Tuesday, November 21, 2017

‘Cinta Sejati’ atau ‘Love Till Jannah’

Jika anda bertanya apa itu ‘cinta sejati’ atau ‘love till jannah’, saya ingin kongsikan sebuah kisah benar yang saya alami sendiri. Kisah benar ini bukanlah kisah saya, tetapi kisah cinta seorang suami di dalam gambar ini. (x de gambar)

Sebaik sahaja kami selesai menguruskan jenazah ahli kariah seksyen 13 di tanah perkuburan seksyen 21 Shah Alam, saya segera mendapatkan pusara nenek untuk diziarahi. Sedang mencari-cari pusara nenek, seorang abang yang kacak (masya Allah) menghampiri saya lalu menyapa, “assalamualaikum. Cari kubur siapa tu ustaz? Deretan ni kebanyakannya yang meninggal bulan Mei dan April 2015”.

Mendengar kata-kata itu tadi saya agak kagum dengan lelaki tersebut. Lagak pakaiannya tidak langsung menunjukkan dia bekerja di tanah perkuburan ini. Tidak sempat saya bertanya, lelaki ini mula membuka kisahnya.

Abang kacak : “Heh. Ustaz tak perlu pelik, saya ke tanah perkuburan ni hampir tiap-tiap hari. Dulu KAMI tinggal di Shah Alam, tapi sebab anak dah masuk sekolah kat KL, SAYA ambil keputusan pindah ke KL juga lah untuk dekat dengan satu-satunya anak saya ni.”

Saya : “Owh yeke. Kalau dah tinggal di KL, macam mana pula abang boleh datang sini hampir tiap-tiap hari?” Di kubur ni ada waris ke yang dikebumikan di sini?”

Abang kacak : “Kebetulan memang saya bekerja di Sksyen 21 ni je. Jadi setakat menyinggah memang tak ada masalah” (sengih). “Erm. Alang-alang ustaz dah tanya, saya cerita sikit ye. Itu pun kalau ustaz ada masa lah.”

Saya : (Angguk-angguk)

Abang kacak : “Sebenarnya kubur yang saya ziarah ni bukan setakat waris saya ustaz. Dialah pelengkap hidup saya. Dialah penyeri hidup saya. Senang cerita dialah isteri saya yang pertama dan selama-lamanya yang terakhir untuk saya ustaz.”

“Sepanjang dia hidup, dia tak pernah mengeluh bila kami hidup susah. Apatah lagi meminta-minta kerana dia tahu saya belum cukup mampu untuk beli itu ini buat masa tu.”

“Sampailah satu hari, bila kami dapat tahu dia jatuh sakit, hidup kami semakin susah. Bayangkanlah duit gaji habis untuk kos rawatan saja. Belum kos lain-lain lagi, masa tu saya hampir putus mengharap. Tapi arwah isteri pula yang kuatkan saya.”

“Dua tiga hari sebelum arwah isteri meninggal, dia ada tanya satu soalan, cuba abang bagitau sayang, sebesar mana cinta abang dekat sayang?” Saya jawab, “cinta abang kepada sayang seluas jarak abang hidup di dunia dan sayang hidup di syurga.”

Ketika itu tidak ada ungkapan melainkan hanya tangisan. Saya menjabat tangannya dan cuba menenangkannya dengan berkongsikan sebuah hadis Nabi s.a.w (boleh baca di bawah nanti untuk rujukan).

Beliau menerima hadis tersebut dengan gembira dan meminta agar saya tuliskan kepadanya hadis tersebut untuk menjadi ingatan buatnya.

Begitulah sebuah pertemuan singkat tetapi cukup mengajarkan kepada kita erti cinta yang abadi. Di akhirnya saya sempat bertanya kepada beliau, “abang datang sini bawak bekal ke? Nampak macam tupperware je?”

Abang kacak itu tersenyum, katanya “waktu rehat tengah hari memang saya akan makan di sini.” Saya tergamam. Inilah cinta sejati, inilah ‘love tilljannah’.

Rujukan hadis :
“Jika kamu ingin menjadi isteriku di syurga maka jangan menikah lagi sesudahku, kerana wanita di syurga bersama suaminya yang terakhir di dunia. Oleh kerana itu Allah mengharamkan kepada isteri-isteri Nabi untuk menikah lagi sesudahnya kerana mereka adalah isteri-isteri Baginda di syurga,” H.R al-Baihaqi.

Hadis ini walaupun disabdakan khusus untuk isteri-isteri Nabi s.a.w namun maksud yang cuba disampaikan terpakai juga untuk kita yakini dan kita hajati. Syaratnya kedua-dua pasangan kejarlah syurga Allah untuk mendapat ‘love tilljannah’.

Keputusan seorang murid Darjah 1

Keputusan seorang murid Darjah 1: KESAN hari ini: KECEWA kerana kedudukan dalam kelas 22/32 walaupun semuanya A. Bertambah seorang lagi Mental Stress Disorder mungkin?

Sampai bila kah senario seperti ini terus DIBENARKAN untuk berlaku dalam masyarakat kita?

STOP saying, "There's nothing we can do." "The system requires the child to read." "The system this.. the system that..."

Sampai bila?

Tidakkah kita yang dewasa ini ada akal dan fikiran yang boleh berfikir dan mengimbangi apa yang perlu dan apa yang tidak perlu?

Ya, kita STUCK dalam sistem.

Boleh tak kita HENTIKAN KITARAN JAHAT (Vicious Cycle) ini?

