7 things Madrasah-Polytechnic students can relate to

Madrasah (مدرسة‎): It means 'school' in Arabic. A term used in many countries for Islamic religious schools. In Singapore, madrasahs are considered as private schools. Male students wear long pants, collared shirt and songkok (cap). Female students wear long dress/baju kurung/pant suit and tudung (headgear).

1. Culture Shock
   This is the most common of all. 
   Most of us madrasah students will surely experience this if they choose to go 'academic' afterwards. The worst is usually during the orientation days; the kind of games they host, the level of entertainment, the deafening audios, and such. The atmosphere is just too unusual and..... Odd?
   
   Just FYI, in madrasah, males and females are segregated when playing games. We do not have body or skin contact with the opposite gender. The amount of entertainment is kept to a minimal and no, we do not blast loud music during events. Only soothing songs, instrumentals or nasyids/qasidahs (spiritual songs) will be played.

2. Sneak out of lecture to pray
   This is challenging. We used to be connected to the masjid (mosque) or musolla (a space to pray) 24/7. We could even hear the adzan (call to prayer) and will proceed for prayers immediately. Its a routine that has been practiced for years, since the age of 7 (yes we study in madrasah for 10 - 11 years since primary 1).
   Fun Facts: Madrasah used to have kindergartens as well back in the 90's.
   
   In polytechnic, we need to find our own space and time to pray. If our schedule collides with the prayer time, we have no choice but to sneak out of lecture and rush for prayers. BUT YAAAY most of the schools now are musolla-ready. They even provide us with the necessities. Many thanks to the people/management who initiated this - you guys have made our lives a lot easier!
   
   
3. Not sports-inclined
   Well, this does not really apply to the guys unless they too, got asked questions like
   "Do you have CCA/sports in madrasah?"
   
   As for the ladies, we often get questions about headgear and long pants.
   "Don't you feel hot?" "Isn't it uncomfortable to run around in those?" "How do you go for a swim then?" Alright chill, let me give some enlightenment.
   
   Firstly, yes we do have sports and CCAs in madrasah.
   Regarding the hot issue, we feel hot at times but we are used to it so yeah no worries we are cool.
   Comfort? Frankly speaking, we do not see any huge difference between wearing shorts and pants.
   How do we swim? Have you ever heard of 'muslimah swimming gear'? Yeah, we rock that thing in the pool. Its pretty vogue y'know? Maybe you should get one too. ;)
   
   
4. The urge to converse in Malay
   Madrasah is flooded with Malay students, so we converse in Malay 99% of the time. Honestly, it does feels a bit weird to have a mixture of races in class (polytechnic). In madrasah, we tend to speak Malay even during English lessons hahaha. It became a habit. Our teacher then jokingly came up with this cute punishment - pay 10 cents for every Malay word uttered. Lol.
   
   But wait, we do enjoy picking up Mandarin words from our Chinese friends and trade them with Malay words. Win-win situation! That's the beauty of being in a multi-racial country yes? Definitely.
   
   
5. Being labelled as malaikat (angel)
   The way you introduce yourself to a new friend is important in this context. They will surely have another impression of you the moment you mention 'madrasah'.
   
   We are getting used to people labeling us 'angels'. Yes apparently we madrasah students do not sin at all. Thank you but you are being too nice we can't handle. (please sense the big sarcasm here)
   
   
6. Education stream confusion (express, normal academic or normal technical)
   During freshmen year, one of the frequently asked questions is "are you 17 or 18 years old?" And when you say 18, BAAAM they will confirm plus chop thought that you took N levels & had to go to secondary 5.
   
   Okay understood cos that's how the system works. But not for us though. It is actually compulsory for some madrasahs to do an extra year of curriculum (hence sec 5) as we have to sit for STE (a big exam by MUIS in Arabic/religious subjects) in secondary 4. It might be too taxing for us to do both STE and O levels in the same year. We do not practice education streams.
   
   
7. We do not have friends of the opposite gender
   This is the funniest of all. Come on. Living in this cosmopolitan era, how could one not have any friend from the opposite gender? With the presence of social networks and all............
   You get me right?!
   
   So anyways, 4 out of 6 madrasahs take in both male and female students. We behave like normal kids, study the same subjects (with additional religious subjects) and are friends with everyone! I am not sure about secular schools but we were trained to be well-mannered and dress modestly.
   But apart from those, we are no aliens. Just normal human beings. 

Disclaimer: All the points above are purely based on my own experiences/opinions, supported by a number of friends who have mutual thoughts regarding this. 

Cos one's a mirror to another

Heard of MANJA Magazine? What about Seventeen Mag? And Oh the all-time favourite Teenage Mag? :)
Those are well, namely some of the well-known local mags which talk about celebrity, entertainment and whatnot.

