Raya confirmed on Thursday

It was announced early this evening that efforts to sight the new moon had been unsuccessful from the assigned locations within Brunei. It means that Hari Raya Aidil Fitri is now confirmed to start on Thursday, 02 Oct.

To friends in the UK (Huddersfield at least) who celebrate Eid today, and friends across SIngapore, Malaysia, Indonesia & Australia who celebrate Eid tomorrow and of course, friends in Brunei who will begin on Thursday, Salam Aidilfitri to you all & your families.

Takbir Hari Raya

I heard the announcement last nite that Malaysia will start 1st Syawal on Wednesday (01 Oct). Brunei will only look for the new moon today, and will also start on Wednesday if the moon is sighted. Otherwise we'll start on Thursday.

Anyway, I like to share here the Takbir to be recited on the eve of Eid, until the start of the Special Eid-ul-Fitr prayers in the morning of Eid.

To dear families & friends, old and new, near and far, Salam Aidil Fitri (Eid-Mubarak ). Maaf Zahir & Batin. Mohon Maaf atas segala kesalahan & kekasaran, and mohon dihalalkan makan & minum.

Salam
Gembo aka Mr G & Mrs G, and G-Kids.

Awards

Thanks to BlackCherry Chutney for this award . . . . tenkiu . . . tenkiu . . . I hope there is something useful in the blog that got it this award. If so, then I hope it'll also be useful for other blogger friends, whoever you are, whereever you are. Anyway, Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design, to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogsphere.



Upon receiving this, you are to . . . .
1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

I'm passing this award over to these bloggers :

1) Kantalensa
2) Shopper-Mama
3) KBHappenings
4) Anakbrunei
5) Tepak Sireh
6) Azraq Junior
7) Iskandarworld

Du'a - Memohon Keringanan dan Kemudahan

Received this Du'a in my inbox, and decide to try amalkan, as well as share with you, especially those facing trying moments - semoga di permudahkan.

Muhammad Abdul Fattah Ar-Rauf

I wanna grow to be The Rock!

Asha 'enter frame'.. inda mau rugi heheh

Muhammad with Mummy

 Muhammad with Mum & Dad.

Last Sunday, my cousin Jusnane with Hubby Mohammad Suria & their 3 month old baby Muhammad Abdul Fattah Ar-Rauf visited GemboHome. 

Suria wanted to get some advise on DSLR, so I invited him around.

It was the first time Muhammad set 'his foot' to this place, so we are really honoured, and he's such a cute one isn't he.  When I grew up, I helped my aunt baby sitting Jusnane when they stayed with us at our grandparents place, hence we're close.

Suria, Nane & Muhammad, thanks for visiting us and InsyaAllah we'll see you around soon!

Dakwah - 3 Surah

Received an email from a friend recently . . . again in Malay. 

In summary, the learnings are: This wise old man shared with this man whome he met on the way to the mosque, of the three surahs (chapters) from the holy Al-Quran that he held on dearly: Surah Al-Fatihah - the one surah that is compulsory to be read in the 5 daily prayers where one asked for the Allah's guidance to the straight path; second is Surah Al-Ikhlas - about the One-ness of Allah and the Third is Surah Al-Kafiruun - about how to deal with the non-Muslims, we can be friends, work together, live in a community etc but when it comes to religion, "Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion" - the last verse of the surah.

Assalamualaikum,

Just wanna share with everyone kisah benar yang saya lalui.  Baru- baru ni ketika saya nak ke Surau berdekatan dgn rumah saya untuk sembahyang Isyak, seorang pak cik berjanggut putih dan berjubah putih dari jauh melemparkan senyum kepada saya.  Kerana masih ada banyak waktu, saya tunggu pak cik berjanggut putih tu dan bertongkat yang tidak saya kenali itu.

Timbul di hati saya untuk jalan seiringan ke surau. Bila beliau hampir pada saya, kami saling memberi salam. Orangnya sudah berumur. Tiba-tiba, pak cik itu memulakan perbualan. Beliau cakap dalam bahasa Melayu dan Inggeris yang agak baik.

