The E-Codes

Are you perplexed with the E-codes?

By the way, what are the E-codes? Have you noticed that when you buy foods on the markets' shelves, if you read the ingredients listed on the wrapper of the foods that you are buying, they sometimes list out that the foods contain things such as E471, E140 etc. Those numbers are called the E-codes.

My friend, Puan Zuraini Mat Issa, a food technologist, brought to my attention this website to visit for those who care about halal foods and are interested to know more about the E-codes:

http://www.understandingfoodadditives.org

Sun Baby

My student sent me these pictures. She reminded me to beware that there are some products in the market, in this case, children's shoes, which are made from pig 's skin. As Muslims, we should be sensitive to such matters because it involves our ibadah since pigs are najis mughallazah.

The Power of Basmalah

Basmalah means saying Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. It means in the name of Allah, The Most Benificent, The Most Merciful.

Rasulullah SAW reminded us many times to recite basmalah before we start doing anything.... before we eat, before we sleep, before we recite the Quran, before going inside our house, before we start driving our vehicle.... infact, anything or everything that you can think of, make sure you start off with basmalah.

Once there was a man whose wife had the habit of reciting basmalah before she does anything. One day he decided to test his wife. He purposely gave her some sort of jewellery and asked her to keep it safely. As usual, the wife recited basmalah before putting the jewellery in the cupboard.

Unknown to her, the husband took the jewellery and threw it in the sea. Then he came back home and asked for the same jewellery from the wife. The obedient and unsuspecting wife, reacting as usual, recited basmalah before opening the cupboard and to the husband's surprise, there it was, still wet, as if someone had put it back there....

It is very important that we make it a habit to recite basmalah. Rasulullah said, if a man goes to his wife without reciting basmalah, and never bothered to recite du'a, syaitan will have intercourse with the wife first, na'uzubillah. So, don't expect to get descendants who are soleheen or solehaat if you don't bother to obey Allah in the first place.

Rasulullah once narrated that when he was with Jibril during Isra' and Mikraj, the angel showed him his palace in paradise. When Rasulullah asked Jibril how to get in there, Jibril answered that Rasulullah has the key. Surprised, Rasulullah asked what the key was to which Jibril replied: Simply recite: Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem!

We were told that life and things in jannah are things which we have never heard or seen before, never thought of by humans. I guess, after seeing the latest development in recent automated technologies, most probably, what Rasulullah meant was, the house answers and recognizes his voice and opens automatically... wallahu a'lam.

Lightning

I've always marvelled at one of Allah's creations, i.e. the lightning. I don't know why , but somehow, lightning fascinates me. They looked beautiful to me, as long as I'm not struck by one of course, na'uzubillah.

These pictures were sent to me by an acquaintance, if I'm not mistaken, taken by someone in Sydney, Australia.

What Are These.... Genies?

As we all know, genies can change their forms; they can transform to snakes, black dogs, black cats.... etc.

Some types of genies or genii can fly.

Only Allah knows what type of species these creatures are.

Naughty Postcard

Still A Virgin (And Proud of It)

Last night I almost choked while watching news on TV3 when I heard one of the Deputy Ministers confessed that according to a survey done recently, teenage girls in Malaysia are not ashamed anymore when they lose their virginity through sexual intercourse before marriage.

Astaghfirullahal 'azeem. I thought we wanted to be a developed country in our own mould by 2020 but look at what's happening now? I fear the retribution from Allah SWT due to our carelessness in shaping up the country's young generations' perspectives and values in life.

It seems that we are fast becoming just like the USA, where promiscuity is a way of life and rampant. Allah has said that doomsday won't happen until zina is rampant in society. It never occurred to me that this thing would happen in my own country during my life time!!! May be this is the side effects of globalization... Our teenagers tend to copy blindly whatever that comes from the west thinking that everything that comes from them is great.

Years ago, when I was studying in the USA, I had a friend by the of name of Betty Shannon. Her father is an American working in Saudi Arabia. Her mother is a Filipino. So, even though she was raised in the USA, she was brought up with eastern values. She looked like the next door American girl; tall, beautiful with model-like figure, and quite loaded. She commuted everyday from Paw Paw to Kalamazoo, Michigan in a Camarro. The only difference that I noticed about her was, her values. She didn't smoke, didn't drink and the female friends that she chose to be closed to were mostly people from the East; for example Malaysians like me, Iranians, Cambodians etc.

