the season of the investitures...

Assalam dearies!!

It's been a looooooooooooongggggg time, I know... I just didn't have anything much happening in my life to talk about in these last few months. Life was just work, back home, work, back home. And whatever time left to spent was to catch up on a few spiritual duties. Almaklum, dah tua. Buatlah apa2 yang patot...

So it's just recently that a spruce of events one after another that happened to me. It's a bit overwhelming but I hope to get a hang of it soon.

As you know, I'm quite active with my own society, which is termed as Qaryah, which holds Maulidur Rasul event yearly and I hold the position of Secretary in this Qaryah. The Masjid holds meetings for all the Qaryahs in Jurong (mostly Taman Jurong, Jurong West and Jurong West Extension) monthly so that we get to work together and inform each other of any upcoming events. I attend the meetings religiously as it was a great platform to do networking.

Recently they did a re-certification ceremony which means that all the Qaryahs are still under the patronage of the Masjid, which means the Masjid is our 'Daddy'. To do an event, Masjid has to approve before endorsing our application to be approved by MUIS. Alhamdulillah, the event went well.

And so, 'Daddy' will look after us for the next 2 years. Inshaa Allah.

---

A few months ago, maybe at the end of last year, I was requested to join the Mosque Building Management (MMB) as a member for Masjid Assyakirin. You know, orang melayu cakap LPM Masjid. Maybe I was deemed fit and suitable to be a member of the MMB because I am one of those younger (ahem!) ones sitting in the meetings. The members really tried to persuade me to do up the application form. I was in two minds back then because I don't know whether I am able to do my duties. And this is voluntary. Voluntary duties are bigger responsibilities, coz I don't want to be doing something when Im not ikhlas in my duties.

I kept shaking off the calls. Till one day, a call came. And I was not able to refuse anymore. It was the Executive Chairman of the Masjid itself. How to refuse? Orang dah berharap sangat kat kita. So with Bismillah, I agreed to fill up the form. But not before roping in my dearest Ukhti along (you know who you are!). I thought, well, let's try this, Inshaa Allah...

A few months after sending in the application, there still weren't any news. Maybe, I thought, my application was not approved. Maybe there were some guidelines that I didn't manage to meet up.

But finally it came.

And it came like a shockwave.

I applied because I wanted to start from below.

I wanted to be just a member. I didn't want to hold a position.

But there, I saw it.

I was actually appointed, Assistant Secretary.

Without me knowing.

Hahahah...!

Terperanjat katak akak dibuatnya.

But well, what to do? Given a responsibility, I should strive to do my best. Inshaa Allah. Mesti ada hikmah disebaliknya.

I won't know.

So an investiture was held over at MUIS. Where we are appointed officially for the next two years. An induction programme was held. It was a good investiture. Not really a serious-y investiture I had thought of.

Our Vision for the Masjid

The pledge we had to declare

And the appointment ~

There have been a few things lined up after this - meetings, get-to-know sessions. I guess I have to start carrying an organiser already. The phone is good enought I know. But nothing beats a concrete written down planner.

May Allah make it easy on me to do my duties earnestly, Inshaa Allah...

Make du'a for me friends.

It won't be easy, but Inshaa Allah, it wouldn't be difficult either.

;)

Ilal Liqaa'..!!

Fi amanIllah

Roadtrip: Lotus Desaru

22 December 2012 - 24 December 2012

It's December and most of us would always find a few days off to rejuvenate before the start of the new year.

I did. With my family in tow. We decided to go to Desaru. My last trip there was in 2009. It was an enjoyable trip too. But I didn't do the driving. This time round, there were 6 and half people in the car hehehehe... (includes a little 14 months old tot). I was the solo driver, to and fro. Proud lah sey! Hehehe...!!

Anyway here goes!

22 December 2012

Started out at about 11 am after running some family-related errands. Went via the 2nd Link (Tuas) as I heard friends talking about the new shorter Senai-Desaru highway and the new cable bridge along the way. 2nd link was crowded but moving. Cleared it about 12 and thereon starts my journey to Desaru.

Drove straight after the 1st toll (I forgot the name), via the Lebuhraya Laluan Kedua. And passed by a 2nd toll. I don't remember at which toll I asked the person manning the booth about the way to Desaru coz my GPS navigator was in a coma as it didn't understand the new highway. Was told to follow the Senai exit 304. Rested a while at Gelang Patah R&R for some refreshements. Then went straight on.