Boleh tak kita move on with our life, dengan tidak kisahkan jika anak kita boleh atau tidak?

Sebab secara saintifik nya, anak-anak ini boleh survive, boleh belajar, boleh hidup, jika kita benarkan mereka menjadi diri mereka.

PERCAYA KEPADA PROSES.

Bukan percaya kepada HASIL yang PROSESnya melibatkan tekanan seperti ini.

Saya kasihankan anak-anak kita yang kecil-kecil lagi sudah mengalami tekanan jiwa.

Alternatifnya Parents?

Samada pihak sekolah memberi tekanan atau tidak, TOLONG ABAIKAN.
Samada anak kita masuk kelas terakhir atau tidak, TOLONG ABAIKAN.
Samada kawan-kawan kita nak banding-bandingkan anak-anak, TOLONG ABAIKAN.
Samada ahli keluarga kita mahu mengherdik anak kita atau tidak, TOLONG ABAIKAN.

KENAPA?

Kerana ANDA lebih tahu SIAPA ANAK ANDA!

Apa yang perlu anda lakukan?

Berikan sokongan MORAL. Percaya pada kebolehan anak anda. Multiple Intelligence ada banyak, jikapun ianya bukan di bidang berkaitan akademik, ada banyak lagi Intelligences yang lain. Dalam AlQuran tercatat 14 Multiple Intelligence, Howard Gardner baru jumpa 9. Kenapa Howard Gardner yang buat kajian? Kenapa tidak kita?

Kayu pengukur bukan hanya PEPERIKSAAN. Ada banyak cara lain. Adakah kita semua bersedia untuk menggunakan Kayu Pengukur yang lain?

Tepuk dada, tanya selera. Kita ada akal, kita perlu berfikir. Jom!

HENTIKAN KITARAN JAHAT ini segera.. 10 tahun akan datang, dunia tidak lagi melihat bilangan A. Saya ulangi kata-kata ini (semenjak tahun 2014 lagi), 'anak anda boleh survive jika mereka ada SKIL, bukan bilangan A'. Dah bersepah di luar sana dengan hanya cantik atas KERTAS, tetapi tidak boleh bekerja.

PLEASE CHANGE.

(Gambar - sumber dari kenalan rapat)

#stoptheviciouscycle
#hentikankitaranjahatini
#ubahpendidikan
#ubahmetodpendidikan
[11/17, 3:54 PM] junaidah jalaludin: Saya sgt setuju juga. Anak saya mengalami perkara yg hampir serupa. Walau subjek  teras A tp disebabkan D dalam subjek bm penulisan..4 hari mlm nak tidur dia menangis kata " I'm a failure!" Dia tak lihat pada markah tp pd nombor dlm kelas dan keseluruhan. Baru djh 1 mereka dah stress dgn dpt no berapa. Menangis takut kena tukar kelas sbb itulah yg dia dgr dari abg kakaknya...sapa x pandai turun kelas.
Menyedihkan apa yg berlaku pd sistem pendidikan kita.
Moga sebagai parents kita dpt sama fikir2kan.
Saya kata pd anak saya..
"Allah bg pandai pd manusia berbeza2. Kita ke sekolah utk cari ilmu. Ilmu lebih bernilai dr nombor dlm kelas. Walau anak umie no 27 tp anak umie masih pandai. Anak umie setiap mlm baca buku. Byk ilmu yg dpt walau ilmu tu tak keluar periksa."
Minat anak2 juga berbeza2. Anak saya suka baca buku english. Mungkin Sbb tu bm penulisan boleh D. Tp itu "learning process" dia.
Dr 'kegagalan' ini, dia belajar. Jgn kita yg dewasa rosakkan keseronokan mereka mencari ilmu.
Please motivate our children love for knowledge. Knowledge bukan yg masuk periksa saja. Ilmu amat luas. Dari ilmu yg di teroka, mungkin anak kita akan jumpa minat mereka yg boleh melakar sejarah....

Tidak Kuat Melihat Anak-anak Berduka

Saya terbaca sebaran poster kenyataan Dato Seri Mahdzir Khalid, Menteri Pendidikan Malaysia. Beliau berpesan supaya pada hari keputusan UPSR diumumkan, tidak perlu diadakan majlis khas meraikan pelajar cemerlang 6A sedang ratusan calon murid UPSR lain hanya memerhatikan dengan perasaan diri mereka tidak dihargai.

Betapa saya merasai pengalaman 'getir' itu sebelum ini. Bukan sebagai murid. Tetapi sebagai bapa.

Pada hari itu, subuh lagi isteri sudah berpesan,
"Abang, nanti jangan lupa datang sekolah. Zulfa ambil UPSR hari ni."

Saya hanya angguk dan senyum. Mana mungkin saya lupa.
Kali pertama dalam hidup anak sulung menerima keputusan peperiksaan besar.

Pagi itu, saya ke pejabat dulu. Rakan sepejabat pelik melihat saya masih berlegar-legar di meja.
"Encik Ammar tak pergi ambil result anak?"

"Relakslah. Bukannya keputusan keluar terus. Menteri umum dulu, baru result boleh ambil."
Terus menyambung kerja-kerja yang sedang menunggu.

Henfon berpusing di meja diiringi deringan lagu lembut.
"Abang, dah gerak dari ofis belum?"

"Belum. Baru nak gerak." Sambil menolak kerusi merapat ke meja.

"Result dah boleh tengok online. Tapi Ryn tak berani nak tengok. Kalau abang nak tengok, tengoklah. Tapi jangan beritahu Ryn."