Now, the serious question is: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF MIRROR-MAG?
Tricky question isn't it? Okay okay no more going around the bush la.

Mirror-Magazine is actually an independent online lifestyle magazine designed for the Muslim youth in Singapore. Living in this cosmopolitan country practicing multiple religions, Islam might be the minority. Hence, this favourable approach was initiated by a group of youth to provide a platform for the youngsters (even adults) here in knowing more about Islam in the simplest and attractive way - just by surfing and reading!

As all know, we don't have much exposure about Islam in the form of media and magazines locally. Yes fortunately, we can still name a couple such as Irsyad Radio (initiated by Madrasah Al-Irsyad) and Vizier Newspaper. But enough meh? Nah don't think so. Therefore, the birth of Mirror-Mag is certainly appreciated as we NEED more of these. Reading is more efficient in such a way that we can do it whenever we'd like to and yupz no money involved. It's just a click away! If we can click here click there for twitter and instagram, why can't we click click for something more beneficial right? ;)

How do we go about reading this Mirror-Mag? Easy! Just go to their website!

www.mirror-mag.com

Mirror-Mag already have 8 issues published and they go by Islamic months.

Just a few weeks ago, the Rabi'ul Awwal/Rabi'uth Thani 1435 | issue #08 was issued.

In that issue, they share with you the second article of faith – to believe in the Malaikah (Angels).

You can read issue #08 here:

And dyou know what's more exciting? 

I'm one of the contributors for this Mirror-Mag! Lololol. Yeah, so I'll be writing for the Health Section Insya Allah. 

And......I shall start crunching ideas outta my head now hahaha.

XOXO.

Syawal, in a nutshell

UPDATE || SYAWAL'S WHATABOUTS

Syawal 1434 hijriah has been a good but dashing one. To sum it up, this year's hari raya was pleasantly satisfying. Except for the fact that my late grandmother is not around to celebrate 'Eid with us. My prayer goes to you nenek. I miss you. *hearts all over*

The family went pink, turquoise, purple and black this year. I just love the idea of having this color-code thing. I can sorta feel the unity lol. Anyways, we only bought a couple of new outfits this year while the rest are recycled ones. I don't feel the need of buying half a dozen of hari raya outfits to be honest 'cos the most important day for us Muslims to don up is during 1st Syawal only. We are encouraged to dress nicely to celebrate the victory BUT don't over-celebrate alright. Note to self before others. :)

This year's hari raya was also packed with school stuff i.e EXAMS and my overseas trip's briefings to China. Yup, I'm going to Guangzhou & Hong Kong in 2 weeks time and I can't explain how I feel. The dream of having a getaway.... and now its happening. But kinda nervous at the same time 'cos I'll be away from beloved family for 2 weeks! Can you imagine that? Haha but all is well, Insya Allah. Oh, and did I mentioned exams earlier? Hip hip hoorayyy exams are over. *Big smile with double chin exposed* :DD

Currently, I'm working with an Islamic organisation called MIRROR, in writing articles for their e-magazine. I've just read their mag and well, I gotta say that it's super cool & it is definitely a great initiative by them to set up such organisation in spreading our religion and giving heads up to the youths out there. *Two thumbs up!*
>>> You can read MIRROR online magazine here: http://www.mirror-mag.com/

Other than that, I intend to practice and brush up my calligraphy skill. Went to the art friend the other day with a friend and as usual without fail, brought back their unique coloured markers. I'm a fan of markers! Especially when they have pretty colours with unusual tips! Yeah, just my thing.

SIDE TRACK || FRIENDS AND TRUST

Oh by the way, I was thinking about friendship these days. And it kinda saddens me, knowing the fact or possibility that your 'real' or 'close' friends might be a stranger in the future. Pretty scary ain't it? I mean like, c'mon, we can't see the future (duh) and these things might just happen to anyone of us. And it sure gonna be painful right? I hope that my friendships with all my friends will sustain lah of course but we have to prepare for the worst. This issue kept me thinking and made me realised that only ONE will last. And He is Allah SWT, our Creator. We might lost our friends and family but Allah is always with us.

For that, I hold on to this saying:
TRUST NOBODY EXCEPT ALLAH AND YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THOSE 'REAL' FRIENDS WILL DISAPPEAR. 
(Well, I'm not too sure if you can find the link between the quote and what I was trying to say but yeah, don't be TOO connected to your friends (i repeat, friends) for it's gonna be painful if something undesired were to happen.)

Naudzubillahi miin dzaalik. 