And voila, saw this sign!

From then on, I just followed the sign which has the word Desaru in brown. That kind of helped a lot because we nearly went into Kota Tinggi as that is the familiar route up to Desaru. But then again, if I had wanted to go that way, might as well go via Woodlands. But I wanna go through the new highway.

After turning into the exit, we found ourselves on the new Senai-Desaru highway. Along the way, we went through the cable bridge too! It was an awesome structure.

And when we really entered Desaru, the tricky part was to find Bandar Penawar, which housed the Lotus Desaru Resort we were supposed to check into. The gps navigator woke up just about here and we managed to find our way to the resort. And it also helped that there were a lot of signages of the different resorts along Desaru.

Reached our resort at about 2.30pm.

Checking in took quite a while for there was a crowd at the lobby. I guess it's the holiday season and we reached there just in time for the check-in. Managed to check in and got Block A and was told that we can park our car near our block. But then, looking at the crowd, I decided to leave the car at the main lobby's carpark 1st before checking out the lots near our block. What if I left the lot I had and realised that there's no lot near our block? Hehehe...

We took the resort's shuttle tram to our block. The tram system is very very efficient for it comes around 3-5 minutes to the different stop points for easy navigation throughout the resort.

Reached our block and got into our room and realised that we got not a duplex but a single-storey room with 2 bedrooms. But it's ok lah, decided that it would be better this way with a 14-month old tot, so he's free to roam about the rooms.

The rooms were spacious. 1 room had a 2 super-single beds, the other had a king-size bed. The room with king-size bed had an attached bathroom, the one with 2 super-single beds had a shared bathroom in the main dining area. The main dining area had a sofa, a tv, a coffee table, a kitchenette with a microwave and refridgerator. There were plates, cups and cutleries provided too... The parents took the one with the king beds. And the sister, her husband and the tiny tot took the one with the super-singles. Me and my sister? Oh, later we story.

As it was nearing 4 and we hadn't had lunch, we drove out of the resort to scour for a good lunch place. Asked a staff there and was told that there are a few makan-places in Bandar Penawar itself. So just tried our luck driving out.

Found a place about 15 minutes drive out of the resort. It's called Restoran Diwanda or something. I was the last one to enter the restaurant as I was locking up the car and all. As I entered, I noticed the swarm of flies buzzing around. And it was too late to tell the Dad to find another makan place as he already had a plate of rice in his hand. The Dad has severe gastritis and if he doesn't eat on time, his stomach with play rock and rolla. So we had no choice but to eat as fast as we can to run out from the flies-infested restaurant. What a terrible lunch.

And wonders of wonders, just as we were walking out after lunch, we saw Marrybrown! Darn.

So decided to pack some food for dinner later from Marrybrown.

There was a scare just as we entered the road leading to our resort. At a roundabout, we saw 5 mat rempits on our left. 1 Mat rode ahead of us while the others waited and when I just turned about the roundabout, the other 4 mats were following our car from behind. I got a really bad hunch and told Dad that these Mats look really fishy.

The Mat in front was turning his head looking at us once in a while and when I go slow the other 4 mats also went slow. As we were nearing the resort, I found a good spot to stop the car and the 4 Mats couldn't do anything but to speed ahead of us. If they had stopped also, then there was of course an agenda in their minds. Then I just drove slowly, as slow as I can and noticed that all 5 Mats kept turning to look at us. Alhamdulillah, we managed to turn into the resort without any mishaps. These mat-rempits are such public nuisance. Singapore car, woman driver, easy target, they might think. Stupig.

We let the little nephew play about the waterpark for a while, which he enjoyed of course and didn't want to get out from the water. Hehehe... And then we went to book for our firefly tour which cost us RM40 per person. Initially they told us there were no more slots, but just as we were enquiring, a family cancelled their booking, and we got their spots. We were told to gather at the lobby at about 7.50pm to board the van.

We also requested for an extra bed for me as the youngest sister has decided to sleep on the sofa. And initially, they told us it would be RM115 per night. Then they lowered it down to RM90 per night. Then they rounded it up to RM150 for two nights. Hehehe... The power of bargaining. It works in a resort too!

