26 Zulkaedah 1432H
am trying to recall the days spent in Egypt..
and putting them in words.
for memory sake :)
and putting them in words.
for memory sake :)
arrived at Cairo International Airport on Thursday,
15th Sept 2011, at around 8:30pm local time.
Ainul Mardhiyah and Tan fetched me...
and brought me to their cosy home ("Beit Nabil")
situated at an area called Raba'ah.
one by one, the Singaporean sisters over there came over to welcome me.
siap nyanyi2 lagi~ thanks korang =)
on Friday, I followed the sisters to jami' Asyraf situated at Muqattam
to attend durus by Syeikh Yusri. Syeikh explained a bit from the book "Khosois al-Kubra" (on Rasulullah's Biography, 'alaihis salatu wassalam), and then continued with a hikmah from the famous Hikam ibn 'Ataillah, and then read a few ahadith from Muwatta'.
then, I joined the Singaporean sisters (there were 6 of us, including me) in their visit to Syeikh Yusri's daughter-in-law's place (which is just beside the gami'). Dr Fatimah turned out to be such a brilliant wife, mother and lecturer. we also met her 2 children, Muhammad and erm, i forgot the little girl's name. anw, Muhammad sure isn't just "any 3-yr-old". he's able to recite a few surah, and aptly memorised the 10 qualities of an-Azhari by heart, in cronological order. and what appealed me the most was his ability to answer questions intelligently.
for instance, when a friend asked him: "which school do you go to?"
his reply was: "madrasah sidin nabiy!!" sollallahu 'alaihi wasallam!
15th Sept 2011, at around 8:30pm local time.
Ainul Mardhiyah and Tan fetched me...
and brought me to their cosy home ("Beit Nabil")
situated at an area called Raba'ah.
one by one, the Singaporean sisters over there came over to welcome me.
siap nyanyi2 lagi~ thanks korang =)
on Friday, I followed the sisters to jami' Asyraf situated at Muqattam
to attend durus by Syeikh Yusri. Syeikh explained a bit from the book "Khosois al-Kubra" (on Rasulullah's Biography, 'alaihis salatu wassalam), and then continued with a hikmah from the famous Hikam ibn 'Ataillah, and then read a few ahadith from Muwatta'.
then, I joined the Singaporean sisters (there were 6 of us, including me) in their visit to Syeikh Yusri's daughter-in-law's place (which is just beside the gami'). Dr Fatimah turned out to be such a brilliant wife, mother and lecturer. we also met her 2 children, Muhammad and erm, i forgot the little girl's name. anw, Muhammad sure isn't just "any 3-yr-old". he's able to recite a few surah, and aptly memorised the 10 qualities of an-Azhari by heart, in cronological order. and what appealed me the most was his ability to answer questions intelligently.
for instance, when a friend asked him: "which school do you go to?"
his reply was: "madrasah sidin nabiy!!" sollallahu 'alaihi wasallam!
I LOVE this boy!!! ^-^
Dr Fatimah also shared a bit about parenting, emphasizing the importance of maintaining sakiinah at home. when asked how she managed to make Muhammad memorise so many facts at such a young age, she simply answered: "talqin. and continuously repeting (the words we want our child to remember). day and night."
so, parents should practice istiqamah. and patience. and be outstanding role models to their children (just like Dr Fatimah and her zauj, Syeikh Usama -who is Syeikh Yusri's son! subhanallah...)
ouh. by the way, Syeikh Yusri is also a surgeon. double maasyaAllah!
Saturday:
so, parents should practice istiqamah. and patience. and be outstanding role models to their children (just like Dr Fatimah and her zauj, Syeikh Usama -who is Syeikh Yusri's son! subhanallah...)
ouh. by the way, Syeikh Yusri is also a surgeon. double maasyaAllah!
