" Surely We created man of the best stature "

My mom's journey in life

2007-06-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

PART 1
All Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe; the Compassionate, the Merciful. Sovereign of the Day of Judgement.

He who brought to this world a girl
On the 7th of October, 1956
The 7th child of a respectable couple
Native of a sleepy northern state

Childhood filled with a mix of life
From vibrant day-to-day affairs
To humble Muslim ritual starting at five
Was scoot off to college without a fanfare

From childhood to womanhood
In the capital city, met her Robin Hood
A knight in shining armor
From the southern state of Johor

Together they build a home
The central state they built their adobe
From Hibiscus land to the Land of the Globe
With five God’s gift to call their own

Chasing the paper trail in the USA
Graduated with ‘honors’ with baby and all
Mohammed Farez and Mohammed Farouq were her aces
Counting the days to go home after the fall

Life is one big mystery
Only the Almighty knows it all
The foregone graduation ceremony
Was a sacrifice for an ailing soul

True faith has its meaning
To wean the sadness and the past
September 16, ’86, a test from the All-Knowing
For humans to ponder and learn fast

Teaching was not a choice but a convenience
For a passport to a foreign land
UiTM a place of hope and sustenance
For 20 years plus she toiled her hands
Family life has its ups and downs
Jalil, the spouse, tied the knot in 1978
They lived in Subang Jaya, a satellite town
From no work to Bank Negara in 1988

PART 2 – FAMILY LIFE IN THE EARLY 20’S & IN THE US

The first of the Mohican
Smart, good looks all in the making
A computer engineer was his dream
But life was cut short when he was seventeen

Mexican, Pilipino, American?
This is one jumbled looks who no one could tell
For he is thoroughly mixed in the womb’s can
Although Arabic he could speak so well

It was a girl! Born without a doctor
Named after Jesus’s mom
Her ambition to be a math proctor
Her university? At her mom’s?

2 years passed, and yes another girl
The Light of Patience was her name
UTP became her world
By the stroke of a pen she became Petronas’s fame

Days, months and years passed
The burning ambition to be a professor
Through University of Memphis and UUM
A Malaysian, American Ph.D was achieved

Again, life is full of surprises
One that could not be reckoned with
A little boy born like Caesar, in the mid-forties
Named after Ismail, the tribe of Jurhum in Arabia

One baby sitter after another
A sister, a sister-in-law, and strangers had their role
In bringing up the five altogether
But the Indonesian one had the current role

All 5 kids had a taste of American school
From Crim, to Sherwood to Maplewood
SMSJ, Sri Subang Jaya and SRK Section 9 Schools
And SMIK, SAMTAJ, SMAPK, the choice of the brood
Miguel, Taj, Ruvi were their names
Mrs Metcalf was their mentor
Field trips and Spanish are game
For the kinder kids of Lazaro’s

Mariam’s English speaking group
Have Koreans, Japanese & Cubans
All eager to excel in the language sisterhood
In the name of the Ku KMJC Clans

Farouq is anxious to part his knowledge
From doing do’a in Austin’s kenduri
To being a summer camp tutor ledge
All in the name of Islamic scholarship

Abah the driver, the photographer, the cook
Does not know the meaning of fatigue
Goes jogging in every corner and nook
Just to look forties instead of his league

Mama’s always busy with who knows what,
Pains and body aches are somewhat
Part of growing to be 50 plus
The price one has to pay for wanting to look 40 plus

PART 3 – IN THE EARLY 50’S

2007, the Fulbright year
University of Texas, Austin, the choice of a Malaysian
Associate host, Patrick Brockett, the Professor
Islamic insurance, the choice of Americans

From a masjid to a church in Memphis
From one business school in UT to GSU
Is what this US trip has its emphasis
That is the final countdown before Honolulu

All work and no play is not the way
Short visits to exciting sites has its way
From Magic Kingdom to Sea World
From Padre Island to Mustang Island

Corpus Christi and Port Aransas to the south
Galveston and Houston to the east
Denver and the Fulbright conference to the north
San Antonio and San Marcos to the south-west
Again life is full of mystery
Experiences ranged from hope to misery
But to a Muslim hope is always the better story
For it gives glimpses of the untold story

Dont we look alike?

