness and righteousness which we rarely find in our days.

She started this task and journey with me while she was an adolescent and this is a critical age many people complain of. She used to pressure herself so that she could have spare time to teach me, and she used to teach me with kindness and wisdom. Her husband was a good help to her and he exerted a lot of effort. I ask Allaah . to give them success and to bring their children up on uprightness."

Q8: "What do you say to a woman of your age who wishes to learn and memorize the Qur'aan yet she is worried about it and feeling unable to?"

She said, "I say to her there their shall be no despair with the firm, sincere and truthful determination. Begin with sincerity, firm determination and dependence on Allaah at each time. And remember that at this age you should have the time for yourself. However, do not use your time to only go out or to sleep and so forth. Rather, busy yourself with righteous work.

Q9: "Now what would you say to a woman who is still young? What would you advise her?"

She, may Allaah preserve her, said: "Preserve Allaah and He will preserve you. Make use of the favor of Allaah bestowed upon you from health and ways and means of comfort. Use that to memorize the Book of Allaah. This is the light which enlivens your heart, your life and your grave after you die.

And if you have a mother then exert the effort to teach her, and there is no better favor upon a mother than one of her righteous children aiding her to be close to Allaah."

Source: Ad-Da'wah Magazine, no.1552, 1st August1996

what to do?

2007-12-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

Racking my brains to save my past memorization. The new way is not so motivating because, u cannot stop. If u stop, u kinda felt "hanging" because the pages are not related to one another. hmm...

Like want to give up. Remembered the atuk who memorize 16juz....

Need a short goal to push me to my long goal.ARGGHH!!

felt like giving up...

2007-12-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

if u feel like giving up, read this to motivate urself...

Tahfiz in more mosques!!

2007-10-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

If u lived far away from Kampung Siglap aka Tahfiz centre and have great interest in HIFZ/tahfiz, this is GREAT NEWS to u! The tahfiz course will be brought over to many mosques...This is to encourage future "huffaz" in joining..alhamdulillah..

So all of you, young or old, come join us! Irregardless of which location u come from, now it's easier and nearer to learn tahfiz/hifz...so what are u waiting for?
(u can click this image to enlarge/read it)

The mosques involved are: Al-Khair, Sultan mosque, Darul Makmur,Jamiyah Ar-rabitah, tentera di raja, Istiqamah and of course Kg Siglap..

Doa/Supplications

2007-10-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

I've forgotten where I got this doa..

Ya Allah ,kasihanilah aku
dengan meninggalkan segala kemaksiatan
untuk selamanya
selama Engkau membiarkan aku hidup,
kasihanilah aku
agar aku tidak memaksakan diri dengan sesuatu
yang tidak bermanfaat bagiku
dan berilah aku rizki berupa pandangan yang baik
terhadap sesuatu yang membuatMU ridha kepadaku.

Ya Allah Pencipta langit ,
Pemilik Agung Kemuliaan
serta Keperkasan yang tidak dapat dicapai oleh siapa pun
aku meminta kepadaMU Ya Allah,
Ya Rahman dengan keagunganMu Ya allah,
Ya Rahman dengan keagungan dan cahaya wajahMU
agar Engkau mewajibkan hatiku untuk menghafal kitabMu
sebagaimana Engkau telah mengajariku
dan berilah aku rezeki agar aku dapat membacanya
dengan cara yang membuatMu ridha kepadaku.

Ya Allah Pencipta langit dan bumi,
Pemilik Keagungan dan Kemuliaan serta Keperkasaan
yang tidak dapat dicapai oleh sesiapa pun,
aku meminta kepadaMu,
ya Allah, ya Rahman dengan keagungan dan cahaya Wajahmu
agar Engkau menerangi mataku dengan kitabmu ,
menggerakkan lisanku dengannya
membukakan hatiku
dengannya melapangkan dadaku dengannya
dan menyibukkanbadanku dengannya
kerana sesungguhnya tidak ada yang dapat menolongku
di atas kebenaran selainMU
dan tidak seorang pun yang dapat mendatangkan kebenaran itu kepadaku
selain Engkau tiada daya upaya melainkan dengan Allah yang Maha Agung

What is inside the kaabah?

