the 1-week break!

25 Rabi’ul Akhir 1433H

1-week school “holiday” is almost up (actually, the off days I had were only Wednesday and Friday, since I had to come to school on the other days as well –no complaints though, bcos I liked how those days were spent :)

Am still fighting to complete the Tajwid notes for my pre-U 1s (which has been taking plenty of time, since I’m trying to gather the best explanation from around 6-7 different sources), do a summary of Tafsir topics for my sec 4s (also requires me to open up other Tafsir books), and simplify Fiqh topics for my sec 2s. not to forget the lesson plan for week 11, AND drafting the exam questions for all the levels I teach.

But guess what?? I’m NOT complaining. And I’m lovin’ it ^-^

And also…guess what??? I’m kinda slacking. Tsk. I mean, during these past few days. (“holiday” lah katekan~) managed to complete Hijab Waali… The Veiled Girl by Dr. Syed Ikram Hussain Abidi, a Pakistani. An acquaintance once recommended the book few years back (way before I went to Syria). A fine book it is.

to be continued..

The Awesome Stars

the 2 -day training course for new (and not-so-new) teachers came to an end at around 5:10pm today. benefitted a lot from it, alhamdulillah. and discovered lots of new, useful, and practical techniques to implement in the classroom -not to mention the surprising discoveries about each participant in the room. lol. everybody seemed to be enjoying the training soooo much... ^-^

the roleplay, the "kus-kus" (LOL), the games, the "compass" and "sticks", and "Fire-Star-Peace-Right-Live", were among the activities covered.

n oh! we also agreed to name our group: "The Awesome Stars" ;)

as Madam Nafisah du'a for us: together, may we get to bring the madrasah to a higher level, and help the students flourish and release their utmost potentials.

ameen! :')

The Visit

18 Rabi'ul Akhir 1433H

The unexpected (yet most welcomed and needed!!) visit by Habib 'Ali bin Abu Bakr bin Shaykh Abu Bakr bin Salim last was Friday was...

enriching. touching.

deep inside, i was hoping the time will fly at a super slow pace, n that Habib will continue to shower us with more and more words of wisdom and tadzkirah.

many wonder: most of the contents of his -hafizahullah- tausiah were those that we've heard of before, yet, how come it TOUCHED so much?

i deduced: because he simply speaks from the heart -the heart that is in constant remembrance of Allah Ta'ala, the heart that is protected, n well taken care of...
perhaps that's why those words make their way so easily into the listeners' hearts :')
...
Saturday:
Maulidur Rasul -sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam- celebration @ Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah. I was in-charged of the VIP room, and also the Ihsan Club (a CCA club) booth.

generally, the event went very well indeed, alhamdulillah. just that for those who were on duties -like me- we didn't really get to listen to all the ceramahs and anasyid, so I wasn't in the position to comment any further. my only wish is for us to be blessed with more space for future events, so as to provide a better segregation between the muslimiin and muslimaat. i got a super uneasy feeling everytime opposite genders (non-mahrams) got too close... including "almost bumped into one another" situations -_-"

it's definitely not healthy for the hearts. and doesn't promote ghaddul basar (lowering of the gaze).

Please Help and Protect us ya Rabb...

meanwhile, it really touched me, looking at the students who tried their very best to make things happen.
i might not get to view all the students "in action", but those few that I chanced upon, including those who were in the VIP room with me, and the Ihsan Club girls who did such a GREAT job in selling off our "products" until the very end, for the booth to attain a 100% SOLD status...

Allah yujzikum kulla kheir! sayang sangat tau kat korang~

...
tomorrow: 1st day of training course for new teachers. Hope to gain more knowledge and skills, so as to be able to serve and give even more for my lovely students, biidznillah :)

Apa jua penderitaan... adalah kecil!

"Diriwayatkan bahawa seorang wanita telah menunggu di sebatang jalan menuju ke Madinah menantikan kepulangan tentera Islam daripada peperangan Uhud.

Beliau diberitahu bahawa suami, abang dan bapanya terbunuh. Namun, satu-satunya pertanyaannya ialah:

"Apa yang berlaku pad Nabi sollallahu 'alaihi wasallam???"

Mereka memberitahunya bahawa Baginda baik dan tidak cedera. Malahan wanita itu masih berkeras mahu melihat Nabi dan memastikan yang Baginda benar-benar selamat.