Lif dari tingkat 7 turun ke B1 hari itu terasa sangat perlahan. Jantung berdegup lain dari biasa. Detak dan berombak seperti berlari.

Ya, saya gugup.

Zulfa sederhana saja di sekolah. Dari darjah 1 hingga 6, sering juga berpindah kelas. Pernah merasai kelas tertinggi semasa darjah 5, tetapi turun ke kelas kedua untuk menghadapi UPSR.

Tiada apa yang istimewa pada pencapaian. Jarang dia menerima anugerah akademik. Tetapi saya tidak boleh menyangkal seperkara. Dia anak rajin dan tak banyak soal. Diminta belajar, dia belajar. Diminta menolong kerja di rumah, dia menolong.

Walaupun akademik sederhana, tidak pernah saya rasa mahu memarahi Zulfa.

Dalam perjalanan balik dari sekolah selepas KAFA, dia akan tertidur kepenatan di dalam kereta.
Sampai saja di rumah, terus mandi dan menyelesaikan kerja-kerja sekolah tanpa disuruh.
Tiba maghrib, dia berhenti solat sendiri.
Selepas makan malam, sambung semula menyiapkan kerja sekolah.

Ada hari, apabila tiada kerja sekolah, dia menilik jadual belajar di dinding dan terus membuat latihan dalam buku aktiviti. Tanpa suruh.

Ada masa, dia minta saya mengajar apa yang sukar dia fahami. Tanpa sedar, kadang-kadang saya tertidur atas katilnya. "Abah, Zulfa nak tidur." Saya melihat jam dinding, pukul 12 malam.

Hari minggu, dia selalu memujuk rayu minta untuk belajar di rumah kawan. Jika tidak diizin, monyok sepanjang hari.

Bukan kami tak sokong, tetapi jarak rumah ke Putrajaya bukannya dekat. Rasanya, cukup setiap hari, abah mama berulang alik untuk kerja. Tidak betah rasanya hari minggu masih memandu jauh.

Tapi rajuknya sebentar. Sedang kami leka, dia sudah di dalam bilik, belajar sendiri.

Untuk anak yang begini, apa lagi mahu saya paksa.

Lalu, fahami saja jika saya gugup pagi itu.

Sebagai bapa, saya boleh menerima apa saja. Dengan usaha Zulfa, saya tidak menyesal apa-apa. Saya sudah melihat prosesnya. Hasilnya hanya bonus bagi saya.

Tetapi dia. Bagaimana dia?

Bukankah di mana-mana pun orang berkata, usaha tangga kejayaan. Mudah fahamnya, berusaha, pasti berjaya. Jika sudah usaha, tetapi tidak berjaya?

Saya tinggalkan soalan itu begitu saja. Kerana berjaya itu luas tafsirannya.

Lagipun, beberapa minggu sebelum itu, Zulfa pernah berbincang hati ke hati dengan saya. Dia sudah usaha, dia terima saja apa keputusannya. Ketika itu saya sudah lega. Harapnya apabila hari itu tiba, dia benar-benar kota apa dikata.

Ikon Google Chrome di henfon saya sentuh dan biarkan 'loading'. Alamat url yang disebut isteri saya taipkan satu persatu. 'Enter'. Paparan telah tersedia. Masukkan no. IC dan angka giliran, keputusan dipaparkan.

Lama saya duduk dalam kereta yang enjinnya telah dihidupkan. Sungguh saya tidak kecewa. Tidak. Saya sedang mencongak-congak bagaimana mahu berhadapan Zulfa. Apa yang saya lihat terpapar di skrin sudah saya redhakan. Sekarang ini, ayat apa mahu saya ucapkan nanti.

"Abang, guru besar belum balik dari pejabat PPD untuk ambil keputusan. Tapi Ryn dengar 'result online' dah keluar. Abang dah tengok?"

"Dah." Perlahan dan bergetar. Isteri, dari intonasi saja sudah terbaca di hati apa yang saya cuba sampaikan dari getar itu.

"Allah bang..." Itu saja yang terungkap dari mulut isteri selepas saya didesak untuk memberitahu keputusannya. Aneh juga wanita bergelar ibu. Satu masa dia berpesan seperti tak mahu peduli. Tidak lama dia pula mendesak untuk mengetahui.

Ketika itu, saya seperti baru memahami apa perasaan seorang doktor yang sudah tahu pesakitnya menghidap kanser tahap 4 dan didiagnos sukar untuk diubati lagi. Perasaan mahu mengkhabarkan berita itu, seperti pedih menoreh dada.

Dari jauh, saya mendengar pengumuman nama anak-anak bertuah yang memperoleh 5A. Menaiki tangga menuju dataran sekolah, terhidang di hadapan saya deretan anak-anak yang sedang duduk beratur menunggu nama masing-masing dipanggil.

Saya mencari kelibat Zulfa dan menangkap dia sedang bergelak ketawa mengusik rakan-rakan dalam barisan yang berada sedikit ke tengah.

Dia sedang enak ketawa dan hati saya pula sedang mendung. Dia masih belum tahu keputusan, sedangkan saya masih gagal menemui kata terbaik mahu diungkapkan.

Zulfa terpaling ke arah saya, melambai-lambai dan menunjukkan ibu jari tanda bagus. Itu keyakinan dia ketika itu.

"Ya Allah, teruji sungguh hati ini hari ini." Saya hanya mampu bersandar pada dinding.