The Power of Patience

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

It's Sunday, and it's the last day of term break :( 

School will be as usual for the next 6 weeks... before we settle down for study break and finally, THE EXAMS! Am I supposed to be feeling excited or otherwise? Hmm lol.

Anyways, spent my Saturday (yesterday) productively, Alhamdulillah. Attended a talk by Sheikh Daood Butt at Masjid Ar-Raudhah on 'adversity' and 'women in Islam'. Met quite a number of sisters whom I've not met for quite some time...also a lot of sisters from NYP. :)

I didn't really expect the crowd to be sooo overwhelming but I'm happy to say that most of them are youths, just like me. I hope more youth will attend these kind of majlis 'ilm in the future, Insya Allah. :')

Now let me share some useful points given by Sheikh Daood Butt.

The most conspicuous one was on patience, in my personal opinion. I feel that most of the nation here are lacking of patience, including me. Hence, it is really a good topic to start off.

Patience: It is something needed to develop our lives. Allah SWT emphasizes on patience in the Al-Qur'an. With patience and taqwa, InsyaAllah He will grant you success. 

This can be related to the story of our Prophet, Yusuf 'Alaihissalaam. He was tested several times since young. His own siblings did not like him. Then, when he was thrown and found from the well, he became a slave. Later, because of some incident, he was brought to jail for years.

Yet, he remained calm and stayed patient throughout. He believes that, if he put trust to Allah SWT, something good will happen. True enough! After the sorrows he went through, he was elected as the minister of agriculture. 

You see, from being a slave, to the jail and finally becoming a minister. Subhaanallah, nothing is impossible when you have the patience and taqwa. Lastly, he was reunited back to his family. Such a blissful ending. 

(Refer to the story of Nabi Yusuf 'Alaihissalaam for a precised story.)

Apart from that, always take failures as blessings. I'm sure all of us have encountered failures, at least once. A simple example: Failing your test. How should you react?

Instead of emo-ing and isolating yourself, or feeling discouraged, why not you take it as a lesson. Learn your lesson and start bucking up. Without you realising, it is actually a blessing because that failure made you realise on your mistakes.

".و اصبروا إن الله مع الصابرين..."

“…and be patient. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.”
[Al-Anfal 8:46]

Sheikh Daood Butt also shared some tips on attaining patience when you face trials:

1) Think of good rewards that will come in the future

2) Expecting and hoping for the time of ease

3) By thinking of Allah SWT's blessings that we already have (Relatable to Prophet Ayub 'Alaihissalaam's story)

4) Think of previous things where Allah SWT blessed us after hardship.

Above all, be reminded that THE REAL TEST is: How are we going to PASS in the hereafter? 

Not your exams, your image, your driving license etc (applies to me especially).

Sometimes we tend to think too much of our worldly desires till we forgot to read the Al-Qur'an. :(

If you're facing difficulties, turn to Allah SWT and make DU'A. Whatever addiction you are facing, you can overcome it by consistently turning to Him, Insya Allah. :)

I'll end this post with a hadith:

"No one can be given a better and more abundant gift than patience."

Allahu a'lam.

Fashioning Hijab

Assalamualaikum Wr Wb,

It's been a long time since I last updated this blog. I've changed my blogskin! :)

Anyways, I wanna share my happiness with you readers! ...Tomorrow will be my last paper for O Levels! Alhamdulillah, so far, I've went through the journey smoothly. And I really hope that the results & outcome will be as smooth. Smoother, Insya Allah. :)

Actually, my main reason for blogging today is to talk about HIJAB. From what I observed, HIJAB, or the way Muslimahs put on their hijab, has become a major issue. It's like, a trending topic worldwide! Hence, after googling for some useful notes, I decided to blog about this, giving MY OWN OPINION. But before that, I want to highlight that I may not be 100% accurate with the facts I'm gonna post here. You readers know better & may have a different perception on this issue. This is MY OPINION. That's all. I hope that it won't harm anyone, teehee! :)

Hijab: My say on today's trend.

The main problem nowadays is PEOPLE ARE TEMPTED TO THE LATEST HIJAB TRENDS.

They simply know that its a MUST for them (Muslimahs) to cover their aurah with hijab but MAYBE, they forgot the main purpose of putting them on. Hence, they are influenced by the trendy types of hijabs posted online, on facebook, or by looking at the beautiful ladies at the shopping malls/work/school etc.

Furthermore, there all a lot (too many) blogshops selling modern hijabs on facebook/blogs. So, as ladies (conquered by Nafs), we are easily attracted to beautiful things. Even I got the urge to try them sometimes, but I'll try to control. Haha!

Some of them put on their hijab just for the sake of covering their hair. Their neck, arms and chest are left uncovered. Some even wear a sleeveless shirt or T-shirt together with their hijab. Then, whats the purpose of putting on the hijab in the first place?