2007-10-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

http://www.esnips.com/doc/75db0f04-8b59-4643-9a30-4352ca8a3d9c/Interior-of-Kabah

To know more about kaabah, click here

http://www.kabahinfo.net/

more good sites...

2007-10-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

http://english.islamway.com/sindex.php?section=erecitorslist another GREAT sites compiling all the many Quran recitors/imams in the Arab. U can choose ur favourite recitors and download their mp3 FREE! I've used this often....very GOOD!

http://www.islamicity.com/IslamiTV/ -tarawikh prayers video in mecca/medina

another interesting hifz blog....

2007-10-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

http://wordpress.com/tag/hifz/

Eating raisins

2007-10-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

Another tip learned is that Eating raisins can improve ur memory. Use hijriah calendar to note how much raisins should be eaten per day. 1st day of hijriah month, eat one raisin till 15days. On the 16th day, start from 1 again.... (oh, Golden raisins are better than other colour raisins dunno how true..)

There are many variations as to how many should one eat, I heard, u can eat 15 rasins-21 everyday the same amount...depends on ur age.... hmm...

Nowadays there are raisins that have been "recited on" by hifz students sold in Geylang. 50 cents for a small packet. Also there is big bottle of raisins that have been read by Ustazs (teachers/huffaz) cost about $5. Another is a bottle of air zaffaran (saffron water) with Holy Quran recited/wrote on which cost about $5 for small and $10 for big. Also Zam2 water can be purchased at joo Chiat vicinity for $5 per small bottle(dont forget to stand, face the kiblah and doa while drinking the zam2 water) Kinda miss the Zam2 water at Mecca... the zam2 area is so cool...

Also kurma/dates, and buah delima (promegranate) is good for the brains too...and not forgetting banana (brain booster and energy charger)

fyi- It's best if u recite them ourselves(the ayats from Holy Quran)on normal water/zam2/saffron water/raisins or mineral water as a suplication for ourselves...but if u have ur ustaz/zahs nearby, u can ask him/her especially if he/she is a huffaz/hafiz. He is afterall ur mentor, right?So get as much blessings/berkat/doas or whatever as much as u can from him/her...

As for the raisins, i just eat whatever and whenever I felt like eating because I often forgot whether I've eaten or not so I just eat any amount anytime...

Mama's doa is BEST!

2007-10-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

Oh another tip, I learned from previous tahfiz/hifz seminars are that ..

If u ever have difficulty memorizing certain surah/ayats, or worse, u felt so LAZY or burdened by many "ups and downs of life" that U felt like giving up, please CALL or asked ur mama to doa (suplication) for u IMMEDIATELY wherever she may be. Mama's doa is EXPRESS normally immediately it will be fulfilled..allahu alam. If no parents, then ur guardian, if not spouse's doa will do too...better still, teach ur kids to doa for u also...

My mama doa for me is something like this (one day I accidentally overheard her doa, felt so touched, loss for words..) " Please let my child be the best Hafizah of 30 juz and of the Best calibre, dunia akhirat. Help her in her journey, Ease her burden, make it easy for her....and let her in return teach the younger generations and be the BEST Al-Quranic teacher...whereby her students will be from all over the world regardless of age...and hope she never ever forget the Holy Quran not even a single letter in dunia and akhirat ...."(amin ya robbal alamin..) and in return, insya-Allah I will doa for my kids similar doas...too..thus this doa will be continuous.... just to share2...

cool headgears for sports...

2007-10-04T17:40:00.001-07:00

For sporty muslimahs, now u can exercise in comfort...

myasport.blogspot.com

together for a healthier you....