One day, while I was waiting for my Spanish class and she was waiting for her French class, she confessed to me that she was still a virgin. I replied: "So what? I'm a virgin too!!" She made gestures to make sure that I lowered down my voice. She explained that according to the Americans' teenagers' values (at that time), to be a virgin was a shame. It's as if nobody wants you. In Malay, I guess I should say sort of "tak laku".

Another incident that I will never forget was when I was hospitalised in the Western Michigan University's Medical Center due to diarrhoea. I had followed my seniors to an orchard for apple and plum picking. Poor me. It must have been the influence of the tv. I simply rubbed the fruits on my garments before consuming them; just like the cowboys did on the American shows that I had been watching while growing up.... and I guessed that caused me the diarrhoea! Dr Novak and another female doctor hovered over me because before I was admitted to the medical center, there were diarrhoea cases too and one of the students died. So I guess they had to be thorough in their investigation.

What was memorable over the incident was, Dr Novak asked me how many times I have sex per week which I casually replied: "Oh! I'm still not married yet!", to which I noticed that she exchanged surprised glances with the other female doctor. They were not expecting that kind of answer, I guess. Only then did I realize that the eastern values were different (I have to use the past tense mode because I think our society is fast changing and we are now almost just like them, sadly speaking) when compared to theirs, but I guessed they also understood that my answer was no, not even once...

Later on in my Spanish class, I learnt that my classmates who were American teenagers were proud to announce that they were sleeping with so and so, going out with so and so, doing all the things that's a no-no in the eastern culture, things which Allah actually forbade us. I'm glad during my years in the USA, I was like a fish swimming in the sea. My surroundings were 'salty', but luckily (alhamdulillah!) the fish was not affected.

So, to all Malaysian girls, protect and guard your virginity and chastity. Everything can wait until you are lawfully and legally married to your husband. If he truly loves you, he too has to wait and guard his virginity until he's lawfully wedded to you. That, is more favorable in the sight of Allah.

Answering Nature's Call

As a Muslimah, I believe in whatever Rasulullah SAW taught us, be it the way to live, the way to behave, the way to dress up, the way to eat, and even how to answer the call of nature. Islam is actually a way of life. As the saying goes: Neither East nor West, Islam is the best!

If one were to adhere strictly to the sunnah of the prophet, insya Allah everything will be ok. It has been proven time and again that as man advances in scientific research, all those mentioned by the prophet or in the Quran are all true.

Please visit this website:

http://www.naturesplatform.com/

Sun-rainbow

A friend e-mailed me this awesome photos depicting what she called the 'sun-rainbow' or 'rainbow-sun' which was taken in the Kuching (Sarawak) sky on the 22nd June 2007.

Inspiring Thoughts

A friend e-mailed me something which I would like to share with all of you out there:
Please go to:

http://www.InspiringThots.net/movie/best-day.php

Hope it'll make your day.

Road Accidents... Can We Avoid Them?

Malaysians are lucky because, here, we don't have calamities like earthquakes , typhoons, tornadoes or anything of the sort.

Anyhow, Malaysians, even though we are well known as good-natured people, we behave otherwise when we are behind the wheels. Why? I really don't have the answer.

What to do? Brace yourself with what I call as 'defensive driving'. On your part, try to obey all rules, then watch out for others. Before you start driving, say Basmalah, then recite : "Subha nallazi sakhkharalana haza wama kunna lahu mukrineen. Wa inna ila rabbina lamunqalibuun".

Fellow Malaysians, drive carefully. Remember your loved ones. YOU can make a difference.

Remembering Allah (At All Times)

These are pictures of ants' home sent to me by an acquaintance. It reminds you of Allah's name; spelt Alif Lam Lam Ha. Subhanallah.

As Allah's designated vicegerents on earth, we should remember Allah more than these ants do. We should remember and obey Allah at all times.

Laa ila ha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntuminazzaalimeen.