2007-05-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

They look almost malay, or do i look latino? I Think 4 mexicans have approached me speaking spanish thinking im 1 of them, isnt that funny? The 2 hispanic dudes you see in the pictures are muslims

Do i miss Malaysia?

2007-05-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

I miss:

1. Friends
2. Hanging out with friends
3. Nasi lemak
4. Roti canai
5. Sambal belacan
6. Halal KFC
7. Halal McD's
8. Halal restaurants
9. my room
10. my bathroom
11. Nasi Kandaq
12. Soto
13. Laksa johor
14. TGV ( sini wayang mahal woii )
15. Kelisa ( this is suppose to be 2nd )
16. KL ( a little bit )
17. Kicap ( kicap tamin )
18. Hot sauce ( malaysian style )
19. My bed ( this should have been 3rd or second )

Dont take your halal food for granted!!!!

Ismail

2007-05-18T15:15:00.001-07:00

Aquarena - Austin, Texas

2007-05-18T15:07:00.001-07:00

Bat watching - Austin, Texas

2007-05-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

Houston, Texas

2007-05-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Corpus Christi, Texas

2007-05-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

Sea World - San Antonio, Texas

2007-05-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

We were waiting for shamu to do his thing

At some other show

Shamu

Ismail

Mr.Dolphin

Me and my lil bro

Ismail still enjoying his halal pizza, we brought the pizza from home, no halal restaurants in Seaworld

Ismail enjoying his halal pizza while my sister prays zuhr and asr

Mr.Shark

Me and Ismail at the entrance

Watch this

2007-05-11T18:50:00.001-07:00

Solah

2007-05-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

We pray every where and almost anywhere over here, in classrooms, behind staircases, in Disney World (in front of everyone), in parks, rest areas, behind bushes and trees, in restaurants, and more.... Solah is Solah, its got to be done on time, so when it is time to make solah we make solah where ever we may be. There was one time, where me and my whole family made solah on a bridge, we made two jamaah, while jamaah1 was making solah, jamaah2 took care of jamaah1's stuff, when time came for jamaah2 to make solah jamaah1 took over jamaah2's role.....

Making wudhu' is the hardest (for me), i mean, it is really a struggle to actually put my feet into a sink in a public restroom, some of you might not understand this, because some of you dont wash your feet, yall just rub a little bit of water on to your socks, well guess what, that does not work for me, to my understanding, socks are not khuf (the ones the Prophet SAW wore), therefore; i do not think it is right to rub water onto socks, im not saying that yall are wrong, im just saying that im not sure of the hukm, therefore; i avoid doing it, that is why i put my feet into sinks in public restrooms, (im a malay, i dont really get the opportunity to rub water on my socks back in Malaysia, even if i did do it, people there might think im crazy), i usually use the restrooms for the disabled, i know, i misuse public restrooms, but what choice do i have....

Things I have learned and remembered

2007-05-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

I just want to share my experience living in America with yall, things I have done and new things I have learned, I would like for you guys to see things through the eyes of a muslim-malay-malaysian-american, and learn from me what I have learned.

The clip I posted, is about American Muslims, and for those who has never lived outside of Malaysia or a Muslim country, this is exactly what it feels like. Being a Muslim is the best thing that can ever happen to a person, it is something to shout about, and something to be proud of.

As a Malay who has lived in Malaysia for a long time, I have forgotten what being a muslim is like, I have forgotten how to take pride in being a muslim, alhamdulillah, the things I have experienced here has taught me that Islam is precious, and it is something I shouldnt take for granted. I guess being born a Muslim, into a muslim family, raised in a Muslim country where Muslims are the majority has made me a Muslim by blood type of person, but Alhamdullillah, I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to grow up in America, and have been given a second chance to come back here and remind myself what being a muslim is all about.

Life

2007-05-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

Salam,

Watch this:

What can I say about Moez Massoud? I mean, just listening to him makes me want to be a better person. I grew up watching him on TV, and i got to meet him in 2004. If yall never heard of him, yall are missing a whole lot. If yall wanna watch his show, its on ART channel 5, weekdays, im not sure what time, but im sure yall can look it up in the TV guide.