Saturday:
attended an early morning dars (Qawa'id Fiqhiyyah) by Syeikh 'Amru. just a few minutes after Syeikh started his dars, we found out that the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Syeikh 'Ali Gom'ah has just arrived to deliver his much-awaited dars. all of us, including Syeikh 'Amru, rushed to another, bigger hall in the Great Gami' Al-Azhar as-Syarif, and tried to get good positions to sit in, which will allow us to have a clear view of the Grand mufti. According to a friend, they've all been waiting for a year or even more for Syeikh to resume his classes. Subhanallah!
and there I was, just arrived not even two days ago, and being granted the golden opportunity to attend such a blessed "raudhatun min riyaadhil jannah" -as Rasulullah 'alaihis solatu wassalam put it.
in this muqaddimah, Syeikh was telling us the new schedule for the durus that are going to be held at Gami' Al-Azhar. deep down, ghibtoh starts to grow... ya Rabb~ not wanting to feel even more sad or jealous (because i'm truly aware of the fact that i'm only gonna be in Cairo for a few more days. tsk tsk.), i tried not to dwell on the thought, and try to get myself to think of other stuffs.
then, i followed the excited sisters to the nearby boookshops to enquire about the books that are going to be needed for those new durus.
bookshops! speaking of which, alhamdulillah, i've had the chance to enter more than a dozen bookshops throughout my stay in Egypt, browsed through loads of books, and of course, bought some to bring home with me :D (bukan namanya Khadijah Md. Hussain kalau tak beli buku bila dah kat kedai buku kat negeri Arab ni! ;p)
in this muqaddimah, Syeikh was telling us the new schedule for the durus that are going to be held at Gami' Al-Azhar. deep down, ghibtoh starts to grow... ya Rabb~ not wanting to feel even more sad or jealous (because i'm truly aware of the fact that i'm only gonna be in Cairo for a few more days. tsk tsk.), i tried not to dwell on the thought, and try to get myself to think of other stuffs.
then, i followed the excited sisters to the nearby boookshops to enquire about the books that are going to be needed for those new durus.
bookshops! speaking of which, alhamdulillah, i've had the chance to enter more than a dozen bookshops throughout my stay in Egypt, browsed through loads of books, and of course, bought some to bring home with me :D (bukan namanya Khadijah Md. Hussain kalau tak beli buku bila dah kat kedai buku kat negeri Arab ni! ;p)
not to mention the lovely Islamic posters and keychains. particularly the ones at Maktabah al-'Ilam. to my pleasant surprise, I found a large poster of al-Aqsa and quickly grab it. i love, love, love it!
"O Allah, please Grant me the chance to pray at least 2 raka'at in all the 3 Greatest Masaajid (the haramain and al-Aqsa)". ameen! =')
Saturday afternoon, attended Syeikh Yusri's another dars. this time, it's from Fathul Bari! this kitab has long been one of my favourites. and Syeikh's wonderful delivery only made me love the kitab even more... baarakallahu feeh..
at 5:35pm, attended a dars on Usul Fiqh by Syeikh Shaltut, also in gami' Al-Azhar as-Syarif.
"O Allah, please Grant me the chance to pray at least 2 raka'at in all the 3 Greatest Masaajid (the haramain and al-Aqsa)". ameen! =')
Saturday afternoon, attended Syeikh Yusri's another dars. this time, it's from Fathul Bari! this kitab has long been one of my favourites. and Syeikh's wonderful delivery only made me love the kitab even more... baarakallahu feeh..
at 5:35pm, attended a dars on Usul Fiqh by Syeikh Shaltut, also in gami' Al-Azhar as-Syarif.
at night, 'Aathirah and Sharifah Huda brought me to maqam Sayyidina Hussein, after which we wandered around the area, stopping once in a while to buy some souvenirs. having some previous experience in dealing with Arab shop owners, I surveyed the prices first. and true enough;
for example: i got to buy 3 fridge magnets at 12 Egyptian pounds, whereas one of those -exactly the same- cost 12 pounds at another shop.
Sunday:
attended another early morning dars (started at 6:55am) by Syeikh 'Amru, followed by Syeikh 'Ali Gom'ah's dars. at 10am, we made our way to the kuliyyah banin, the Hall of Imam Muhd. 'Abduh, , where a nadwah (forum) on the late Syeikh Md. al-Ghazali is going to be held. 5 renowned Egyptian lecturers were invited to be the panelists, each focusing on one aspect of Imam Md al-Ghazali's contributions in Da'wah and for the Ummah. we all managed to get front seats since we arrived there way early. the exhausted me fell asleep during parts of the forum, just like how I was overcome by sleepiness during Syeikh Ali's dars before -despite my countless struggles to stay awake!