Let's now refer to Surah An-Nur from the Qur'an, verses 30 and 31 :

''And Say to the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (like both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer palms of hands or one eye or dress like veil, gloves, head-cover, apron), and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bossoms) and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband's fathers, or their sons, or their husband's sons, or their brothers or their brother's sons, or their sister's sons, or their (Muslim women) (i.e. sisters in Islam), or the (female) slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigour, or small children who have no sense of feminine sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.''

Source: http://www.shariahprogram.ca/islam-qa-women/hijab-face.shtml

Another factor is, with styled hijab, they tend to tie their hair higher, such that it will form a big bun behind. Hence, when the hijab is put on, a big bun will be VERY VISIBLE at the back of their head. At first, I thought that this kind of style is fine. Cos for me, its just the matter of we, ladies, trying to tie our hair so that it wont go messy inside our hijab. But, a few months back, I found these.........and they freaked me out.............

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ صِنْفَانِ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ لَمْ أَرَهُمَا قَوْمٌ مَعَهُمْ سِيَاطٌ كَأَذْنَابِ الْبَقَرِ يَضْرِبُونَ بِهَا النَّاسَ وَنِسَاءٌ كَاسِيَاتٌ عَارِيَاتٌ مُمِيلَاتٌ مَائِلَاتٌ رُءُوسُهُنَّ كَأَسْنِمَةِ الْبُخْتِ الْمَائِلَةِ لَا يَدْخُلْنَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَا يَجِدْنَ رِيحَهَا وَإِنَّ رِيحَهَا لَيُوجَدُ مِنْ مَسِيرَةِ كَذَا وَكَذَا

Daripada Abu Hurairah r.a, beliau meriwayatkan bahawa Rasulullah SAW telah bersabda :

"Dua golongan yang termasuk dari kalangan ahli neraka yang tak pernah aku lihat iaitu yang pertama: Mereka yang memegang cemeti seperti ekor lembu (bentuk cemeti itu seperti ekor lembu yang berbulu-bulu dan berambut-rambut) dan mereka memukul manusia dengan cemeti tersebut."

Source: http://aishahtur.blogspot.com/2010/04/bonggol-unta.html

Dari mafhum hadith:

"Ada dua golongan dari penduduk neraka yang belum pernah aku lihat: (1) Satu kaum yang memiliki cemeti seperti ekor lembu untuk memukul manusia, dan (2) para wanita yg berpakaian tetapi telanjang, berlenggang-lenggok, kepala mereka seperti ekor unta yg bergoyang-goyang. Wanita seperti itu tidak akan masuk syurga, dan tidak akan mencium baunya, sedangkan baunya dapat tercium selama perjalanan sekian & sekian."

(Hadith riwayat Imam Muslim)

Source: Google image search "Hadits tentang bonggol unta"

The "high bun" is also referred as "bonggol unta". In Malaysia, there's even a hijab fashion called "tudung bonggol".

I am totally shocked after reading the hadith. This is nothing to play with. We can't play around with fashion when there's a specific hadith going against it. :(

My last point is...... creating a new fashion that makes us the same as 1other culture's style.

If you happened to search on 'shawl tutorials' on youtube, you will find a lot of creative ways on fashioning your hijab. And one of them is almost similar to the picture above. You know who she is? She is a nun. What is a nun? A nun is a woman who has taken vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation. So, basically, nuns are not Muslim. They come from another religion. And here we are, fashioning and covering ourselves with a style that is similar to theirs. :(

Rasulullah shallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam bersabda :

مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ

“Barangsiapa yang menyerupai suatu kaum, maka ia termasuk golongan mereka”.

Source: http://abul-jauzaa.blogspot.com/2011/01/takhrij-hadits-barangsiapa-yang.html

This is getting into a more and more serious matter, isn't it? Hmm.

All these are my views. Don't feel offended by what I wrote. If you have other useful stuffs to share, please do so! I would much appreciate it.

Lastly, I would like to end my post with another verse from the Qur'an, Surah Al-Ahzab verse 59:

Ayat ini membahas tentang kewajiban menutup tubuh:

"Wahai Nabi! Katakanlah kepada istri-istrimu, anak-anak perempuanmu dan istri-istri orang mukmin, Hendaklah mereka menutupkan jilbabnya keseluruh tubuh mereka. Yang demikian itu agar mereka lebih mudah untuk dikenali, sehingga mereka tidak di ganggu."

Source: http://buletinmitsal.wordpress.com/perspektif/hijab-dalam-al-quran-dan-hadis-1/

Allahu A'lam, Wassalam. :)