Setelah melihatnya, wanita itu lantas berkata:

"Apa jua penderitaan, selepas melihat kamu dalam keadaan selamat, adalah kecil."

:')

read this story a few times before, but it never fails to move me...

Allah...~ sungguh tabah wanita ini...

sungguh mendalam kasih dan cintanya pada Nabi...

bagaimana pula ketabahan dan cintamu kepada al-Habib, wahai Khadijah???

heart-to-heart

Alhamdulillah,all C.A. papers were finally sent for vetting.

and alhamdulillah, I've finally obtained the opportunity to have a real heart-to-heart chat with my female Pre-U 1 students after the al-Qur'anul kareem lecture just now.

I really hope to convey to them the importance of tarbiyyah.

every so often, people tend to stress only on education. However, we were taught by our blessed masyaikh and anisaat in Syam that there's an equally - if not more vital - area that requires our utmost care and attention: tazkiyah an-nafs (purification of the heart).

bit by bit, on the occasions that Allah Permits, i'd love to have more short "hearty chats" with my lovely students.

O Allah, Guide us to all that pleases You... :')

tugas lain!

rasa bagai baru sahaja semalam ku lalui detik-detik itu...

bermujahadah dan bertungkus-lumus membahagi masa

untuk muraja'ah pelajaran, dan juga tasmi'...

dan seterusnya memerah otak menjawab soalan-soalan imtihan sebaik mungkin.

tempat dudukku yang paling di belakang kelas, membolehkanku menyedari dengan lebih jelas keadaan di sekeliling.

hampir setiap hari, boleh dikatakan diri inilah yang menjadi orang terakhir yang keluar dari medan peperiksaan itu.

Syukur, diri ini bukanlah jenis yang akan berasa tertekan pabila satu persatu rakan-rakan seperjuangan keluar dari dewan peperiksaan. apatah lagi yang berbangsa Arab.

lajuuuuuu sekali anak pena mereka berlari.

dengan tenang, aku akan pastikan dan periksa sekali lagi semua jawapanku.

hanya setelah berpuas hati, baru dengan rela ku menyerahkan kertas tersebut kpd Anisah yang bertugas.

Kini, sedang berjuang membuat kertas-kertas soalan imtihan untuk para pelajarku pula.

Subhanallah... sungguh cepat masa berlalu.

Kini juga, ku bermujahadah memeriksa latihan-latihan dan kertas-kertas ujian mereka. agak menghiburkan.

...

ok ok. enough of trying to blog in formal Malay. hee. i thought the paragraphs above sounded a bit too serious, lengthy and dramatic. -_-"

at the moment, am finalising the test paper for my sec 2, before sending it for vetting. up next is the test paper for my sec 4s.

...

read quite a no. of FB posts on the snow fall in Damascus today. subhanallah... as much as i just L.O.V.E. the snow, i don't really miss it. even without snow, Syam is already oh-so-amazing.

even without the snow, i still yearn to return to that Blessed Land again.

to learn, n discover more about You and Your Beautiful deen, Ya Rabb~ :')

not to mention that me dah puas jugak main snow. 4 years straight, alhamdulillah. n last year pun, dah dapat golek-golek n baring kat atas snow TEBAL lagi SUCI (yang belum disentuh/dipijak oleh mana-mana manusia sebelum gue!) masa kat hadiqah Abu Nour!!! lol. cuma Allah dan Huda je yang nampak (of course I've checked to make sure nobody else was around before I did that dramatic action :p)

Syam...

tak pernah jemu mengenangmu~ :')

the boys!

22 Rabi'ul Anwar 1433H

it has been a month and a half, n I'm still having the difficulty to remain serious in class.

esp. when it comes to the sec 4 all-boys class.

selalu kene byk ta'awwuz dan du'a sebelum melangkah masuk ke kelas ni. dari luar lagi dah ada yg melambai2 dan seru: "Ustazah!~"

this afternoon, it happened again. Allah~

kadang2 takut jugak bila banyak ketawa ni... takut hati jadi gelap :(

apapun, Terima Kasih ya Allah kerana mengurniakanku tawa yang tidak berbunyi/mengekeh/mengilai...

cukup sekadar mengetap bibir atau menekup mulut/muka.

TAPI belum cukup untuk membuat budak2 tu berhenti dari membuat 1001 aksi lawak lagi menggeramkan. sabar jelah~

ya Allah, berilah kekuatan!