Towering Personalities

Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato Seri Abdullah Hj Ahmad Badawi talked about towering personalities and the importance of the human capital. Hmmm.... I guess, one of the ways to achieve these two is to make sure that we go back to the most basic thing that is the family. The family institution is the most basic building block which forms the society.

A happy marriage or a happy and loving family ensures that the children produced will be well balanced and able to contribute positive things to society. I salute our Prime Minister and ex-Prime Minister for showing good examples to the country on how a happy family should be.

I guess it's still not too late to wish "Selamat Pengantin Baru" to Pak Lah and Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah.

Start And End Your Day At Work With Du'as

To obtain barakah from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, start and end your day at work with du'as. Hopefully, if you are a decision maker, the decisions that you make on that day will be in line with Allah's favor. If you are a teacher or a lecturer, hopefully your students will have a better understanding of whatever you're trying to teach or lecture on that particular day. So, whatever your occupation may be, stay close to Allah by reciting du'as.

Allah said "Ud'uuni astajiblakum"...so ask, insya Allah, Allah will grant your wishes.

The Importance of Emotional Quotient (And personal suggestions of ways to raise your kids' EQ)

It saddens me when I read about the Malaysian student from Kampung Laut, Chendering, Terengganu, who was murdered by another fellow Malaysian student in Egypt a few days back. I can only express deep condolences and sympathy to both sets of parents.

My friends from UiTM Negeri Sembilan, UiTM Melaka, UiTM Penang, UPSI (Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris) and I were fortunate to obtain a grant from URDC UiTM Negeri Sembilan to do a research on the modelling of causal relations between emotional intelligence (EQ), managerial intelligence and the intelligence quotient (IQ) from 2003 - 2006. I learnt a lot while gathering information in the process of completing this project.

What I can conclude here is that, while we as parents stress the importance of IQ , we should never ever neglect about our children's state of EQ. Nobody is perfect. Everybody makes parenting mistakes in the process of bringing up our own children. Hopefully we learn from our mistakes and realize them before it is too late.

In my opinion, a husband should try to provide a stable (financially, emotionally) and conducive environment when he plans to start a family. When the wife is pregnant, he should make sure that she is happy, well fed and well taken care of. This is important because whatever condition she goes through during her pregnancy will have later effects (positive or negative) on her baby. So no drugs, no smoking and totally no alchohol should be consumed before, during and after pregnancy by both parents.

Through my own experience and through reading, I noticed that if a woman is most of the time happy during her pregnancy, usually the foetus, when he/she comes out is an easy -to- managed baby ( in other words, a happy baby, a baby who cries only when he/she is hungry or wet). On the other hand, if a woman is sad or most of the time emotionally unstable or depressed during her pregnancy, then there's a high possibility that her baby will be a very trying, crying, wailing baby....

Somehow, the mother-to-be's sad emotions is transferred to the baby. I guess that's why in the traditional old Malay community, whenever a woman gets pregnant, all her wishes (especially if she desires to eat anything) are entertained even though it's something quite ridiculous to be obtained. Most probably, the old folks want to make sure the foetus is happy.

As Muslims, it's best that both parents-to-be recite the Quran regularly especially suurah Lukman, Yusuf and Maryam. When the child is born, feed him with halal foods only which should be obtained through halal means. While the child is growing up, live according to the sunnah of the prophet.... A child learns best through living examples set by the parents (they are the very first and most effective role models in the child's life) and the environment around him. Be fair to him and his siblings.

Let the children mix around with good company. Choose your children's friends. Teach your children to learn to give and take and learn to accept defeat (in sports, school exams) gracefully and graciously. Winning is not everything in anything else, but winning Allah's pleasure should mean everything to the child.

Teaching a child about moral values or about anything at all from a very young tender age is like writing on a stone. It will stick in his mind and he will remember whatever that is being preached unto him for his whole life, insya Allah. He may not seem to obey you now, but trust me, it will take effect in his later years, insya Allah.

gordevs@yahoo.com wrote this:

Give your child all the love he needs.

Give him care - continuously, consistently. It's essential for his mental development.

Give him your time. The hours you spend with him mean more than you will ever imagine.

Give him opportunities. To learn and experience new things. This enriches his mind.