Selepas menamatkan bercakap dengan ibu seorang pelajar, isteri datang merapati, "Bang, tengok Zulfa tu bang. Dia seronok lagi tu. Tak tahu apa. Kesiannya dia bang." Mata isteri mula berair.

Saya memerhati Zulfa dari jauh. Kepalanya terdongak-dongak menanti namanya dipanggil. Sesekali dia bertanya kawan hadapan, nama siapa yang disebut apabila tidak dapat mendengar dengan jelas. Kawan sekeliling yang tadi ramai, sudah mula bangun seorang demi seorang meninggalkan dia. Yang dapat 4A sudah. Yang dapat 3A sudah. Sedang diumum mereka yang 2A. Dia mula gelisah.

"Allah, Allah, Allah..." Itu saja mampu saya dalam hati. Kau takkan mampu untuk pandang wajah dia yang sedang menanti itu.

Zulfa memandang saya dari tempat duduknya. Kali ini, pandangannya tidak seceria dan bercahaya seperti awal tadi. Dia seperti sudah mengagak sesuatu. Jika kau pernah lihat wajah anak yang sedang bersalah, itulah wajah Zulfa ketika itu. Cuma kali ini, dia tidak salah, dia tidak berbuat apa dosa pun. Dan itu yang menyebabkan airmata seorang ayah hampir tumpah.

Sebaik saja slip peperiksaan bertukar tangan, barulah wajah putih tadi mula merah. Saya membiarkan saja dia memilih bahu siapa yang mahu dipinjam. Ternyata bahu yang diperlukan adalah ibu. Berlaku drama airmata yang kehilangan skrip. Tiada sebarang kata-kata, hanya pelukan penuh emosi hiba.

Saya berjaya mengawal 'ego' seorang lelaki pada pagi itu hanya untuk menanti akhirnya airmata itu tumpah pada waktu berdoa selepas solat maghrib berjemaah.

"Ya Allah, kami bersyukur dengan apa yang telah engkau rezekikan kepada kami ya Allah. Selepas segala usaha, jika ini yang kau berikan pada kami, penuhkan hati kami dengan rasa cukup ya Allah. Tidak ada kuasa yang mampu memberi bahagia melainkan engkau ya Allah.

Tanpa dirancang, saya berpaling ke belakang dan menitipkan doa khusus untuk Zulfa ketika itu.

Ya Allah, Zulfa sudah berusaha sebaiknya ya Allah. Dia sudah redha dengan hasil yang diperolehi ya Allah. Kau kuatkanlah hatinya ya Allah. Jangan kau padamkan api semangatnya yang mahu terus menimba ilmu-Mu ya Allah.

Sesungguhnya, kami sangat LEMAH ya Allah.... "

Sebut saja perkataan LEMAH, serentak itu juga, jatuh habis airmata yang dari pagi diempang. Saat itu, sebagai bapa, betapa saya sedar, sekalipun kau manusia boleh berusaha tanpa batas masa, menghimpun segala kepandaian manusia, merancang strategi 'pasti berjaya', apabila akhirnya Allah putuskan begitu, maka begitulah! Kau tidak akan berdaya. Kau selemah-lemah manusia.

Lama saya terhenti. Jelas ada esak tangis juga di belakang saya. Ya, ego manusia jatuh. Mana lagi mahu meminta pertolongan jika bukan dari-Nya.
Saya serahkan sepenuhnya urusan untung nasib persekolahan anak saya seterusnya pada Allah.
Ketika itu, baru terasa betapa nikmatnya hati yang bulat sepenuhnya, lillahi taala.

>>>

Alhamdulillah... Selepas satu tahun, saya mula nampak mengapa Allah menyusun apa yang berlaku sedemikian rupa. Di sekolah menengah, Zulfa sangat berbeza dari dia yang saya kenal di sekolah rendah sebelum ini. Potensinya dicungkil dalam pelbagai bidang. Mendapat rakan-rakan sekolah yang bagus akhlak. Dia seperti tidak terkesan langsung dengan apa yang berlaku tahun sebelumnya. Saya lega.

Cukuplah sekali itu. Saya memang berharap keputusan peperiksaan tidak lagi diumumkan sedemikian rupa. Serahkan saja keputusan peperiksaan mengikut nama kepada anak murid dan biarkan mereka membaca sendiri keputusan mereka. Mana yang keputusannya cemerlang, sekolah boleh raikan dalam satu majlis khas buat mereka kemudian dari itu. Tidaklah murid lain yang menunggu terpinga-pinga.

Tidak mahu lagi ada bapa atau ibu lain yang merasai apa yang saya rasa.

Ammar Kamilin
Tidak kuat melihat anak-anak berduka.

Monday, November 03, 2014

Girls and Baking

Sun, Sept 28, 2014

One of the moments my one and only girl awaiting for.  Her love for baking with her great friends. Alhamdulillah, the bless of living in Saudi  having your children and yourself around with friends who bring lights in you, in good times and bad times.
For me...it is a great bless having wonderful friends all this year who tough and inspire me not only in cooking but bringing up beautiful children.
Jazakallahukhairan Kak Tini and family.  Love her lovely kids which is also great friends to my kids as well.  Boys and girls.  At first, moms was enjoying the cooking class...nasi maghlubi, home made kue teow, bakhlawa and so much more and now the girls with baking.  Usually while the girls bake, the boys got the chance to play :-).
As for this baking class..they are making 'Black and White Wagon Wheel' and pavlova.  The result was MASYAALLAH....beautiful and yummy.

In the making black n white wheel biscuit..
Sweetie Aishah showing her handwork to auntie Jun :-)

Final Outcome....lovely n yummy!!!