Books and items that helped my hifz

2007-10-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

Often, we need motivations for our quest of hifz. Other than a "Great buddy" for u to practise and check ur hifz, books are important in my life. Anything relating to memory, I will grab!(U can click on image/pic to view enlarge pic)

And second best is my creative Zen $129 (for recording my voice and to check whether I made mistake and also the holy Quran mp3.) and Digital Quran (last time $500 but now less than $100) and not forgetting the "tasbih counter" $3 (not in pic) which is very useful for LONG ayats..Of course, always carry the same Quran that u used to memorize with u always. Nowadays they have tafsir Quran with the exact replicate pages of normal Al-Quran and the tafsir/translations at the side. Can be found in local Islamic or Malaysian shops so its easier for muslimahs to carry around. (as shown above)

In the above books, one of them (in white) "Cara mudah menghafal Quran" (easy way to hifz)has some great TIPS and methods to memorise the holy Quran which I cannot find elsewhere. Tony Buzan book has ways to strengthen our memory by doing some "mind" exercises. And the others have tips on what to eat for ur brains.

Another tip about food intake for future huffaz . ALWAYS eat HALAL food. HALAL-certified and also the money used to buy your food must be from HALAL sources. IMPORTANT!

Last ten days...

2007-10-01T17:14:00.000-07:00

So fast, time passes..Ramadan is going to be over soon. Very sad...

Anyway. just to share. When I was first exposed to hifz, My hafiz ustaz actually "Tested" me after first juzuk. His questions aren't that simple like some local schools' hifz test. In fact, I found it the HARDESt. Want to know why?

He asked me what is the ayat before this ayat that he recite...That is why...If he asked what is the ayat AFTER...insya-Allah my mind can immediately answer but he asked what is BEFORE this ayat, immediately, I got to remember where the ayat that he recited came from, what page then remember the "keywords" like the starting of the page ayat...and the middle and the ending of the page..as a result, I failed?!! Too long..panicked never expected...0 out of 10 questions.I was given 30 seconds only to answer.

So, from what I learned from this "failure" is that, I need to remember some key ayats in that particular page...And the irony was that he tested my Juz Amma (juz 30th) the so-called easiest Juzuk of all juzuks. But dont give up, for those who experienced the FIRST hifz test and failed badly like me...insya-Allah persevere, the REWARDS are endless...

And from the new way that I learned recently (memorizing by the last page of every juzuks) , I'm able to remember the page number, the beginning , middle and the ending much better..because I memorize each page individually and they are not connected to the next page which is the last page of the next juzuk. So ur mind has to be "stronger" and "picture" it...Let's hope I can finish the whole Quran using this method, I am interested to spread this kind of technique to others but I must first experienced and khatam/finish the hafazan/hifz first. I hope i dont give up halfway, ya Allah please help me..

As for the last 10 days, May all of us get Lailatul Qadar...amin ya rabbal alamin.

RTM 1 Islamic programs

2007-09-30T00:27:00.000-07:00

During Ramadan months, I love to tune in to RTM1 especially late night whereby there are interesting programs such as TERAWIKH LIVE @ Mecca and also the INTERACTIVE recitation of the Quran (TILAWAH AL-QURAN) whereby participants (non-Qari professionals like me) can recite the Holy Quran thru the phone and an Ustaz will give marks and comments. The winner has some interesting prizes like watch RM1000, digital camera, handphones... I really applaud the RTM for doing such programs to encourage people to brush up their reading and be actively with AL-Quran and not let The Holy Quran collect dust in one corner of the house. Hope this kind of program will last not only during Ramadan but I hope non-ramadan months as well.

Some people may comment that it is riak or whatever negativity that relates to this program but let's just discard all the NEGATIVITY and just concentrate on the POSITIVE ones...

I love to watch Islamic programs like Hifz competitions during non-ramadan months, I just hope that there will be more...more and more such programs PLEEEASE. For Singaporeans like me who cannot get RTM 2 or other channels and depend solely on RTM1 for religious programs...(of course we do buy lots of Islamic vcds/dvd too!)

And when watching the terawikh live in Mecca, just wish could be there to experience the terawikh and fasting, just being and doing with the arab people. And the imams are al-Hafiz subhanallah....Theirm elodious voice and the smooth recitation of Al-Quran page after page...WOWs me everytime... Felt like as if there is a tiny Quran within their brains...Hmm..

