Hajj 1428H (Photos)

Mina, 8 Zulhijjah 1427 H

Hajj 1428H (Photos)

After I had uploaded the picture suddenly I realized the slide does not show the real means of Hajj. It is more like a tour rather than a ritual journey. Please take the picture only as a real snapshot view to share with you the scene during Hajj. You might see we had a good tent services - this is because we were following local saudi group. It will be different services if you come here from Malaysia or outside Kingdom because it depends on the agency that organize the trip. I just wanna clarify to everybody so that there will be no misunderstanding regarding the journey of Hajj.

Journey of Hajj is a "rizq biiznillah". No matter how you well you plan and prepare in the end it is finally turns up to His Will. Somehow, as a human we must always put high efforts and prepared to the fullest or the worst("berusaha dan seterusnya bertawakal"- malay words).We have to prepare knowledge wise, cost, physical, mental and emotion.

1. For example(Knowledge wise :- attend all hajj related courses, seminars, lectures, books and get different point of ulama mu'tabar views. Every point of rukun, wajib and sunnah must be clear in mind. Keep in mind with the questions of " What if I cannot make it , what is my alternative or what will be hukm?". Always check and learn in order to make you stand strong and khusu' in performing ibadah.

2. Cost wise : Prepared for the worst thing that might cost you(before , during the journey as well as the people you left behind at home. If you owe somebody better to clear everything to avoid difficulties or maybe your journey will be useless and meaningless). Because performing Hajj is not cumpolsory until you have "power" to do it. It is not like shalat. Shalat is cumpolsary in any means.. shalat is for Allah regardless of whatever condition we are , we have to perform shalat. Usually if you attend any Hajj course or lectures, the first thing the organizer will discuss to correct/check is your shalat.

I still remember how the ustaz reminded us in his joke but latter make us gave a second thought. [If you wanna make the second thought]

"Sholat: if you cannot stand, then do it while sitting. If not, you can lying down. If not, show signal with your eyes. If not sholat with your heart. If still not until that extend........... we will do solat for you. " -----> Did you get it??

And I like to remember another quote from one ustaz(" Learning without understanding is HIKAYAT". Learning with understanding is then called HIDAYAH") I will always remember this quote whenever I attend any lectures to make sure myself did not listen to any HIKAYAT from a storyteller but to receive HIDAYAH from HIM through somebody He has choosed as a cause for me to learn.

3. Finally physical, mental and emotion:

In terms of physical preparation: Advisable to start light exercises like brisk walking 3 months prior Hajj. Ensure healthy eating attitude. Minimize sugar or red meat intake. Maintain blood pressure. Maybe fasting is one way. Try to keep your health maximum. Like us we walked almost everynight 2 hours to keep us fit. Don't take age factor as granted. Young does not mean fit.

For mental and emotion preparation, the best word to describe is "sabru" or " sabar" in our words. Sabar in any means..you maybe have to walk for a long distance due to heavy traffic. There will be a lot of pushing and pulling while moving in a crowd. A 10 minutes drive might last to 6 hours journey. Maybe dinner or lunch served late. Or may be your driver had droved you to long route and get lost. And a lot of istighfar.

Until the day of tahalul(release ihram). You will feel a big relief and distressful because all the restrictions during ihram have been lift up.

And the most interesting part after all the good exercises we had done before hajj we will realize something[to those who want to think].A journey to Hajj is exactly like a journey "ila yaumul akhirah". The gathering in Mashar al Haram is almost like the gathering in "Masyar Yaumul Akhirah". Where all people will be gathered regardless of titles and genders. Justified according to their acts in this world. In other to get bless and succesful in Hajj(Hajj Mabrur) we will try to keep all above mention right to the fullest during the process of Hajj until tahalul(release ihram).

But right now we are in our journey to yaumul akhirah.. it is not 2 0r 3 days of in "ihram" ( Islamic rules restrictions: Haram,Halal,Makruh and Sunnah). Some people have 60 years , some might have 50 or 40 years( to perform of all the rukun, wajib and sunnah in life and bring them to the judgement day). Are we going to get the most satisfaction like how we feel during tahalul when the Day of Resurrection has come? What have we done to get the same feelings during tahalul?