Beliau cakap semua ayat Quran baik dan penting, tapi ada tiga surah yang beliau 'pegang' betul-betul, dan beliau nasihatkan saya supaya pegang betul-betul juga. Beliau juga nasihatkan saya supaya pesan pada anak-anak supaya pegangnya betul-betul.

Pertama, kata beliau, surah Al-Fatihah. Selain penting untuk sah sembahyang, ia juga ada doa minta bantuan Tuhan dan mintak tunjukkan jalan yang betul.  Mudah-mudahan dengan 'menjaga' bersungguh-sungguh surah Al-Fatihah, akan terbuka pintu bantuan dan jalan yang betul untuk kita, kata pakcik.

Kedua, Surah Al-Ikhlas. Surah ini, katanya, surah tauhid. Kita mesti ingat Tuhan itu Esa dan semua amalan mesti untuk-Nya. Tak guna buat baik tapi tak ikhlas.

Ketiga, surah Al-Kafirun, kata pak cik. Bahagian ini, menarik sikit.  Pak cik tu cakap surah Al-Kafirun ada kena mengena dengan zaman sekarang, zaman globalisasi. Dalam zaman globalisasi, katanya, anak-anak saya mesti diajar supaya pegang betul-betul surah itu. Sebab, dalam zaman globalisasi, anak saya mungkin kena kerja atau belajar sampai ke luar negeri.

Kalau dia pegang pada surah Al-Kafirun, insya-Allah, dia akan selamat, kata pak cik. Dia akan bergaul dengan orang beragama lain, tapi dia sedar 'untukmu agamamu, untukku agamaku'.

Betul juga, fikir saya. Kemudian, pak cik cakap ada satu lagi perkara yang saya mesti pegang.  Orang Islam, katanya, mesti ada tiga kekuatan.

Pertama, kekuatan minda:  Minda, kata pak cik, ialah ilmu. Orang Islam mesti ada ilmu, termasuk ilmu moden, ilmu teknologi, ilmu teknologi maklumat (IT) dan sebagainya kerana ilmu-ilmu itu perlu untuk hidup.

Kedua, kekuatan hati: Hati ialah iman, kata pak cik. Hati orang Islam mesti kuat supaya betapa banyak sekali pun ilmunya, dia sedar siapa yang lebih berkuasa. Bila ilmu ada iman, barulah ilmu dan hidup jadi betul. Kalau minda kuat tapi hati tak kuat, maknanya kekuatan tak seimbang dan ilmu boleh rosakkan iman, kata pak cik.

Ketiga, kuat fizikal: Pertama-pertama, kalau tubuh badan lemah, susah ilmu nak masuk dalam minda, kata pak cik. Kalau pun ada ilmu dan ada iman, jika tubuh badan tak kuat, susah nak beramal. Maknanya, kekuatan masih tak seimbang, katanya.

Habis saja pak cik cakap pasal tiga surah dan tiga kekuatan, beliau minta diri dan hilang dari pandangan saya setiba nya di surau tersebut.

Terima kasih kepada pak cik berjanggut tu. Sebelum itu beliau berpesan agar saya sebarkan kepada yang lain. Pesanannya memang baik untuk saya sampaikan.

Iqra'.....!

Princess Iman 'Aaliyah 5th Birthday Do'a Selamat

This is the second year running that Iman has to celebrate her birthday during the fasting month. In which case, only her uncles, aunties and cousins are invited - but still no short of presents and foods. Well, enjoy the pics below.

To Safarul - Happy 20th Birthday to you too & don't forget to bring back hadiah birthday for Iman ah :)

Pink strawberry ice cream cake, with her favorite Power Puff girl character . . .

. . . it is Princess Iman to you heheh

With babah, praying for blessed, healthy, happy & prosperous life

Amin . . . .

With Babah, Abang and cousins.

From left: Atul, Aida, Nelly, Princess, Babah, Izz & Momat

Blowing the 5 candles - with help from Babah & Abang Momat. . . . "Mama, lain kali Iman inda mau candle macam atu, k. Iman takut bah Ma" . the thing is, we found this sparkling candle and we thought she would love it.... we were wrong heheh as she was afraid of the sparkles

Cutting the cake with Babah.

With Abang and cousins enjoying the cake . . . wait, where is Asha????