When kakak came back home bringing her bakes...everyone was jumping to try.  The comments were "Wow...yummy", "macam choco pie la!", "sedapnye pavlavo".  When mommy taste..."yummy!  Tulis resepi tak?"(did u write the recipe??).  And the answer is "no! Don't worry, nanti kakak mintak"(don't worry,i'll ask later".  Well...its a chance to see each other again...i guess.
Surely the activity will be memorable to the kids and the parents.
May the ukhwah will last till jannah.  
Tq girls! The sweet treats as sweet as you all!
  

Friday, May 02, 2014

R4BIA : IA TELAH MENJADI SYI’AR

 

Akhirnya jumpa juga dengan lagu R4BIA untuk Mesir yang dinyanyikan oleh penyanyi dari pelbagai negara beserta sarikata dalam Bahasa Malaysia. Lagu yang menyentuh hati ini pada masa yang sama melambangkan penyatuan dari umat Islam dari seluruh dunia kepada penderitaan rakyat Mesir turut dinyanyikan oleh penyanyi2 dari Palestin, Mesir, Jordan, Turki, Yaman, Lebanon, Syria, Spain, USA dan juga Malaysia.

Marilah kita bersama-sama doakan agar Allah memberi jalan keluar kepada penderitaan saudara seIslam kita di Mesir, dan juga penderitaan umat Islam lain2nya di seluruh dunia.

Terima kasih kepada Mesir Kini yang telah  menghasilkan semula video berserta sarikata ini yang membolehkan kita lebih menghayati lagu yang hebat ini.

RIHLAH 7 : Day 4 -> Duba, Al Dissa

15 Oct 2013


Sharma


DSC_2746

Camping was always fun to the boys. Seems that everyone had a good night sleep. We woke up for our “sahur” around 4.30 am with some leftovers and snacks available. The air was very cold. After Fajr, we decided to continue with our nap while waiting for the sunrise. Seems like everyone had a good night sleep and didn't realize the sun was already up. Only mommy was up caused she was playing with game on iPad while everyone was sleeping...haha (this a secret...trying to break my kids record ;-))!

Once everyone was up, the weather was too cold for a swim. The kids still insist on swimming but we were scared they might catching cold by swimming in the cold morning air. Comparing to the other beaches of Red Sea that we have seen, this one is nice but incomparable to the other beaches that we have seen so far of the red sea.  It is clean and nice but nothing compare to Maqna beaches that we were there yesterday.  After the kids gets to finds some sea shells and stone throwing competition, we decided it is time to pack our tents and heading for Duba.

DSC_2415DSC_2410
Our humble camp by the seaside.

DSC_2414DSC_2440
The ready made tents for hire.

DSC_2419
Throwing stones competition…the boys favorite activity before saying our goodbye

DSC_2404 Pack to go…

 

Duba

On the way to Duba we stop over another historical spot in Tabuk, Al Muwaileh castle.  It is about 45 km before reaching the town of Duba.  The castle is from the Ottoman empire which was built in 968H/1560 AD.  The castle is built on 120,000 square meters surrounded by a protecting wall.  It was strategically built and became a main Hajj station on the highway for the Egyptian pilgrims and it was the largest station on the road.  The castle was build by Sultan Sulaiman the Magnificent.

The castle is very near to the Muwaileh/Muaileh/Muailih (choose any spelling you like, its all referring to the same place :-)) beach.  Even the beach here are very unique with its own beauty.  It is a gorgeous beach with gradated sands and many palm trees. From the crystal clear water, we can see that the beach is partly stony and partly sandy.  As we are catching up time, we couldn't stop for water playing again at this coastal area.  Supposedly we find from the net, there should be a Prophet Mousa (a.s) Water Spring nearby the area but after a drive around, we failed to find one.  So, it is the right time for us continue our journey to Duba.
DSC_2450 In front of fenced Muaileh Castle


DSC_2449Al Muaileh Castle

 

DSC_2455Side view of Muaileh Castle 

It doesn't take long for us to reach Duba. Duba is a small town and a port city where ferries and ships operate from here for Egypt and Jordan. The Hurgada and Safaga ports of Egypt can be reached within about 3 hours (minimum) by ferry. It is strategically located at the starting point of Gulf of Aqaba that ends at Ellat (Israel) and Aqaba, Jordan. Local citizens describe it as The Pearl of the Red Sea.

It was another great surprised to find such a beautiful town in Saudi Arabia. The small town is very well kept and decorated with varieties of miniatures from seashells, pearls and sea creatures. The port with the masjid on the background gave a spectacular panorama. Bridge, shops, fish souq and boats makes the place looks 'happening'.  We are sure the place would be full of people after Asr as the afternoon was quite a heat when the sun top on your head.  Another place where you don't expect to be in Saudi Arabia! The more we explore the northern, the more we are in love with it.

After driving around the town taking a glimpse of the town surrounding, we continue to our next destination which is Wadi Dissa.

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Is this in Saudi? So peaceful, green and clean.

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Only see one or two people around…probably because it is Zuhr time..

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Peaceful…


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This Duba surely have many interesting and unique arch to be seen.

DSC_2632  Another interesting structure, combinations between nature and man-made.

DSC_2642A park on top of a hill overseeing the port…

DSC_2673 Huts in the park

Wadi Dissa

DSC_2713We continue our journey to Wadi Dissa which was another attraction by seeing the beautiful pictures posted on the net. Driving to the place itself was a splendid experience. We felt like driving in the village in our hometown since there were green trees and grasses by the roadsides. Until we reach the end of the road...the real beauty lays down right in front of your eyes. Everyone were excited. This is the best place in Saudi Arabia! We have awarded Wadi Dissa to be number one place in Saudi!

