Allah Knows

When you feel all alone in this world
And there’s nobody to count your tears
Just remember, no matter where you are
Allah knows
Allah knows

When you carrying a monster load
And you wonder how far you can go
With every step on that road that you take
Allah knows
Allah knows

CHORUS
No matter what, inside or out
There’s one thing of which there’s no doubt
Allah knows
Allah knows
And whatever lies in the heavens and the earth
Every star in this whole universe
Allah knows
Allah knows

When you find that special someone
Feel your whole life has barely begun
You can walk on the moon, shout it to everyone
Allah knows
Allah knows

When you gaze with love in your eyes
Catch a glimpse of paradise
And you see your child take the first breath of life
Allah knows
Allah knows

CHORUS

When you lose someone close to your heart
See your whole world fall apart
And you try to go on but it seems so hard
Allah knows
Allah knows

You see we all have a path to choose
Through the valleys and hills we go
With the ups and the downs, never fret never frown
Allah knows
Allah knows

CHORUS (x2)


BRIDGE:
Every grain of sand,
In every desert land, He knows.
Every shade of palm,
Every closed hand, He knows.
Every sparkling tear,
On every eyelash, He knows.
Every thought I have,
And every word I share, He knows.
Allah knows

Eid Mubarak

Today is Eid Mubarak.

We started as early as 5.30 a.m. this morning. Performed Subuh prayer and woke up the kids to prepare going for Hari Raya prayer. This year, the event was jointly organized by Islamic Center of Hawthorne and Islamic Center of South Bay at Carson Community Hall.

After getting 'lost' for the first half an hour, we finally arrived at the Hall at about 7.30 a.m. Many people have arrived and the hall was almost full. Dear Hubby took Harith with him, and Hannah and I headed to the Muslimah section at the back of the hall.

The event was more or less the same as those in Malaysia. Takbir Raya, Khutbah, and the prayer. But a thing happened that I found was truly special and made the morning extra joyful for fellow Muslims. We received a new 'Sister'. We witnessed and welcomed a new Muslimah to embrace the beautiful religion of Islam. Hearing the Syahadah, "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and Prophet Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah", I found myself nearly in tears.

I was born as a Muslim, so I tend to accept Islam as part of my life. Well, Islam does means "A Way of Life". What I mean is, sometimes I forgot to be thankful how lucky I am to be born as Muslim and the umat of Muhammad. Sometimes I tend to ignore the beauty of Islam, to neglect my duties and responsibilities as a Muslimah. Let's hope that my experience this morning would constantly remind me to be a better Muslimah of this beautiful, true, religion of Islam.

Again, I was marvelled by the difference during the prayer. As usual, I covered myself except for my face and my two hands, wearing a jubah and a hijab, complete with the socks. But there were other Muslimahs who perform the prayers with only the shawl clinging on the head, and a short-sleeves dress, I could even see their toes (complete with the nail polish!) Wow..I did get really confuse. On the other hand, there were other Muslimahs who dressed as I do. Hmm..can somebody explain to me, which is which actually? The woman next to me even bent over and shooing her baby when the pumpkin cried in the middle of the prayer, and then she continued performing the prayer. Hmmm..I know we have different mazhabs in Islam, but for me that is too much difference! I was taught that we can't move freely during prayers for fear it would be 'batal'. I was also taught the aurat of Muslimah should cover everything except for her face and two hands. Hmmm....

Anyway, contrary to what I expected, no delicacies was served.. aww.. :( We only got a Papa John's doughnut and a drink. They were quite short, so I just took two doughnuts for the kids.

So we just went home and have a small feast of our own. I spent the whole evening yesterday, cooking ketupat Nona, rendang daging, ayam masak lemak kuning and sayur sambal goreng. Boleh laa..setakat nak lepas rindu, haha..serupa TAPI tetap tak sama...uwaaaaa...

Oh yeah..I had YM web conference with my family last night. Miss them..miss them..uwaaa...mujur la Ibu tak banjir..kalu tak..harus banjir gak LA niiiii, hahaha..

Hearing the Khutbah

That blue thing is the string of Hannah's balloon, enterframe betul laaa..hehe..

Outside the community hall

A sport shoes and a jubah??? Hehe..

I was holding tight to 'Atom', Hannah's security pillow (bantal busuk laaa) for fear of losing it. Has lost it in 2 occassions, and had to turn back all the way to the shop for it.

Our small feast, rezeki pagi Syawal di bumi Amerika...Alhamdulillah.

Belief and Faith

So far, I can say that life in LA has been quite challenging, in terms of religion. Although there are many Muslims in USA, the numbers are quite small. Everywhere I go, people seems to stare at me, just because I'm wearing Hijab. Sure there are some Iranians, Turks and Pakistanis around, but not all of them are wearing Hijab. It's just like back in Malaysia. So far I can count with one hand the number of other women wearing Hijab that I've run across to (I met a few Muslim women in Disneyland and Farmers Market). And so far whenever I go to supermarkets or the beach, I would be the only one wearing Hijab.

There are lots of Christian channels in TV too. Night after night, there would be some movies about God and prophets...from Joseph (Yusof) to Zachariah (Zakaria) to Jesus (Isa). There would be voices of Gabriels, giving messages to the Messiahs. However the story lines are wayyyyy too different from what I've read in our Book (Al-Quran). Although I know they are wrong, I inclined to watch them. Just for the sake of entertainment. The stories are told in an epic style, so it's interesting to watch the costumes and the sets. And me and dear Hubby has shared many opinions and views, discussing the movies. On Sundays, there would be live telecast from churches all over LA.

This is another reason why I'm reluctant to send Harith to the public school. I'm afraid that there would be teachings of Jesus and Christianity at school. And I'm concern with the Halal status of the foods in the cafetaria. Well, if we are to stay here for good, then that would be a different story. There are a few Islamic schools around, but those are private school and cost a bomb! But, as I've said, if we are to stay here permanently, I would be sure to send them to an Islamic school. Money doesn't matter when Iman and Faith is in question.

As for restaurants, there are very few restaurants with Halal status. There is one website that have the list of Halal restaurants, Zabihah.com . Since we have been here, we haven't eaten outside. I cook everyday. I'm more comfortable that way. And we get our poultry supplies from an Iranian supermarket, Shayyan International.

Well anyway, I guess this experience has taught me something. Belief and Faith, are very important. And patience. There's a reason why God has given me this opportunity to be here. To test my faith, my imaan. Someone told me once that Imaan flunctuates, sometimes it's high..and sometimes it's low. It's up to us to maintain our beliefs, by praying often for Allah's guidance.