Really perks me up whenever I felt low and lazy to memorize and revise my old surahs. Just listen to them and the jemaah of millions of people behind them, really motivates u. cos u will be wishing, I hope one day I will be able to recite the Holy Quran like that just by memorizing them...insya-Allah.

It is said memorizing when young is like engraving on a stone, memorizing when old is like engraving on water...

But do not despair, the recent Tahfiz seminar, there is a grandpa age 50 or is it 70+ anyway he has memorized about 16-17 juz ?!!! And my previous classmate is a granny of age 60+ has been able to memorize one ain every week (about 3+ pages) and me at that time is still struggling for just half a page every week..Subhanallah...

If I never revise my old Surahs, definitely it will "run" like the camel who has broken free from its master....I MUST FORCE myself...to revise at least 1 juz every day...One time, i heard my ustaz saying that if u have memorize, its best to "wajibkan" makes it compulsory for oneself to MEMORIZE 1 juz/ the appropriate amount which u will not forget to do. If u ever do forget, then "qadha" the juzuk/surahs ASAP... like when u cannot pray/accidentally forget to pray e.g overslept, u have to "pay back" by praying that prayer so is the same as this...

If u forget to do ur "obligatory surahs" which u often revised systematically everyday then make up for it as soon as possible before, it disappears completely...

alahu 'alam..

www.Reciter.org

2007-09-30T00:22:00.000-07:00

This has been one of my favourite online Quranic site. Not only u can select which surah and which ayat u want to see , u can hear some famous reciters and also there is a part where u can test yourself. They will erase some parts of the Quran for u to fill in...

Love it! Very good.....Try it!

www.reciter.org

Have not been blogging lately..

2007-09-30T00:07:00.001-07:00

Since Ramadhan, I have been busy, busy, busy to update this blog...

Have finished first phase and getting a break to concentrate on previous juzuks that I had memorized. Memorize is easy but to detain it in my hard disk is difficult but one cannot say the word difficult, must always say "EASY" insya-Allah it will be easy...

Yeah just another tip, read ayat Al-Baqarah 164 as a doa before starting to memorize and also there is a solat sunnat "taqwiyatul Hifz" whereby it is done every friday night preferably (after sleeping, in the wee hours of dawn e.g 3am) 2 rakaat X 2(total=4) whereby the surah to read are Yasin,Ad-dukhan, As-Sajdah, Al-Mulk.It's best done for 3 , 5 or 7 fridays. At the end of it, there is a doa, to get the doa, click here.. All these are steps to enhance ur memory in memorizing the Holy Quran. May God help us all...

At Last ....

2007-08-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

Alhamdulillah finish a whole page....in 2-3 weeks? YIKES!!
Too many temptations...too many idling, too many entertainment that takes my mind off HIFZ.But glad that this page is done...now the next one, insya-allah..

Subhanallah..

2007-08-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

I've been practising my 4 ayats of Al-Baqarah from 135-138 and been reading aloud in my solat. Without me realising it, my son and my hubby can recite to me the ayats without having to look in the Al-Quran. Subhanallah..

My hubby heard me recite in my prayers one time and then he just recite it back to me without knowing anything or where the ayat come from which surah...and my 3 year old son actually finishes up my ayat for me...

My baby hum along with me everytime, I start taawudz..
Subhanallah...

If I have TONS of money...

2007-08-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

Hmm...niat to abolish all buta huruf. Meaning to educate all ages on how to read Al-Quran. But basics only. If one have a strong basic of Holy Quran then one can proceed to any mosque or private institution that is "mushrooming" over the years. Sometimes, one can be shy especially as u grow older. But heck the shyness, U ar ethere to learn. Anyway, u will get lots and lots of pahala dunia and akhirat. (both earthly and hereafter rewards)

If I have the money, I will want to create a school like kinda of asrama/hostel where one can stay there and live with a hafiz and learn from him. Preferably from Mecca/Madinah. (No I'm not discriminating) Hehee...but my Ustaz is from there. Anyway its just preference, all hafiz are great especially the devotion, time planning and especially the melodious voice in reciting the Holy Quran from the heart. Witness it at Makkah Al-Mukarramah and U will be Amazed. Syahdu.