Yikes! :S burok eh Khadijah~
for example: i got to buy 3 fridge magnets at 12 Egyptian pounds, whereas one of those -exactly the same- cost 12 pounds at another shop.
Sunday:
attended another early morning dars (started at 6:55am) by Syeikh 'Amru, followed by Syeikh 'Ali Gom'ah's dars. at 10am, we made our way to the kuliyyah banin, the Hall of Imam Muhd. 'Abduh, , where a nadwah (forum) on the late Syeikh Md. al-Ghazali is going to be held. 5 renowned Egyptian lecturers were invited to be the panelists, each focusing on one aspect of Imam Md al-Ghazali's contributions in Da'wah and for the Ummah. we all managed to get front seats since we arrived there way early. the exhausted me fell asleep during parts of the forum, just like how I was overcome by sleepiness during Syeikh Ali's dars before -despite my countless struggles to stay awake!
Yikes! :S burok eh Khadijah~
at night, went to an 'Eid Open House at a Malaysian restaurant with some sisters. the food was awesome! jazahumullah khaira jaza'... (tak sangka dapat makan satay kat Mesir~ hehe)
Monday:
went to Giza with 'Aathirah and Sharifah Huda. yes. just the three of us (tak kuasa nak tunggu "ikhwan" bawak... coz that might mean tak dapat pergi langsung~). a horse carriage took us on a tour to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx. i wasn't really excited about seeing the Pyramids, but since i was already in Egypt, so -why not? one of the 7 wonders of the world they say...
then, we went to the Salahuddin al-Ayyubi Citadel. it's HUGE, consisting of 2 masjid and a few museums.
next destination was Gami' 'Amru ibn al-'As. it was also huge, and surprisingly about 90% vacant -because according to a friend, during the 27th night of last Ramadhan, the scenario at this very jami' was "mcm kat Padang 'Arafah!". nevertheless, empty means: ample opportunity for us to explore the historic jami', and I even took the chance to climb up the minbar (where the imam gives the khutbah)! ^-^
On the same night, (7:30 -10 pm), followed Halimah and some sisters to Syeikh Rahim's place at 'Asyir (Syeikh's an Indonesian). the majlis started off with adzkar and wirid, followed by syarh from the book Rasail Ibn 'Arabiy, then al-Wasoya, also by Ibn 'Arabiy -the famous Dimasyqian Sufi master.
Then, Halimah propped the delightful question: "nak gi tgk recording dars Syeikh Ali Gom'ah (untuk siaran kat TV)?" weE~ alhamdulillah ya Rabb...
both of us then rushed to gami' al-Azhar (reached there around 11+ pm), and I was mesmerised by the sight as soon as i stepped into the gami'... it looked different at night, but equally stunning! the best thing was: there wasn't a lot of people. just around 5 ladies and less than 20 men (including the production crew). not wanting to miss the chance, we stood in a line near the entrance, eagerly waiting for syeikh to pass by. some sisters suggested I requested a special du'a from the Grand Mufti since i'm going to have my safar soon, but when the Mufti and some other masyaikh finally passed by, we were so stumped that none uttered even a word! even me, who was supposedly prepared to record the Muftti, was flustered -such that instead of holding my handphone in the direction of the Mufti, i recorded his footsteps and the carpeted floor instead! LOL.
on early Tuesday morning, we set off to Alexandria, about 3 hours journey from Cairo. there were 6 of us. having arrived there at around 10am, the first place we headed to was none other than Imam al-Bushiri's maqam. the writer of the well-known Qasidah Burdah!
we then paid some visits to the maqaamat (shrines) situated nearby, before meeting 3 Singaporean sisters who stayed at Alexandria. from 6 to 9, we then set off to buy ice cream and sandwiches, and continued to walk all the way to a citadel.
afterwards, we rode a small boat, enjoying the waves that send us rocking up and down. an uncle who have been waiting for us ever since we arrived at the castle quickly approached us to offer an hour trip on his horse carriage for 10 pounds (around S$2). agreeing, the 9 of us squeezed into 2 horse carriages, which will bring us on a tour to a few attractive sites in Alexandria. among the stops were maqam Abi Darda' radhiyallahu 'anh , the sahabi, a Roman theatre, and finally the exquisite Alexandria Library, situated at the other end of the extensive road. unlike the capacious Cairo, Alexandria is thankfully smaller, but it seems to stretch along the length of a loooong road.