. . . . oh there she is. She missed everything, the candle blowing, cutting & foooooood

Gift from Babah & Mama - PINK bicycle.

Kaka Nelly & Kaka Aida, all the way from Bandar Seri Begawan.

She got these, a casio keyboard from Wawa, bicycle from Babah & Mana, cash from Nene Bah.

Oh what's this from Nene Kampung (Mr G's parents) . . . 

Oh it's a huge pink bunny. Thanks Nene Kampung.

This is from Uncle Ajis (Mr G's eldest bro). . . wonder what it is??

Oh, a Princess bag. Thanks Uncle Ajis & Auntie Yatie.

And this is also from Uncle Ajis & Auntie Yatie - a musical keyboard.... thanks again. Iman is sooooooo happy!

Puteh oh Puteh

02.09.08 - that's the first day Puteh stepped her foot in our house.  Its now just over two weeks since, and we are loving every minute of it.

The family has never been so attached to a pet (ok, with the exception of my late Puteh - my 1st guard cat).  Every morning & afternoon (around 6 am and before sungkai @ berbuka puasain the afternoon), I will let Puteh out of her cage to stretch her limbs and do her business, whilst I will clean her cage and refresh her litter box, food, water and bed.  GemboKids would normally tag along and they love to cuddle Puteh.

Why a cage?  Well, to us Puteh is probably just about 6 weeks old and may not be able to fend off any stray cats that may come around at night.  Further, she is yet to understand the danger of cars backing out from the garage (how the late Puteh met its fate).

Anyway, for the 1st week Musang (the late Puteh companion) felt threaten with this new company, but after a week they both got along well.  Musang no longer hissed or growl whenever Puteh get close to her. 

In fact, just over a week here, I took Puteh to the front yard bringing along a cangkul (like a small shovel), to plant my palm trees.  In only a few minutes Musang came looking for Puteh, meowing loudly and finally settled when she saw Puteh was with me.  It brought tears to my eyes that Musang finally accepted Puteh, and that they enjoyed each others company.  I can sense then when my original Puteh passed on that Musang felt lonely.  Lonely no more, eh Musang.

Anyway, enjoy the pics below taken by Mrs G.

Pinky nose Puteh

Puteh in her bed

This is her cage . . . we'll let her out for good in a couple of months, or when she's too big for her cage

Hanging out with Musang

What is not captured in this pic is what happened a second later - Puteh jumped on Musang's tail. Puteh has always been fascinated (jealousy??) with Musang's tail from day 1 hehhe.

Ubat Stress . . . Do'a

Princess Turns 5. Happy Birthday Iman.

Our eldest daughter & second child, Dayangku Iman Aaliyah turns 5 today. Happy Birthday Sayang. 

Love, 

Babah, Mama, Abang Momat & Adik Asha.

Wudhuk zahir dan batin

I got this via email about physical and spiritual ablution. . . . very interesting read, although it is in Malay.

Seorang ahli ibadah bernama Isam Bin Yusuf, sangat warak dan khusyuk solatnya. Namun, dia selalu khuatir kalau-kalau ibadahnya kurang khusyuk dan selalu bertanya kepada orang yang dianggapnya lebih ibadahnya, demi untuk memperbaiki dirinya yang selalu dirasainya kurang khusyuk.

Pada suatu hari, Isam menghadiri majlis seorang abid bernama Hatim Al-Assam dan bertanya, "Wahai Aba Abdurrahman, bagaimanakah caranya tuan solat?"

Hatim berkata, "Apabila masuk waktu solat, aku berwudhuk zahir dan batin."

Isam bertanya, "Bagaimana wudhuk zahir dan batin itu? " 

Hatim berkata,"Wudhuk zahir sebagaimana biasa iaitu membasuh semua anggota wudhuk dengan air".  Sementara wudhuk batin ialah membasuh anggota dengan tujuh perkara :-

• Bertaubat
  
• Menyesali dosa yang telah dilakukan
  
• Tidak tergila-gilakan dunia
  
• Tidak mencari/mengharap pujian orang (riya ' )
  
• Tinggalkan sifat berbangga
  
• Tinggalkan sifat khianat dan menipu
  
• Meninggalkan sifat dengki."
  