Did Maghrib and took the tram to the lobby and waited to board the van. There were actually three vans altogether. And as we were on our way to the place, I realised how dangerous the journey is and three vans going together is good. The road to the river was pitch-dark and rocky. And as we approached the river then we realised that there were a lot of cars near the riverside seafood place - Restoran Terapung Bujang. I wonder how they make their way in and out of that place. I wouldn't, for the life of me, drive into and out of that place. The roads scare me. Hahaha!!

Anyway, made our way to collect our life-jackets and we were atop the boat in a jiffy. I was quite worried for the little nephew as the river was dark and the lights in the boat were switched off. I was hoping he wouldn't throw a tantrum in the boat. Alhamdulillah, he didn't. He was restless but didn't cry. Good boy.

The fireflies were lovely. My camera was just not good enough to capture anything, but it was an experience. There were zillions of them resting on the trees by the river banks. A few flew into the boat and I managed to capture one in my palm. Although my palm was closed, I could still see the rays of light through my fingers. That's how bright they are. The trees looked like they were being decorated with small lights, like Christmas trees. Beautiful.

I don't know how long were were in the boat but it was an awesome time spent. Boarded the van back to the resort, did Isha', had our packed Marrybrown dinner and slept.

23 December 2012

Woke up early for in-resort breakfast. Took the tram to the clubhouse. It was crowded already and we got a spot and went to the buffet line to get our breakfast. Breakfast was simple. There was nasi lemak, fried noodles, roti prata, chicken ham sausages, eggs, cereals, bread and croissants, porridge and the usual orange juice, coffee and tea and some other drinks.

We were swarmed with FLIES yet again, even while having breakfast. Darn, what's with these flies? Even breakfast was not peaceful. Urgh!

Went back to the resort, changed and hit the beach and waterpark with a vengeance. The sea was subtle, not too fierce as I expected of the monsoon season. There were water-sports activities along the beach. All you would have to do is to pay and you get what you want. Banana boat, jet-skis, family doughnut. But we decided not to engage ourselves in any of that as the only person who knew swimming was the brother-in-law. And to be dragged by a motorboat all the way to the middle of the sea? Heh, no thank you. Hehehehe...

The waterpark was nice. Not really a big waterpark like Sunway lagoon or something, but nice enough to have fun. We had to wear our waterpark tags while being in there for sometimes the lifeguards will enquire whether we are guests of the resort or just any tom dick and harry enjoying a free swim in the waterpark.

After tiring ourselves silly in the waterpark, we decided to freshen up and head out for lunch. Yesterday, while leaving the flies-infested Restoran Diwanda, we spotted an Indian restaurant just on the opposite road and decided to try the restaurant out. BRILLIANT CHOICE!

It was a Pakistani restaurant. The staff who attended to us was friendly. And the food was fabulous. And it only came up to slightly more than RM40 for 6 people. And since the food was so good, we decided to pack food for dinner too.

Rested a bit in the resort and at night after Maghrib, we went out to the clubhouse area yet again to have a look at their fun-fair by the seaside. Not really a big one. With a few games at RM4 per try. I tried and only got a popcorn and a winter-melon packet drink. Hahaha! But the little one had a whale of a time playing with soap bubbles.

Went back to the resort, had dinner, did Isha', did some packing and slept.

24 December 2012

Woke up for breakfast, this time round the venue changed to the seaside cafe. I think the original cafe was hosting a company event or something. Breakfast was about the same. This time was more peaceful as there weren't swarms of flies hehehe...

After breakfast, roamed about the beach again, for some pictures.

And finally, the dream is over. Had to pack up and leave the resort by 12pm. Check-out was a breeze. And we were on our way home...

Again, the same route, only the other way round. Route 90, Senai-Desaru Highway, Lebuhraya Laluan Kedua, see TUAS on the signboard, you are on the right track.

And oh, we did stop by the Gelang Patah R&R yet again for lunch in KFC and *rolls eyes* there were flies yet again. Walauwey!

Anyway, it was a nice relaxing 2 nights rest. Journey was ok too. Loved the moments where we were on a single lane road and when there's a slow lorry in front of us and I had to do the stunt of overtaking with oncoming traffic on the right. It was adrenaline-pumping.

Resort was ok. Our sink was choked on the first-day, called the maintenance, they came in a jiffy. The extra bed came fast. Our leaking electric kettle was changed fast too. The only complaint I have was they never changed the faulty phone although we told them to for the 3 days 2 nights we were there. Anyways, amidst the mixed reviews I've read over the net about the resort, Im glad my stay was on the good side. Very recommended resort for resting and rejuvenating.