Give him encouragement. In work and play. Do not limit his attempts at exploring, imitating, creating, imagining and constructing.

Give him responsibilities, starting with simple chores. It's good training, and makes him feel useful.

Give him the right to be different. He's unique- don't compare him with his brothers or sisters.

Give him praise. For all his achievements. But even more - for all his effort in trying, even if he fails.

Give him your understanding. Consider his age and temperament when you show disapproval. You may reject his behaviour, but never the child.

Give him reassurance - constantly. Never withdraw from him. Or threaten to stem your love or give him away.

Give him everything he needs. Expect nothing in return. You chose to have him - he did not choose to have you. So teach him respect for elders and filial piety.

Believe it or not, between a high IQ score and a high EQ score, employers tend to give priority to choose those with a higher EQ score (even though they have lesser IQ score). Employees with a higher EQ score can work better with their counterparts, easier to manage (they cause less problems) and perform better on the job. So, when your children are still in school or university, make sure they learn all the soft skills; how to socialize, how to communicate effectively their ideas, their feelings, how to vent their anger and disappointment through the proper channels. Children pick up these skills through their co-curriculum and sports activities without them even realizing it.

Lastly... You can't protect your children all the time. After all your painstaking efforts, pray to Allah ... a lot! Hopefully our children will be amongst those people whom Allah is pleased with them. If Allah is pleased with them, then everything else is guaranteed. Rest reassured that they will do fine in life, insya Allah. You can then walk tall. Ameen.

The Lamborghini Patrolling Our Highways?

Last week, I watched the program 'Beyond Tomorrow' over TV1. Ahaa.... Do you know that the Italian's police force use the Lamborghini to patrol their highways?

It would surely boost the morale of the Malaysian police personnel (besides getting a higher wage hike starting July 1st this year) if they were given the same kind of sophisticated gadgets to perform their duty. It would make me feel like I'm another James Bond or Simon Templar ('The Saint') doing my job if I were in their shoes...

Dad.... Amarte Asi

My Dad passed away in March last year. I missed him terribly. My younger sister used to tease me by calling me "Daddy's girl" because may be to her I appeared closer to Dad. Ever since I was a little girl, I had always confided to Dad each time I worry about something or anything at all... He was always there to listen and to console whenever necessary.

My Dad taught me how to recite the Quran. He patiently held the bicycle's rear when I first learnt how to cycle just like in the fast food advertisement on tv. He accompanied me to school for one whole week when I first started primary school. I can still vividly recall him holding my hand as we walked down to town after I've finished class to catch a bus ride home. He taught me to look to the left... then look to the right before I crossed the road to town.

I don't think I can match him when it comes to teaching my own children the values of life. Every waking moment of his was spent on doing da'wah to his children, his relatives... even his customers (my dad owned a sundry shop) were not spared! He reminded to me remember Allah at all times and not to forget syaitan's eternal promise to deceive human beings.

To me, Dad is still alive and will always live because I never got the chance to see him buried on the day he died. When I reached home, everybody had just got back from the graveyard... If only they had waited just a little bit longer. So, each time I go back to my home town, I still feel as if he is still around. As a Muslimah, I know, insya Allah, I'll meet him again in Mahsyar... hopefully both of us will be among those people whom Allah is pleased with them.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I pray that Allah is pleased with you in Barzah. Amarte asi.

Friends

Friends matter a lot. Friends can make your life happier, merrier and more cheerful.

If you're not selective enough, friends can also destroy you. Ever heard of the famous phrase : "Tell me who your friends are... and I can tell you what sort of a person you are" and also "Birds of a feather flock together"?

A good friend is likened to a perfume seller. Even though you don't buy her perfume but the sweet nice scent will stick to you somehow. A bad friend is likened to a blacksmith. Even though you stay away from him, the black smoke will find its way to you and will dirty your clothes somehow...

Good caring friends are those people who would stick with you through good times and bad times. Always there for you when you needed them the most. Their words of encouragement lift you up when you are down. They are beside you to remind you whenever you err or forget... They lend their shoulders for you to lean on when you are weepy. Blessed are the lives of those who are lucky enough to have sincere, caring and kind friends.