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The road leading to Wadi Dissa.

DSC_2787 Mountainous backdrop.


DSC_2729Dissa is a stunning oasis lying in a beautiful plain of sand. It is surrounded by striking sandstone mountains and dramatic peaks. A four-wheel drive vehicle is a must to navigate in deep sand before reaching the entrance of a red sandstone gorge. Unable to control the lust of exploring its beauty, we couldn't resist to make an effort entering the wadi as far as we can.

The soft thick sands were really challenging. We manage to passed the first portion of the entrance where we had to go through small streams and quite big puddle. One side of the high rocky mountains were full of 'art graffiti's. The graffiti's were so obvious until we miss what lays behind it....fresh water comings from the rocks of the mountain! Masyaallah!

Both sides of the hills were covered with papyrus and dates tree which add the green color to the orange, brown rocky mountains. We already fall in love with the beauty. The landscape is like a postcard. The combination of colours were just perfect. Thus, we decided to make an effort to pass through another phase of the soft thick sand. However, we weren't so lucky this time :-(. The moment we wish we didn't dare to proceed..OUR 4WD CAR STUCKED!!!

We have minor gears with us in case of stuck but wasn't hoping of using it. Seems we have to opt for a little more adventure to our trip ;-). Me and hubby start digging sands from under the car to place the slipping mat under the tyre. First attempt...FAIL! Second attempt...FAILED! Wow...now there's a bit of tense sense in the air. It was already Asr and we are stucked in the sandy Wadi and we're fasting! In about two hours time it will soon gets dark.

We started to ask our son to survey around the area in case we need to camp here if we'll stucked till night. At least there's stream of water for our use. While we were struggling to dig more sands and taking out the air tyre, a 4WD pick-up on its way out stopped. They were two of them and one of them which is the older one was deaf or mute. They used sign language asking whether our car is a 4WD. We nod telling them its an automatic 4WD.

They started to reduce further the tyre pressure for all 4 wheels. The car got stucked more and seems to be hanging on the sand. Without giving up, one of the guy took his gear and attempt to pull the car with their pick-up. They tried a few times and it still failed. One of the guy seems like giving up but the older one insist on trying. Together with hubby they were digging, pulling, pushing and putting every effort they could.

There were 2-3 pick-ups and 4WD passed by us without stopping or even asking, that gave us more pressure since we felt being neglected :-(. Anyhow, what were we expecting, right? Its good enough that these two guys are helping us with all what they had.

As our hopes getting lower and the pressure intensified, came this big Chevrolet Navara pick-up with 3-4 shababs (young Saudi) on their way to camping (with all the usual camping gears) in the wadi and being stopped by the two guys that were helping us.

MasyaAllah, when our hopes almost gone, there is still people that come to our help and put our hopes high again. That's the reality in this life, we should never feel hopeless, especially as a muslim. We have to keep praying and keep trying. After all, we have Allah, the best Helper of all.

With this mighty beast, with one pull… that's it, our car got out from the “sticky” sand, Alhamdulillah...what a great relief! We were so thankful to Allah for the assistance we got. The shababs quickly continuing their way further into the wadi after giving us an advice in Arabic, but we still understand it which is “get one like our pickup, only then can enter the sandy wadi, otherwise no-no with your AWD SUV”. My husband just smiling and nodding at them.

As for the other 2 guys, we tried to gave them some money as a gesture of appreciation for the assistance but they politely refuse.. and asked us to pray for them instead.   MasyaAllah... may Allah bless their sincerity in helping us. 

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Stopping by the water spring stream for our Asr prayer…


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Full of papyrus grass by the mountain…an experience for the kids getting to know papyrus from their social study lesson…

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A bit of the mountain magic…

We turned back and getting out of the wadi and quickly went to find a spot where we could pray for Asr as it is getting late. We took wudhu' from the stream flowing along the road. Very cool and refreshing. It was a meaningful day of Arafah for us.  We remind our kids not to forget making du’a asking blessing for the people who had sincerely help us today and how grateful for everything that has happened to us today.

P1230185 The scenery is just.. amazingly stunning.

DSC_2771 The greens and the mountains..

Now it is time for us to find food to break our fasting.  We have less than an hour to find food. The challenge was not able to see any restaurant on our way here!  Anyhow…at least we had some water, a few box of juice and biscuits.   Since we had our car air tyre releases while back in the sand…now we had to take our time to fill in the air tyre.  As the air pump machine we had could only used for 15 minutes at one time..we had to make four stop to fill in as much air as we can for a decent ride until we reached a petrol station for a proper air tyre filling…which makes longer time for us to get food!

DSC_2786 By the roadside stopping to fill in air tyre

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The mountains shimmered like a mirage from inside our car along the way…

After properly filling up the tyre pressure at the first petrol station that we found, we continuing our journey, with a music in our stomach :-). Our drive for tonight will get us out of Tabuk Province which is a lovely province.  If it wasn't that far from Riyadh, surely we would love to come again for a visit.  Tabuk offers so many attractions for anyone who love to explore the kingdom.  From sandy rocky mountains to coastal beaches.  There are more than 10 islands and shores offered by Heqel, Duba and Wajh district. Not to forget on the heritage of historical places right here in Tabuk. So many that we haven't covered though so many that we felt grateful for having the opportunity to visit.  Prophet Muhammad s.a.w in a hadith about Tabuk said, "if you were destined to live a long life you will see in here fields full of vegetation."

