Friday, December 26, 2008

YEAR END NOTE

2008/1429H is waving us goodbyes.....Alhamdulillah, it has been a good year.

The year started for us with Abah beginning his sabbatical. Mama was ecstatic thinking Abah could then spend more times at home. Alas, it was not the case. He had to dash here and there, in and out of the country. And then, from early May to mid August he became a weekend hubby/father to us. It was heavily taxing on him. All the driving from KB-IPOH and vice versa. And fulfilling the demands from the 'forsaken' family...hehehe, we were bad,weren't we??

Anyway...we had enough of separation, don't wanna be separated ever again...unless it was for our deen as in Abah going out on khuruj fi sabilillah. We were terribly lonely without Abah around and it was during that time this blog was born, coaxed by Adik..... And, oh, I have a confession to make.....When Abah's research trip to Makkah was cancelled at the very last minute, I was actually glad and I'm quite sure that both Abang and Adik shared my feeling...( hung head in shame...) 

So, Abah, if you are reading this, WE ARE SOWWYY.....But, (ada but tu) I did pray for the best course to happen and He decided it. The thing is, we were not quite ready to be apart from you again soon after being reunited . InsyaAllah, when you go in January next year for that postponed trip, we'll be ready.

As far as school works is concerned, Abang has shown a tremendous improvement in Mathematics, Science and English but still very weak in BM. You got to work harder on it as you'll be sitting for UPSR next year. 
Mama is constantly worrying about this but Abah, as usual, is taking it very lightly, hemmph....but we have agreed though, that Abang will be attending a tuition class for the Bahasa subject. Mama has finally won the argument on tuition thingy!!! As for Adik, you have done very well academically,topping the class in every test and exam the whole year long. Way to go Adik!!! BUT,( ada but lagi) you still have to work harder on other things.

I dont wish to sound like a broken record here, so I'm not repeating them here. You know them by heart now anyway.....

On the other hand, Abang has been very good on that other things. I wish Abang will continue guiding Adik and you Adik, will duly follow Abang's examples instead of arguing and arguing!! 
 
I've recorded most events happening to us in 2008 in previous posts. Nothing dramatic happened to us ( except for the few that I made up...) Not until last few weeks when we were shocked to our bone with the news of landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa. Our own Ayah Long, (Mama's eldest brother) resided very close to that tragic site. 

Alhamdulillah, nothing untoward happened to them and they have moved on since. As if it wasn't enough, about a week after that, there were reports in newspapers about the same incident in Desa Melor in Rawang where Cik Lah and family recently moved into. Frantic calls were made and we were assured that everything was fine with them. When we then visited them, we saw that the site was quite far from Cik Lah's place. Mak Tok and Tok Ayah were worried sick with all those misfortunes happening around their children and they couldn't be within reach. Abang Hasif then added more drama by being warded at Kuala Kubu Baru hospital for dengue fever with platelet dropped very low. Mak Tok was reduced to tears by then and getting ready to go to KL.
But Alhamdulillah, everything ended well.
It was a good thing that most of Mak Tok's children decide to spend the school holidays at home with her, one family at a time, taking turn. The company make her smiles again.

We then went to KL and visited some families residing there. Mama went on a gastronomic trip with who else but kak chik Illa. Abah had to run to Ipoh for 3 days as the people from Perak Royal Medical College asked him to do some teaching. Meanwhile, Abang and Adik were having an overdose of cartoons and computer games with cousins in the same age group.

We made it to KL on record time of 6 1/2 hours with 3 stops. We started at 5 am, stopped for fajr prayer at Kuala Krai, then looked for tapai beras (for a certain someone who mengidam to eat them) at pasar Gua Musang and a quick toilet break. Breakfast was taken on the car. There were very little traffic on the road.

It was a completely different story on our way home. We were made to experience the agony our relatives have been suffering on every festive season. As soon as we got off the highways, we were faced with very dark cloud in Bentong . A stark contrast with sunny KL. The drizzles soon followed and never stop until we reached home. The car crawled with thousands other holiday makers. We saw at least 5 accidents. Abang And Adik slept away most of the journey, making up for the self-deprived sleep during the holidays. Mama, tightly wrapped in pashmina, fought the sleepiness and made small talk to prevent Abah from dozing off in that sleep conducive environment. At dusk we reached Mak Tok's place and by 8pm we were at our doorstep, noisily and excitedly greeted by Grey which clearly has been missing us as we missed her.