A unique thing about Alexandria is: you could find all sorts of vehicles on its road; there are cars, buses, vans (Tramco), motorcycles, horse carriages, AND trains! the latter is the most extraordinary.
I can hardly believe my eyes when I saw cars stopping to give way to the train striding nonchalantly on its tracks. (I don't think Singaporeans have the patience to undergo that, do you?)
from the library, to a mall for lunch and finally to another mammoth castle, then back to Cairo. finally tasted the ruzz bil laban (rice with milk!) here, recommended by a few friends. unlike its name, it was surprisingly nice! sodap~
from the library, to a mall for lunch and finally to another mammoth castle, then back to Cairo. finally tasted the ruzz bil laban (rice with milk!) here, recommended by a few friends. unlike its name, it was surprisingly nice! sodap~
Wednesday:
first trip to one of Cairo's shopping malls. (City Star, if i'm not wrong). had lunch at the Halal Auntie Anne's. truly enjoyed the sugar-cinnamon pretzel + caramel dip and the cheese sausage roll (or whatever their names were). thanks to Fathiah who insisted on treating me to such delectable meals. jazakillahu kheir~
next spot was Darussalam, apparently the most popular bookshop among the students here. i soon found out why: there are a wide array of books that are nicely arranged, and students get up to 50% discount for each book! i got too caught up, n i guess that was why we ('Adilah and me) were late for Syeikh Jamal's dars =(
but according to 'Adilah, usually, Syeikh extended the dars until after Maghrib. it just wasn't my rizq because apparently Syeikh decided not to continue after Maghrib on that particular day. we then proceeded to Hussein to have sugarcane and mango juice -the best i've ever tasted, and bought some stuffs. had Isyak at Gami' Hussein, after which i made friends with an Egyptian sister named Asmaa. how simple it all started: after the second salam and du'a, as usual, i'll turn to the sisters beside me, wishing: "taqabbalallah..." and smile. Asmaa happened to be the one one my left, and soon after, we started introducing ourselves. outside the gami', again, we bumped into each other. this time, Asmaa requested my FB address. and till this day, we still keep in touch with each other :) hoping to meet u once again when I re-visit Egypt insyaAllah, dear Asmaa the English teacher ;)
Thursday:
the day I spent around 7 hours visiting the maqaamat of the sahabah and awliya', trying to cover as many as possible. among them were the shrines of Imam as-Syafi'i, Imam Zakaria Al-Ansari, Imam Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Sayyidah Nafisah, Sayyidah 'Atikah (Rasulullah's aunt), Ibnu Sirin, Syeikh Syihabuddin ar-Ramli, Sayyidina 'Uqbah ibn 'Amru (the Companion), Imam al-Laith, Imam as-Sya'rani, and a few others as well, radhiyallahu 'anhum ajma'in.
the day I spent around 7 hours visiting the maqaamat of the sahabah and awliya', trying to cover as many as possible. among them were the shrines of Imam as-Syafi'i, Imam Zakaria Al-Ansari, Imam Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Sayyidah Nafisah, Sayyidah 'Atikah (Rasulullah's aunt), Ibnu Sirin, Syeikh Syihabuddin ar-Ramli, Sayyidina 'Uqbah ibn 'Amru (the Companion), Imam al-Laith, Imam as-Sya'rani, and a few others as well, radhiyallahu 'anhum ajma'in.
At night, Huraidah and Tan brought me to another mall ("Ganina" or something that sounds like that. lol. ). Unlike Syria, many malls can be found in Egypt, and the things sold in the malls are relatively affordable and... practical. In Syria, usually students go to the malls just to have meals or to buy some imported stuffs at the Grand Mart supermarket (bagi yang dah "kepingin" atau "mengidam". heh). other than that, things are expensive.