Our destination for tonight is Sakaka, one of the hitorical and archelogical city in Jouf province.  From the GPS, it will be another more than two hours drive before we reached Sakaka, which that means another two hours with our starving stomach.  Wow.. what a challenging day for the family.  A day of fasting with great energy to pull out our car out, no bath yet from our camp day, but blessed with a beauty of god’s creation and the beauty of heart.. Subhanallah.

As we reached Sakaka, we bought some foods and directly looking for any nearby hotels that we could found at an acceptable rate.  At least Sakaka gave us a better option compare to other towns we have been thru.  Finally we end up the day with a decent hotel which insist us taking two rooms though actually the four bedded room was big enough for all of us.

All in all, what a day.. another interesting day to be remembered in our life. Tomorrow is Eid-ul-Adha. This is going to be our 6th time spending Eid without our extended family. And in that every Eids, we really missing the air, sounds, feels and looks of Eid in our home country. This is something that we are trading with what we are looking for here. How long we could keep our missing feeling, we will see…  -tw&eth

DSC_2828 1st room: 3 beds room for ladies and kids

DSC_2841 2nd room: 2 beds room for Abah and Abang

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Rihlah 7 : Day 3–> Al Ba'ad - Maqna - Sharma

14 October 2013

Al Ba’ad

DSC_2189 It was a long day yesterday and today we are excited to explore another place which is Madaen Shuaib. Any places that relates to all of our beloved prophets always gave a great feeling for us Muslim.
We want our kids to keep on the love and respect to all the prophets deep in their heart...learning a great deal of virtues left by them in spreading the words of Allah.
We never knew there was Madaen Shuaib in Saudi Arabia. When we find there was one from Google Earth....we were excited to get there. The hotel apartment we stayed were only about 5-10 minutes drive to the sites.
At around 9 am, we reached to the area. There was SCTA office in front of the site. After asking the officer inside, we were told to enter the site via the gate opened by the side of the office. DSC_1886
Once enter, seems like SCTA is still constructing the place to make it more convenient for tourist. As we have been to Madaen Salleh, Madaen Shuaib offer some similarities in its design  except smaller in size.
Some info on Madaen Shuaib :
"Madyan-Maghabir Shuaib means 'Small Madein Saleh', and like its namesake further south, Maghair Shuaib has 30 well-preserved and unadorned Nabataean tombs cut into the hill-side. It was an agricultural settlement from 700BH-75H (100BG-550AG) when a 20 year long drought compelled the Nabataean inhabitants to move north to the Fertile Crescent. Al-Bad is an ancient oasis at the end of Wadi Afal which was mentioned by Ptolemy as "Al-Uyaynah". The presence of the tombs and town provide evidence of the continued settlement of different nations in different periods in the oasis when it flourished as a trade and agricultural center." - source arriyadh.com
 
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Entrance to Madaein Shuaib…

There were stairs build to ease people in climbing to the caves or tombs. The difference of the tombs just that the room tomb places horizontally compare to Madaein Salleh which is built vertically.  
Madaien Shuiab tombs were comparatively small to Madaein Salleh.  The carving of the tomb are simpler.  Seems there are still recovering more tombs around the area.  Wish SCTA could put up sign boards explaining historical details of the tomb i.e. meaning of the carving, reasons etc.  It would help very much for tourist to appreciate more of the visit.
This visit gave us the opportunity to relay the story of Prophet Shuaib to our kids and a reminder to us as well. Alhamdulillah, we had a book title “The People In The Quran” with us so they can relay the story to what they see in their life. We felt that this will give a bigger impact to them.
We asked our kids to recite the name of 25 prophets that they need to remember in order to know the sequence. The nasheed that they have memorized really is a big fun help.
Some lesson from the story of Prophet Shu’ayb a.s :

A Prophet Shuʿayb was appointed to be a prophet to the people who lived east of Mount Sinai, the people of Midian. The people of this land were said to be especially notorious for cheating others through dishonesty and for idolatory. Shuʿayb's prophecy mainly involved calling the Midianites to the correct path and forbidding them to worship false gods.
He told his people to stop being dishonest in their daily activities. Although he preached and prophesied for a sustained period of time, the majority of the people refused to listen to him. Shuʿayb, however, remained steadfast. He consistently preached powerfully against the wicked, telling them of the punishment that had befallen the sinful before them. Shuʿayb warned the people that their ignorance would lead to the destruction of Midian, giving historical examples of earlier prophets, including Noah, Hud, Saleh and Lot, all of whose people had been destroyed by God.
When the Midianites refused to believe, they were destroyed by a mighty earthquake. Only Prophet Shuʿayb, and his believing companions, were rescued from the thunderous punishment.
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Among the tombs….similarities with the design at Madaen Salleh

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Some tombs close to one another…


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Inside the tomb..

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One tomb was with a big hole front below it…not sure what is was for….


A great lesson learned for our kids...Subhanallah. As the place was not that big, it didn't take us long to end the tour. 