Ilal Liqaa'...!!

rekindling an old love...

you know, i always enjoy looking at a beautiful scenery. or maybe just a wag of a dog's tail excites me. or a baby's twinkling eyes due to tears after a little tantrum thrown. these are just some of the moments that i would love to capture. what the eyes could see, would be lost somewhere in memory. but what if i could capture it? freeze the moment. make a story out of it. tell a tale. wouldn't it be interesting?

photography. it freezes those priceless moments, those precious emotions. and a lot of stories to tell. when i was younger, Dad used to have a Yashica camera. i forgot the model number. but it was a vintage camera and he bought it 2nd hand from his, er... biras... What do call you call biras in English? Ok, my mother's bro-in-law. He got my Dad interested in photography. Dad used to lug that heavy-duty camera whenever we went out for outings with all his lenses and special accessories. And we used to be his models. Maybe somehow, the photography bug hit me then. As I grew up, I love taking photos. I remember all the camera models I used to play with. From film to digital. From big to small. From fat to slim. From basic black to colour.

and wonders of wonders, work also involves photography. how to run away and say, "No, photography is not my thing."? IT IS MY THING. just sadly, i don't have the right equipment. i mean i do take good pictures. but you know, there's always something in every picture that i know i can do better with. and an automatic, compact, point and shoot camera isn't going to give me all those results. and so, photography still goes on but amateur-ly...

and then work gave me a chance to go on a basic photography workshop. with the work's D70 DSLR, i went to the workshop. seriously, i thought what can that heavy, nearly 10 years old camera do. there were a lot of buttons on the camera, but i know nuts about them. and it doesn't help that i have fellow workshop mates who carry a cannon, an olympus E-P3, and a Lumix. Depression tahap gaban lor...

and i was in for a great shock. what their cameras could do, my cameras can do them to. maybe not as good, but hell, it was similar. 1st day the instructor asked me what do i want to achieve at the end of the workshop. i only answered that i wanna fall in love with my camera. and at the end of the three-days workshop, i fell in love HEAD OVER HEELS with my camera.

2nd day of the workshop was the best. we had a field trip to Botanic Gardens. And I think I must have been like a gila woman running around taking pictures. coz now i know what the buttons on the camera meant. i control the camera. i got out of automatic mode. i tell the camera what i want. my instructor told me everyone can take pasar malam photos - photos which show you everything. but that's not what we wanna show. we wanna show what is essential. we wanna show what our eyes capture. if i see a beautiful flower, i wanna show only the flower, not the leaves, not the trees or shrubs behind the flowers.

i really really enjoyed the workshop. taking pictures isn't hard if we tell the camera what we want. the instructor was an excellent teacher. he tells a story with every topic. now, of course, i don't have the financial ability to buy a kick-ass high end camera. but that's where i wanna end up eventually. coz i know my love is right there. in photography. what my Dad started and stopped, i wanna continue. i will of course enrol myself in more workshops once i get a power gedemak camera. may Allah make it easy for me, if it's fated for me, InShaa Allah...

oh well, i can go on and on about an old love rekindled but anyway, just enjoy the pictures. i know they are nothing fantastic, what more taken with a borrowed camera hehehe... they are too basic. but i know how much i've jumped from knowing nothing to knowing certain things. enjoy the pics.

and oh, don't forget to go to johnarifin.com or his facebook page Nature@Work. awesome instructor, amazing photographer and best teacher. i'd definitely go for his classes in the future, In Shaa Allah...

Ilal Liqaa'...!!

the day i saw a motorcyclist fly...

warning: this story is not for the faint-hearted...

went to JB on Sunday. as usual, as the driver of the house, i can't say no to the parents' request. wait they merajok and then they sumpah me become tanggang how? hehehe... ok joking. actually, i love driving them around too... kalau kita tak bahagiakan mak bapak kita, sapa lagik kan?

everything was hunky dory till the drive to Angsana. I don't remember where we were but the road was slightly slow moving at that point of time. Abba was already busy becoming noisy in the car, "Kenapa road ni jam?" "Asal kerete sumer tak bergerak?" Those kind of grumblings...