Penyabar betul dorang, temankan kte gi tgk "bende2" kat sebahagian kedai2 kat situ. partly bcos i was thinking: "ntah bila lagi gue dapat pergi sini..."
then, just as I arrived at Beit Nabil, the sisters started to sing some qasidah for me. ouh, so it was a surprise! the sisters residing at the same apartment had come together for a small gathering before my safar the following day. truly appreciate it. jazakunnallahu khairan :')
Friday:
attended my last dars with Syeikh Yusri, at Gami' Asyraf. this time, Syeikh was teaching a bit of qiraat, and a few ahadith from Sunan An-Nasa'i. coincidently, the ahadith today were those on du'a. how lovely, lovely the whole session was. Very glad that Huraidah, Tan n me decided to go ahead with our plan despite having the feeling that we might arrived a bit too late n miss most of the dars. yes, we were late (all of us slept very late the night before). but that didn't deter us from crossing all those miles from Raba'ah to Muqattam (around 20-30 mins journey by taxi if i remember correctly)... mainly bcos I know it's gonna be my last chance to attend a dars (that helped to boost the enthusiasm a lot!). when we arrived, we were relieved to discover that Syeikh just started with the qiraat, and hadn't even begin with the Sunan yet! =D
Alhamdulillah, Thank You Allah...
Afterwards, we waited for Syeikh outside the gami', and upon Syeikh's arrival, I told him that i'm going to have my safar on that very day. "inatahiti? safar niha'i?" (have u completed everything? going back for good?) then I explained that I've just completed my studies in Syria and that I'm here just for a short period (to experience Egypt's beauty ;))...
Then I requested a du'a, and Syeikh made a beautiful du'a, among which he prayed that I'll get good husband and children. ameen ya Rabb! double happiness~
on the way back, I asked Tan and Huraidah:
"macam mana Syeikh tau kte belum kahwin eh?"
then one of them said: "agaknye Syeijh taulah org2 Singapore kat sini selalunye jarang yg kawin2". hehe.
then we made our way to the markaz of Perkemas, the Singapore Students Club in Egypt, stopping on the way to get some fresh flat breads (beli 2, makan 3 org pun susah betol nak habiskan, padahal sedap.pelik. lepas tu siap berangan konon balik rumah kalau sempat nk buat sambal tumis ikan bilis, mesti sedap mkn dgn roti ni~ emmm...) and to buy melon juice+halib (milk) -which turned out to be SUPER sweet. tsk. i had to add loads of mineral water to reach an acceptable n telan-able taste. amazed at how Tan managed to swig them down just like that. (on the way home, Tan was saying: "kte rasa saturated dgn gula!"hee.)
anw, the packing took longer than expected. well, to be honest: i did expect it to take some time. just that at times, i have difficulty in packing :S
and... unpacking! (as it turned out after my arrival in Singapore. uff. leceh+memeningkan betol. especially when u discover that there are 6 persons' belongings in a single room. berserabut~)
All in all, the trip to Egypt is an eye-opening n enriching experience. felt sad to leave it, especially knowing that loads of classes are now starting all over Cairo, mostly at gami' al-Azhar as-Syarif. sedihnye tak dpt join~
takpe k Khadijah, insyaAllah lepas dah settle semuanya, dapat dtg lagi ke Syria & Mesir k.
ok insyaAllah! ameen! :')
by the way, it's also interesting to note the differences between Egyptian 'ammiyah (colloquial) and that of the Syrians.
for example:
"eih" in Syria = yes.
"eih" in Egypt = what? (in Syria, it's "shu?)
"this" is Syria = "hai"
"this" in Egypt ="da"
it took quite an effort for me to stop myself from saying anything Syrian. and also adjusting my mindset to convert every "g" heard to "jim" (the way the Egyptians say it), like saying "gami" and "giddan" instead of "jami" and "jiddan". also, that explained why my Egyptian friend Asmaa is addressing me as "Khadiga"! hehe.
ouh. btw, my name is spelled "Hatice" in Turkish! hehe. how interesting~
^-^