The new year will soon set in. Let us all pray that we will be better persons next year, in all aspects. I hope to be a better mother to both of you. The one that able to nurture your abilities and mould you to become good individuals.
InsyaAllah, the year 2008 will end in a good note as we just got news that our home has been chosen to host a masturat jamaat from Penang to camp in our house for 3 days starting Monday. Wait....it will be the 1st of Muharram1430H....so, its a good start for the islamic year as well.
Alhamdulillah!!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

AN APPRENTICE

On the day of Aidil Adha 2004, when Abang was 7 years old, it dawned upon him that someday, he has to take over from Abah as Abah has taken over from Tok Ayah Wahab. As the Tukang Sembeleh Lembu Korban that is!!

Since small, he had seen Abah helped slaughtering one or two cows while Tok Ayah did the rest. The backyard of Tok Ayah has always been the preferred site for the occasion by the villagers as a small stream flows through it making the washing up of those bloods and cow shit easier.

In 2004, however, Tok Ayah decided to throw in the towel and handed down his special knife to Abah, saying he couldn't do it anymore.So, Abah ,single handedly, slaughtered all the 7 cows ......

Abang saw it and later came to us and thoughtfully said, "Abang nak kena belajar potong lembu ni, Bila Abah dah tua nanti, for sure Abang yang kena ganti kan?"
 
Both Abah and me were left speechless for a moment!!


From then on, every year, without miss(except for last year when Abah went for hajj, servicing in medical team) Abang would help Abah preparing for the Day. They would bring out the knives, sharpen them, prepare the ropes and few other things related to it. Abah would read again from the book of Fiqh on the rules and regulations of doing qurban . Paying close attention to the sunnah ways of doing it. We also got to hear again to story behind it all and the significance of this sacred rite.

More importantly, we would also be reminded of the importance of sacrificing parts of our property, time and even our own self for the sake of Allah. We learn how if we give wholeheartedly to Allah, He will reward us much better than what we expect, both in this world and in the hereafter. We will read the stories of the august companions of Rasulullah SAW , how they sacrificed their whole life for deen due to which, we are muslims today.


(Abah somehow is less "celebrated" than Tok Ayah. Everything would be prepared for Tok Ayah. The cows already tied, there would be enough people to hold it down, the coconut leaves laid down etc. Tok Ayah just step up, sembeleh, went home. People then give some choicest cut of the meat to him prior to distributing the cow to 7 parts. He just walk away, didn't even have to carry the given meat, people will send it to his house!! Abah , on the other hand, do almost everything himself, before and after slaughtering, and seems to enjoy it....... and Abah's duty sometime covered 3 kampungs, Sabak, Bkt Merbau and Chica itself.)


Two years ago, Abah slaughtered 5 cows in our backyard garden and we had to suffer the smell that lingered on for quite some times. The men dug a big hole to bury all the smelly things but somehow some were left scattered around Abah's salaks ,dokongs, rambutans and banana trees....Okay, yes, they gave nutrition to the trees, but , we'd rather buy the organic fertilizers in big sacks from the jabatan pertanian, thank you.


This year, Abah was again supposed to go for hajj, heading a research team , (a joint program his university is having with the Makkah's Ummul Qurra University) , but somehow, at the very last minute, the plan fell through.

Everybody else, including Mama, had pledged a part of cow to be sacrificed, leaving Abah alone. So, Abah hastily found a cow, ( thanks to Pak Noh, the friendliest local butcher ever) and rounded up 5 friends and relatives to join in. He even arranged for Mama's part at Mak Tok's kampung to be taken up by someone else enabling Mama to join in this lembu.

So, the 7 of us will share the cow and Abah InsyaAllah will slaughter it and you Abang, will have to be on your toes and look closely as an apprentice, hehehe ( how to recite takbir, the cut must be proximal to the larynx, the two arteries severed; just writing about this pun dah make me shiver eeei.....)This one cow wont bring much bad smell I hope and this time I'll make sure the men scrape everything off the ground...




I just want you to know Abang.....
Abah and me are proud that you have that way of thinking, but you really do no have to worry about that. I guess Abah was chosen by Allah not by Tok Ayah. He has three sons, Ayah Mat who had military background, Abah and Ayah Chik Razif, a maulana. Both Ayah Mat and Ayah Chik would be more appropriate choice if it were up to Tok Ayah. Tok Ayah himself is a gentle soul, very well-mannered gentleman and have this serene look about him. Hardly the type you would expect to wrestle with a cow, but Allah chose him. Not everybody can do it, even Pak Noh himself, who slaughters cows on daily basis said he cannot /would not do it. I dont know his reason, you can ask him when you see him at the mosque.....


So Abang, dont worry, if Allah choose you, no one will be able to say," YOU ARE FIRED!!! "( a la the trump guy) to you...hehehe.