AND THEN...

me and Abba saw something flying and then there was a loud thud sound. we were like, "Huh, what's that?" I thought I was seeing a garbage bag being thrown into a garbage truck scenario. But then, I saw no truck. there were only 3 cars in front of us.

i managed to inch forward a bit and i saw an mpv car on the opposite direction, stopped in the middle of the right lane. and the driver was scrambling out from his car. inched forward a bit and i saw a motorcycle on the road divider, mangled. and then i saw it. a pair of legs jutting out from the front wheels of a purple car which was two ahead of us. and the car's bonnet was dented till the headlights broke. then it dawned on me. i just saw a motorcyclist fly and heard him land on the purple's car bonnet.

i managed to move left. and waited for the light to turn green. and i turned again to look. he was still there, pinned. and then i froze. really froze. i wanted to cry. and then i heard Abba said, "Da ijau, jalan." I was so frozen, I didn't realise the light had turned green.

Along the way, Ammi passed a bottle of water to Abba to read me some verses just to settle my nerves a bit. Drank a bit of water, and I felt a little better. And then, we started to discuss what might have happened. I think the story is that - I was on a three lane road, driving on the right. On the 1st left lane, there was another two cars involved in an accident. So maybe the driver of the mpv car who was on the right lane on the opposite direction, kepo-kepo look at the accident that he didn't realise a motorcyclist was in front of him. he knocked the motorcyclist real hard. Motorbike hit divider, in fact jumped the divider. Motorcyclist flew and hit the bonnet of the purple car which was on the same lane as mine. Fell on the road and got run over and pinned under the purple car.

the whole time yesterday, the image of the flying motorcyclist was doing a repeat telecast in my mind. we reached home safely, Alhamdulillah, about Maghrib. And after doing my Maghrib prayers, i did a sujud syukur, thanking Allah for keeping us safe and protecting us from any mishaps. with tears of course.

till now, i am still thinking, what if i was faster and the motorcyclist landed on my car instead of the purple car? because the incident happened only two cars away. that close a shave. Alhamdulillah, Ya Allah.

I pray that the motorcyclist is well. Really hope his injuries are minor. So peeps, drive safe. Be alert. May Allah protect you and me from any mishaps, InshaAllah...

Ilal Liqaa'...

The 1st Week of Ramadhan...

Asssalam Peeps...

How have you been? How has Ramadhan been for you for these 7 days? I hope all goes well, InshaAllah...

My 1 week of Ramadhan has been amazing, Alhamdulillah. Well, not perfect, but lovely. Just a little downside of it, I was a little sick for the 1st three days or so. Down with lower back pain. I mean, I know I have lower back pain, and it comes on and off, as and when. But it was very bad a few days ago. I can't sit for long, can't stand for long, even lying in bed triggers pain. So to the doctor I went, got an analgesic rub and muscle relaxant pills and was advised to sleep with the legs propped up. Doc said if it doesn't get any better in a week or two, off to the physiotherapist I go. It's getting better now. And this explains this blogging opportunity. If not, I don't even want to see the laptop. Hahaha...!!

And oh yes, my first time fasting in the new workplace. Alhamdulillah, it has been good. Only thing is the timing. I can't relax kueh go here or there after finishing work. Finish work, straight I zoom home. Tak toleh kiri kanan pun. Yang penting, I wanna reach home on time for futhoor. My hobby for this Ramadhan is running after trains and buses, heh.

Lunch time is spent with Zuhur prayers and Alhamdulillah, the colleagues whom never had a chance to do their solat before I came there, now solat in my room. I don't care a damn if people nak mata merah ke hapa ke. It's our lunch time, we are allowed to do things we wanna do. And we are spending time facing the Almighty. I usually let the colleagues, 3 of them, do their solat 1st, as they have supervisors looking for them straight after their lunch time. My lunch time is a bit relaxed, so I can do my solat when they are done. Im happy the colleagues and I have our chance to do their solat and what more in this month of Ramadhan. Sayang kalau kita tak solat in Ramadhan. Sesia puasa kita. And I hope it continues after Ramadhan too, InshaAllah...

Preparations for Eid are quite done actually. We did our preparations early this time round. Got our kueh raya in Simpang Renggam Johor. Baju raya pun dah belik. So no need for the headache of thinking what to buy and where. I'd prefer spending time making the most out of Ramadhan then thinking of Eid.

