Maryam’s Musings

Oops.. not the same old entry again! I think I should stop saying that I have been too busy to update my blog!

The fact is, too many things have happened for the last six months since my birthday in June but I guess that is another lame excuse.

Anyway, Happy Islamic New Year to all Muslims. May this coming year be a better year for us all. I received a nice sms from an old friend yesterday, “O Allah, set right for me my religion which is the safeguard of my affairs, set right for me my worldly affairs in which is my livelihood, set right for me my hereafter on which depends my afterlife, make life for me means of increasing all that is good, and make death a protection for me from every evil. Ameen.”

I need to reflect on a few things that happened since the last time I updated this blog.

The worst was when my dear husband was involved in an accident while he was working on the night shift. It was terrible. Traumatic. I tried to support him emotionally as much as possible but of course, saying is always easier than doing. I learnt that everything that we have is actually on loan from Allah. He can take back whatever He wants and whenever He wants it. My husband’s experience is just a ‘warning’ from Him. Alhamdulillah, although he did have a tough time coping with the pain but he is a much stronger person now. And I have never stopped praying for him. May Allah reward him for being sabr (patient) and redha.

I also had the opportunity to travel to Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt on a business trip last month. Alhamdulillah, it was like a dream come true. Spending 9 days there was sufficient to convince me that I should get a job there! (how I wish! J) Anyway, we managed to squeeze our already tight schedule to visit the Egyptian Museum, the famous Khan-el-Khalili shopping bazaar (ouch!), the oldest university in the world – Al Azhar and of course, not forgetting the Pyramids and the Salah El-Din Citadel. It was funny though - the pyramids did amaze me (I feel awkward thinking about the number of lives that were lost while building them for the Pharaohs!) but the Citadel – it was just magnificent. Incredible. Superb.

One thing I learnt from the visit – you can have all the power and strength in the world, but in the end, you return to Allah!

Updates on the kids – they are now in kindergarten. After much thought, we decided to send them to Pusat Asuhan Tunas Islam or PASTI. Of course, one of the main reasons for sending them there is because it is close to my parents’ home and it would be easier for my dad to pick them up at 12. But the main reason is the Islamic teachings and the Islamic environment. I was there on the first day. It was quite impressive. They started the morning with an assembly, but it was not ‘another’ assembly. They started by reading the shahadah! Subhanallah! I pray that my kids would turn out to be practicing Muslims! Amin!

I have also finished my second round of ICSA examinations. After two ‘horrible’ months I completed the two most difficult papers – Financial Management and Secretaryship. Although I am not too sure of passing but I pray that Allah makes things easier for me. The results should be out in March so I am praying for the best

My husband’s granddad and granddad’s brother passed away – the difference in time was just one month away. But what affected me most was the granddad’s brother who was the imam of the kampong. Being a PAS supporter, he was always ridiculed by the rest of the community. But he never gave in. And most importantly, he made the Quran his companion. On his deathbed, just a few minutes before he passed away, he called his wife to sit next to him. He looked at her, smiled, lifted his hands, uttered “Allahumma hawwin ‘alaina fi sakaratil maut”, wiped his face, placed his hands on his chest and closed his eyes. I cried when I learnt about his ending. Subhanallah. He was 80 years old and he still had a strong mind! May Allah reward him and grant him jannah!

Other than that, life goes on…