Magna

Later on we decided to explore Magna...a costal beach not far from Al Ba’ad. We decided to explore another attraction as well near the Maqna beach which is Tayyeb Al Ism Passage. We have seen great pictures from Google Earth for this area but wasn't aware of its name. The brochure really was a big help in clearing out our 'unknowns'.

dolphins roundabout to Magna Dolphin roundabout, marked the road to Magna 

Driving along the beach of Maqna to Tayyeb Al Ism was a great experience. We were speechless witnessing the scenery.  MasyaAllah...we just couldn't believe Saudi Arabia have these kind of places. One side is the blue, green sea view and the other side of road with rocky hills and mountains. The combination of the colors to complete the view was spectacular. Wondering why the Saudi's go far away to find a beauty where they can have it all right here in their country. Opposite of the red sea we can see the mountains of Egypt so clear. Maybe we can swim across to get to Egypt ;-)!

DSC_2013MasyaAllah… blue ocean with mountainous background in front of us, magnificent! 

DSC_2033Nature’s view.. 

We drove straight further up along the coastal beach of Maqna until we met we the signboard of Tayyeb Al Ism Passage. Upon reaching there, our end of road were stop by a National Guard who were guarding the area with a stop post right after Tayyeb Al Ism Passage. So...we do not know where this road end.

[At the beginning we were planning to go to “Scenic View” based on the GPS coordinate that we found in internet. Our assumption was that “Scenic View” is the high ground location like a top of a hill overseeing the Magna beach. But, we were not allowed to go beyond the post guarded by National Guard which leading to the top of the hill. This post situated just in front of the passage “entrance” to Tayyeb Al Ism. So we just settled with Al Ism.]

Tayyeb Ism Tayyeb Al Ism 

P1210929 Back there (where the pick-up is) is the National Guard post

To enter the passage, we drove into very high tall mountains which was just opposite the red sea. In just a few moments you are inside a passage of a stone mountain. MasyaAllah...what a great creation by Allah Almighty. We drove our car until we couldn't go further in. Seems like people have tried to commercialise the area by building a wooden path by the rocky hills but was later on abandoned. A small stream can be seen from far flowing down between the hills but sadly trash was along the streams.

We are certain the view will be much magnificent if we can omit the trash along the stream. It sadden us to see some people who just couldn't appreciate the beauty of nature. We hope all the journey we went teach our kids of appreciating and taking care of the nature which is part of a Muslim commitment.

We decided to walk further in to see where the path ends. After walking about two kilometres in, a few of us gave up. Hubby and the bigger boys continue. The walk in was worth while since there were no more trash once further in which gave us the actual picture of the natural beauty. Sitting in the middle between mountains with small streams running fresh water from the rocks, and palms trees giving the colors to the scenery was just relaxing. We sit on a big rock while waiting for the boys splashing our face with the running water to refresh ourselves.

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Driving in the valley heading for the entrance….

 
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Water spring from the mountain which can also be used to take wudu’..

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MasyaAllah….beauty and serene….
 
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Not knowing how long the passage will go, the boys decided to turn back. We took our wudhu' at the water spring further up with no thrashes around.

Its time for us to feel the splash of the ocean water which we have restrain ourselves from stopping before reaching here. The kids are excited to choose their spots caused everywhere is a beauty.

P1210953 Soo tempting…

At the end we decided to stop by at a beach area which its bay were very calm. There were also huts build for picnickers. Quickly the kids change into their swimming cloth to rush into the sea. The moment they were waiting for. The sea is all ours with no one to share. Scream, run, shout...do whatever we like with no one to bother.
Done with the swimming, it's time to find food. There we so many beaches to stop by with the limited time. We are sure all the beaches offers a different looks. The brochures we got at the museum really inspired us to see more than what we have planned.

DSC_2046 A beauty just for us to savour overseeing Egypt mountains across the sea…

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Sea colour in different layers…kids really enjoy having the beach on their own…

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Mountainous view opposite the beach while sea view on the other site….

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View opposite of the beach


Sharma

We decided to add up one more beach before heading to Duba which was Ras Al Sheikh Humaid. The guy at the apartment we stayed last night was mentioning us this name as well when we asked for any interesting places to see. We though it must be a great place like Maqna which was a beauty and not in our trip plan.

The drive to Ras As Sheikh was another route of about 40 km going in from the main highway. We didn't find any cars pass by while driving in. Surrounding the road was just a plain desert until we reach the coast. We reach there when it was nearly sunset.

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Red sea offers different looks from different places in Tabuk…


 DSC_2341Waiting for sunset…

The sea with the tip forms a rocky armlet, giving a silver like color shade sprung by the sun gave its own specialty of its beauty. The wind and the sea were very calm. There supposed to be a boat trip to an island nearby but we do not know how to get there. From far we could see a few cars parked with tent ready for a night stay probably.

We promised the kids for a night camp during this trip. If we had food ready, surely we will camp here but sadly restaurants were nowhere to be seen. We head out from the Ras Al Sheikh heading to Duba.

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Dinner before settling for the night…our campsite…

It was already night on our way out. Along the way we saw a few signboard showing Sharma Corniche. We found a few numbers of khabsa fish restaurant but looking at how they cooks the fishes doesn't tempted us (it reminds us of the “magnet fish” dish that we had for our dinner in Hill of Magnet (Bukit Magnet), Madinah – another story to be told). Not far going forward, we found broasted chicken restaurant which offered rice as well. As tomorrow is also the day of Arafah which Muslim are encourage to fast, we decided to get extra food for dinner and our sahur.

Driving to the corniche, we can see so many camps ready built along the coast of Sharma beach. A LOT! Seems like this is a good place to camp! We drove until the end of the camp and found a few other people put up their own tent. Kids were excited pledging us to camp up by the beach. With all the gears and lamps that we had, we settle down with dinner and a camp to sleep. Lets see what the beach looks like in the morning when the sun shines our day! –tw&eth