Seterusnya Hatim berkata, "Kemudian aku pergi ke masjid, aku kemaskan semua anggotaku dan menghadap kiblat.

Aku berdiri dengan penuh kewaspadaan dan aku rasakan:

1. aku sedang berhadapan dengan Allah,
2. Syurga di sebelah kananku,
3. Neraka di sebelah kiriku,
4. Malaikat Maut berada di belakangku, dan
5. aku bayangkan pula aku seolah-olah berdiri di atas titian ' Siratal mustaqim ' dan menganggap bahawa solatku kali ini adalah solat terakhir bagiku, kemudian aku berniat dan bertakbir dengan baik."

"Setiap bacaan dan doa didalam solat, aku faham maknanya kemudian aku rukuk dan sujud dengan tawadhuk, aku bertasyahud dengan penuh pengharapan dan aku memberi salam dengan ikhlas. Beginilah aku bersolat selama 30 tahun."

Apabila Isam mendengar, menangislah dia kerana membayangkan ibadahnya yang kurang baik bila dibandingkan dengan Hatim.

Sabda Nabi, ilmu itu milik Tuhan, barang siapa menyebarkan ilmu demi kebaikan, InsyaAllah Tuhan akan menggandakan 10 kali kepadanya.

BSRC Photography Talk @ 12.09.08

The BSRC Photography Talk was held on Friday afternoon, 12 Sept 08 at the Serikandi Restaurant in Kuala Belait. The response was very good, with about 24 attendees comprising of BSRC photography section members as well as KB Photographers attending the talk by Tuan Hj Mohd Yusof, President of Brunei Photography Association.

The talk covered the three important basics about photography i.e. ISO/ASA, Aperture and Shutter Speed. Despite the apparent different levels of photography competencies among the attendees, the experiences shared by the veteran photographer were invaluable as he explained the importance of Aperture and Shutter speed settings during the days when ASA/ISO speed cannot be easily changed as can be done today using the DSLR settings.

Hj Mohd Yusof is currently the Head of the Audio Visual section in the Government's Information Department, under the Prime Minister's Office. He have been into photography since the early 70's, from black and white and colour films SLR, to medium format, to photoslides, to point & shoot digital and now to proper DSLR.

We also learned that flash photography is strictly not allowed in certain Royal functions as well as certain sensitive sports (snooker, pool), so it is important to use high ISO settings to overcome the lack of flash - this is where I have to admit the Nikons are way ahead with 25,600 vs Canon's 6,400 (heard the 50D can do 12,800).

The talk was concluded with presentation of the token of appreciation to Tuan Haji Yusof from Mohd Husini Bakar, BSRC Photography Section captain , followed by Group photo shot by BSRC non-official group photographer, Ichinoseworld. It was followed immediately with Sungkai.

Sungkai at the Serikandi restaurant is very reasonable, with 7 food/drink stations at $9 per head. What's more, if you come in 6, the 6th person will have it for free!

members chatting whilst waiting for the arrival of guests

BSRC Captain with Brunei Photography Association President

Canon 40D vs Nikon D200

RESERVED

Arabfamilies.com aka Shaikh Khalid greeting the guests

Mohd Husini introducing Mr President

Mohd Husini with the Introduction

Ms Treasurer Bibi Azlina

ISO/ASA scribbles

Aperture . . . remember the f/stops

Shallow DOF (Depth of Field)... shot taken with f/5.6

Some of the attendees

. . . and more

This is how Oakley glasses started heheheh

Toolpusher head on the lens

Thanks!

Toolpusher taking notes

Serikandi Banner

Tale of 3 daughters . . . oh no, its 2.

Grandpa Gembo returned from Surabaya last Tuesday and bought Princess and Asha talkungs, a 2 piece clothing covering the body (leaving just the face) to be worn for prayers.

Mrs G took these shots, and I didn't realise the "third" daughter . . .  heheheh apparently it was Momat fooling around. Oh btw, Momat haven't missed a day of fasting - good for him.

This is Asha

Princess & Asha

Now, who is this . . . at first I thought it was Princess but way too tall... only when he said something that I realised it was Momat

Asha fooling around

Asha again trying to figure out how to get her hands out