Back to my so called DREAMS. My dream is to built separate schools for different sexes. Also have facilities like indoor swimming, basket ball court, socccer pitch for each building. To accomodate the
current modern technology, Hafiz-in training not only must be good in ukhrawi subjects but they can also succeed in the worldy affairs e.g be a doctor, pilot... Also sports such as swimming are good for them. (Isnt there a hadith saying about swimming?) Also they will learn many languages so that they can spread the word of Islam anywhere in the world without having to face the barriers of languages.

But of course this school must be recognised by local government so that they can take the local exams and vie for places in local universitites too..thus have many choices apt for them.

Also courses for all kind of classes for all ages can be held there too kinda modular or short-term program. Even pregnant mum with baby inside them . To learn hifz so that their child will be one too! Maybe a playgroup or preschool too for kids as young as 18months. (cause I see many preschools/playgroup but none is Quranic base)

I wish that I am the richest person on earth and I can have these schools. Anyway if any millionaire or billionaires who have lots of money to spare, u can think about this idea of mine. It will be the first state of the art Hifz centre.

I remember the words from the show a night at the museum by the President "If can be dreamt, it can be done.." Something like that.

Ok so enough about my dreams. Let's focus on current situation. I must start somewhere....Yeah, I must finish my HIFZ!

dunia hanya sementara..

2007-08-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

..dunia ini hanya sementara
gelak ketawa hanya seketika
tangisan hiba duka dan lara
itulah erti kata dunia

Akhirat itulah dunia sebenar
tanpa ia tiadalah dunia
dunia ini ujian sementara
tapi manusia selalu terleka

Masa itu emas pepatah kata
tiada siapa pun mengendahkannya
masa muda terbuang saja
dengan keseronokkan dosa

"I'm always struggling to stay afloat
admist all these sins I still am fear
fearful of the LORD, The Almighty
fearful that HE won't like me"

Ya Allah maafkanku
kerana sia2kan hidup ini
tanpa ikut jalan lurus
yang Engkau tetapkan
dari jalan hidup
yang Engkau gariskan
ampunilah diri ini
yang lemah dengan cobaanMu
kasihanilah diri ini
yang tak mampu ku bersihkan
noda2 hitam dosa hati ini...
tolonglah diriku, ya Allah...

Ayat 137 done!

2007-08-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

Alhamdulillah, though I'm in a slow start..I get to finish up 3 ayat within a week..

Still a long way to go, but insyaallah can MAKE it!
But when I first started this..a lot of things came into my mind, I worry about many things, anything , any tiny thing...everyting..kinda crashed into my concentration. And so I decided to just leave it to God.Berserah and Bertawakal to Him and I felt @ peace.

Tips..

2007-08-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

Attended a Tahfiz seminar recently and I learn some tips..
1) wake up before Subuh
2)Wudhu and solat any sunat prayers
3)Istighfar 3X "AStaghfirullah alazim"
4)Selawat 3X"Allhumma solii ala muhammad..."
5)Read Surah Ikhlas 1X "Qul hu wallahu ahad.."
6)REad surah insyirah 1X "alam nashyrah laka sodraq..."
7)Read surah Al'ala till 6 ayat "Sanuq ri u ka..." repeat 3X and put ur hand @ ur heart.
8)Now then u can start memorizing

Also the DON'ts..
1)Dont eat coriander leaves
2)Dont eat fish head
3)dont drink ANY drink that contains any dead ants
4)Dont read anything while u are at the cemetery. (if u need to read, read outside the cemetery vicinity..if u want to doa /read Quran as a gift to the loved ones, u can read at home..or read thru hafalan/by memory and not look @ the Quran in the cemetery..)

wallahu alam bisowab...