1st week has gone so fast and do we wonder what have we done to make the most out of it? I only managed to open the Al-Quran for a day to read the first few pages of Surah Al-Baqarah, then I couldn't find time to read again. Must discipline myself to start reading again. The eyes seem to be very awake doing other things, but to read Al-Quran, they prefer to go into shutdown mode. Cannot cannot. Must lawan.

Come friends, let's motivate ourselves to wake up at night, do solat sunat, read up the Al-Quran, do Dzikir more this Ramadhan. Let's treat this Ramadhan as if it's our last. We won't know whether we'll meet Ramadhan again next year. So let's make the best out of it. This, I speak to myself before I speak to you. Let's do this together.

May Allah guide us to have a more amazing 2nd week of Ramadhan, InshaAllah. Barakallahu fee kum...

Ilal Liqaa'...!!

the weekend that was...

hello peeps!

long time no write. just didnt have the mood to write. office pc was so 'dinosaur-age' that i found no mojo to do anything on the pc other than work-stuff. and today, i arrive at work and VOILA, i had a new pc on my table. so now i'm pretty charged up working with a new pc.

anyway, how are things? i have quite a lot to update actually. and don't know where to start. ok i'll try, with stories over the weekend.

friday night - went out for the 1st time for dinner with colleagues. in my 13 nearly 14 years in the previous job, i didnt have colleagues, so going out with colleagues was way out of the question. i had fun though. went for Seoul Garden dinner and the 7 of us were quite a noisy bunch. Alhamdulillah for the great bonding.

saturday - woke up with the plan of going to Science Centre for the Sultan of Science Exhibition. but was a little taken aback with a phone call at 10. Nani (my maternal grandma) was admitted to the hospital for bedsores. She's a Parkinson patient and I think she lies too much on bed with no movement so that explains the bedsores.

still we went to Science Centre. watched Arabia on Omni-Max and it was an eye-pleasing show. And when the Kaaba, Makkah and Madinah were shown, tears formed in the eyes. even my male cousin admitted he had tears in his eyes. ni baru tengok kat Omni-Max screen ni, kalau tengok real depan mata? MashaAllah.

And the Sultan of Science exhibition was an eye opening experience. Many a times we were told what the 'world' wants us to know. But before Wright Brothers learnt to fly in the 20th century, Abbas ibn Firnas flew in the 9th century. Before Beethoven and Mozart came to the scene, there was Al-Farabi, the person who invented the rebec, the ancestor of the violin. Ibn Sina was the pioneer who discovered that diseases spread through water and that tubercolosis was contagious. The world knew him by the name Avicenna and thats how the word "Medicine" came about. Ibn Nafis discovered the pulmonary-heart blood circulation system. And a lot more pioneers, and they were all Muslims. MashaAllah.

we lunched at IMM and went back home. then went out again to visit Nani in NUH. on the way to NUH, came a phone call, the Nenek wants to be sent to TTSH for severe vomitting. Ya Allah. One after another. Visited Nani a while, then off to Tampines to pick Nenek up to send her to TTSH. upon reaching there, we were told Nenek has been sent in a taxi with my cousin sister. Since it was late night, and she hasn't been warded yet, we decided to head home but not before detouring to Jurong West to have our dinner at 10pm. Rats were running in the stomach already.

SUNDAY - went out early to Geylang to get stuff. We even got our Eid clothes already. Since the design and colour was readily available, I decided that we should buy it now then wait till Ramadhan, when the prices will be steeper. I'd rather be at home jihading with tarawih then be at the crowded bazaars jihading with the crowd in Ramadhan.

went to TTSH to visit Nenek after that. had lunch and went home.

by the time i reached home, the only thing i could think off was to plonk myself on the sofa and zzz... Hahaha!!

the weekend that was. Busy and exciting.

Ilal Liqaa'...!!

Elaika (Upon You) - Imam Syafi'i's last words...

Got to know of this poem recently, as told to me by my Ustazah. And I fell in love with it.


Imam Shafi`i on his death-bed was asked by Al Muzni "What is your condition?"

Then Imam Shafi' (رحمه الله) replied,

"I am journeying from this world, and departing from my brothers, drinking from the cup of death, and upon Allah, Exalted is His remembrance, arriving. And no! By Allah, I do not know if my soul is travelling towards Paradise or the Fire!"

Imam Shafi' (رحمه الله) then began to cry profusely and recited the following;