don't speak

Don't speak for the sake of speaking.

And don't speak without thinking.

And don't speak arrogantly.

And don't speak too soon.

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on ringtones (again)

sometimes, it's funny. sometimes cute. but only for the 1st few times.

I have a case on why you should not use your kid's voice as a ring tone, although we do love them oh-so-much. In fact, BECAUSE we love them, we should't use their voice, so as to avoid the situation I'm going to share below.

There was this case (another case - not the one mentioned before). The ringtone was the son's voice, saying 'mummy, pick up the phone'. And as with all ringtones, it repeats itself. I guess the ringtone, was especially for when the son calls. Let's name the son, 'Ali'.

So this woman.. she was busy on the office phone, when her hp started to ring. It was her son : "Mummy, pick up the phone..... Mummy, pick up the phone.... Mummy, pick up the phone.... Mummy, pick up the phone...".

By the third repeat, It started to sound, to me, as if the boy was pestering her to answer the phone. I realised she felt that way too, when right after her office call, she answered the phone, clearly irritated, "YES Ali?! Mummy was on the phone..."

Poor boy, it's not like he knew.. he only called ONCE.

See, proven case.

If you still want to hear your children's voices, perhaps you can use their voices in other non-irritating way.
Maybe, you can have the kids saying 'ring ring... ring ring..' instead. It wouldn't sound too whiny, I think.

The best test would be this : Before you decide to use a recorded voice as a ringtone, or ANY ringtone for that matter - let it ring and repeat it self at least 3 times. Then do that 2 more times. See how you feel about it. If you still feel absolutely fine, or you actually enjoyed it - then go ahead. Otherwise, be considerate and don't make others feel what you felt.



Toenote : I seriously have nothing against children! And I seriously have nothing serious against people using children's voices as ringtones. I seriously don't feel THAT irritated, that I would go over and slam the hp to the ground or.... simply shut it off. No.. no. I seriously don't and won't.

It's just one of those small, mundane matters that i sometimes ponder over (like stirring tea).
But even though it's mundane, it COULD raise our level of consideration for others a teeny weeny bit.

* The name used is in no way related to anyone I know, dead or alive. Any resemblance is purely coincidental, masyaAllah.

Hanaa's trip

Hanaa has been selected by her school to go to Batam, to help do up a play area for a primary school there. She departed this morning and has called to inform that she has already arrived safely there. Alhamdulillah.

I think... yes it is! the first overseas trip for her, without family! I reminded her to look after her stuff well (because I will not be there to pick up after her) and not forgetting to do her daily prayers. She has requested her teacher earlier, to group her with her two other Muslim friends (Sara and Huda) so, that they can comfortably do their daily prayers in their room together.

I have always said that I want my children to be exposed to humanitarian or charity work. I want the children to see, how children in other countries are, and how thankful we should be. As such, I am glad for this opportunity to come her way.

I hope she will learn some, and have fun too.

Can't wait for her to be back this Friday, safely. InsyaAllah. Ameen.

comfort & material progress : the real deity?

I am currently reading 'The Road to Mecca' by Muhammad Asad, which I may write more on, after I'm done devouring it. I love it, and I'm only one fifth through.

I just feel the need to highlight this part (although the other parts are just as interesting and/or thought-provoking) because I see too, that this is how most of us are, in the world today. He was describing the state of the European youths, of which he was one, in the 1920s..

It's real deity, I saw, was no longer of a spiritual kind : it was Comfort..... the manual worker or the intellectual seem to know only one positive faith : the worship of material progress, the belief that there could be no other goal in life than to make that very life continually easier.... The temples of that faith is the gigantic factories, cinemas, chemical laboratories, dance-halls, hydroelectric works; and it's priests were the bankers, engineers, politicians, film stars, statisticians....

....I saw how confused and unhappy our life had become...

And in today's world, the pull towards those false deities, is even greater than ever. We MUST keep ourselves in check.

Questions we need to ask ourselves every time:

1. Are we truly happy, contented, sure of ourselves, our needs and wants?
(2-3 hours of sheer happiness or blissfulness with friends without any care for the world, against a whole week of emptiness, loneliness and confusion when you're alone, does not count as 'true happiness', For those are really only ILLUSIONS of happiness and they are so short-lived.)

2. Where are we heading to?

3. Who (or what) do we sacrifice most of our time and effort for? Who do we serve? Who is our real deity?

May Allah makes us and always keep us among the guided. Ameeeeen.

the orange moon

LOOK!



someone called and asked me to go look at the moon.

It was BIG. AND ORANGE!

Have you ever noticed an orange moon before? Subhanallah, it's beautiful. But it scares me a bit too - thinking of kiamat.

Apparently what causes the moon to appear orange, or sometimes yellowish or even red, is that the atmosphere close to the ground is, basically polluted. There are too many dust particles, so some of the moon's light, (red, orange, yellow, blue, green and purple - which together appears white), get refracted away. And the colour that reaches us, are usually the red, orange or yellow.

So be happy if u see a white moon near the horizon, it shows that the atmosphere is clear :P

Allahu'alam.

Blessed be He Who hath placed in the heaven mansions of the stars, and hath placed therein a great lamp and a moon giving light! - Al Quran, Al Furqan 25:61