Phase 1-Al Baqarah

2007-08-08T06:40:00.001-07:00

Actually I've started this on 3/8/07. Page 21 of the Holy Quran. Ayat 135 of Al- Baqarah. As I'm starting anew, I am slow.. Now is already 8/8/07 and I've just memorized the 2nd ayat:136.

By right I'm supposed to memorized 1 page each day. Maybe I took too much time writing. Because I'm also trying out writing as it is said to strengthen ur hifz. True enough. I can visualise the sentence as I memorize them. But it took longer than expected.

ayat 135-136 of Al-Baqarah.
My target is that by end of this month, I should be able to get the hang of it and follow the true schedule -of 1 page per day.

By doing this blog, I'm also actually revising what I've learned to be shared with others..alhamdulillah.

New method, new beginning.

2007-08-08T06:29:00.000-07:00

I'm trying a new method of memorizing.It is said that this is a TuRKISH method.

This method requires u to start by phase.
Phase 1 is to memorize from the last page of every Juzuk. In my case(I'm Using the Mekkah/Madinah Quran)and so it should be every 20th page of every juzuk.

1) Memorize last page of juzuk 1 on day 1
2)Memorize last page of juzuk 2 on day 2
This will continue till the end of the month with me meorizing the last page of the 30th juzuk.and so my phase 1 is complete.

Next phase 2,
I wil memorize the 19th page of juzuk 1, then next day 19th page of juzuk 2...but please link 19th page to 20th page when u are memorizing them.

and so the phase continues till phase 30..

that is what I can share for the time being as I'm a newbie in memorizing..

I've tried starting from the front Juzuk Al-Baqarah but the motivation is low because it seems endless...

And I've tried memorizing from juz 30, 29,28...this is much better because the surah is short and u tend to get motivated by the number of surahs accumulated..

and the turkish method will be one of my last method to try out. Because I hope by memorizing each juzuk regularly, I will be highly motivated to complete the phases and end up completing them around 600 days about 2 years...insya-Allah.

U can DO IT!

2007-07-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

I am still pursuing this dream of mine to be Hafizah one day,insya-Allah. I've been to many places learning ways of HIFZ (memorizing the Holy Quran)and I found that this method is the BEST for me, a newbie dummy starting out...

Anyone can learn hifz or be Hafiz. But u need to have basic strong foundation in Tajwid (rules of reading the Holy Quran). And to get these is thru a GOOD teacher that can teach both theoretically and practically. Once that is achieved, u can start memorizing the simpler surahs from Juzuk 30 starting with An-Nas, Al-Falaq and Al-Ikhlas and so on. As u go further and further the surah will lengthen and it will be harder but tell yourself "it's EASY". Because once ur mentality think that it is HARD, then half of the battle is LOST. but if u keep telling yourself it's easy..insya-Allah, u can DO IT!

After juzuk 30, pursue 29,28 and till 25. After that, u can start from Juzuk 1 (the long surah) By then, u already had a good practise and has train your mind well thus will be able to memorize easily.

The main thing is that while memorizing the new, the old surah MUST not be forgotten. And thus a GOOD teacher, friend or anyone that has GREAT knowledge in HIFZ/Quran can be ur HELPING hand, a buddy to your QUEST. It is said a lost memory is like a camel who was tied securely and when it escape, u will have great difficulty chaining/chasing the animal down.

Sometimes,boredom sets in. That is a fact. Mind gets lazy and refuse to memorize anything, then take a break for awhile ,limit the hours of repetition or pamper yourself once in a while. dont force yourself, so HARD that eventually, u turn away from this beautiful QUEST and wave the white FLAG.

Remember only the CHOSEN ones are given this opportunity. If u have the niat then CONGRATULATIONS, u are given the invitation to be one of the important people in the world and hereafter! The bearer of Al-Quran.

Whatever it is, Don't GIVE up! Everyone can memorize , just open your heart and give ur BEST SHOT!Practise, practise and practise is IMPORTANT! My duas is for u,me and the others who are together in this QUEST!

TIP:If u cannot memorize a certain sentence/ayat or u are starting out, read that particular sentence at least 40 times. If it's too long,break it into smaller parts.