1. Has there come to you the narration of the overwhelming (i.e. the Day of Resurrection); 2. Some faces, that Day, will be humiliated (in the Hell-fire, i.e. the faces of all disbelievers, Jews and Christians, etc.).3. Labouring (hard in the worldly life by worshipping others besides Allâh), weary (in the Hereafter with humility and disgrace) . 4. They will enter in the hot blazing Fire, 5. They will be given to drink from a boiling spring, 6. No food will there be for them but a poisonous thorny plant, 7. Which will neither nourish nor avail against hunger. 8. (Other) faces, that Day, will be joyful, 9. Glad with their endeavour (for their good deeds which they did in this world, along with the true Faith of Islâmic Monotheism). 10. In a lofty Paradise. 11. Where they shall neither hear harmful speech nor falsehood, 12. Therein will be a running spring, 13. Therein will be thrones raised high, 14. And cups set at hand. 15. And cushions set in rows, 16. And rich carpets (all) spread out. 17. Do they not look at the camels, how they are created?18. And at the heaven, how it is raised? 19. And at the mountains, how they are rooted and fixed firm? 20. And at the earth, how it is spread out? 21. So remind them (O Muhammad ()), you are only a one who reminds. 22. You are not a dictator over them. 23. Save the one who turns away and disbelieves 24. Then Allâh will punish him with the greatest punishment. 25. Verily, to Us will be their return; 26. Then verily, for Us will be their reckoning.

Al-Ghashiyyah(592:88)

Hajj News

Former Priest Describes His Spiritual Journey’
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News

Ali Guatemala

JEDDAH, 29 December 2007 — Many new Muslims came to perform Haj this year to strengthen their faith by undertaking the spiritual journey. Some came as guests of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, some with the financial support of philanthropists and charitable organizations and others on their own.

Ali Guatemala, a former priest, came to perform Haj along with 17,000 other US Muslims.
According to a report in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Severedoo Royes (Guatemala’s Christian name) was attracted to Islam after he read the opening verse in the chapter Al-Baqara (The Cow) of the Holy Quran.

He said conversion to Islam had changed his whole life. “After graduating from the seminary, I worked as a priest in Queen City, southern United States, and I used to engage in missionary work inside prisons,” said Guatemala. In order to improve his missionary skills, Royes started reading books on other religions, including the Holy Qur’an. “It was a turning point in my life,” he said.

When I read the first verse of Chapter Al-Baqara: ‘This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guidance to the pious,’ it struck my mind. I pondered about this verse, which gave me the impression that the author was speaking clearly and definitely without having any doubt. Guatemala said he had found a lot of contradictions in Christianity while studying at the seminary, adding that senior priests were unable to provide satisfactory answers to his questions.

They advised me not to read the Qur’an, branding it Satan’s work. This increased my interest in the Qur’an and I found that it was not the work of a human being, he said. Guatemala prayed to God to show him the right path. “One day, when I left home I found a man in thobe going to the mosque for prayer. His name was Salim Baaqeel. I went with him to the mosque and noticed that there are no ceremonial rituals in Muslim prayers as in Christianity... After that I visited the mosque daily for a week,”he explained.

While I was sitting in the mosque, a person came to me and offered to teach me how to do wudu’ (ablution). I thought that it was a kind of black magic but he explained to me that it was for purification before prayer. On that day I declared my decision to embrace Islam at the mosque,”he added.

Ever since he became a Muslim, Guatemala has been facing a lot of pressure from his family, including his sister, who is Jewish. “She used to frighten me by saying that Muslims would kill me... Her attitude changed after she observed positive changes in my life. When I informed her about my plan to perform Haj, she asked me to bring a souvenir from Makkah for her,”he said.

Haj was a wonderful experience for Guatemala. “I consider this spiritual journey as the best days in my life. It gave me great pleasure when I learned that the places where I spent during Haj had the footprints of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). I cannot explain my strong feelings when I saw the Holy Kaaba for the first time with my naked eyes.”

Abdul Qader, Abdul Rahman and Abdul Raheem three former African priests also performed Haj this year. They converted to Islam after they understood the truthfulness of the religion during a debate with a preacher called Qamar Hussein.

The debate, attended by 5,000 people, led to 147 people embracing Islam, according to Al-Jazriah Arabic daily. The former priests said they were enthralled seeing the amazing scenes of unity and equality among Muslims during the Haj. They came to perform Haj with the support of the Riyadh-based International Authority for Introducing Islam.

It's good news that these three priests came to the fold of Islam as a result of the efforts of one of our preachers, said Saleh Abdul Wahid, the authority s executive director.

Hajj Update

Today is the day. We will leave to Mekah today. It is 7.42 am while I'm writing this blog. We are suppose to gather at Rakbul Huda office before 4.00 pm. That's mean we have to leave our house at 3.00pm. Our friend, Suhaimi has volunteered himself to send us. May Allah bless him.

The night before, we spent our time with the children. We took them to the park and later we let them to choose a place for dinner.We had a difficulty at first in deciding which place to go. But we let Eiman to solve the problem. He proposed us to make vote, the stronger voice will win and everybody must respect the decision. That is the good side, being introduced social studies

since young.

While we were enjoying our dinner, we remind them to look after each other and keep out from fighting especially the two big girls, Zulaikha and Yasmeen which they always did. They nodded while chewing the pizza. We left home when the clock showed 9.00 pm.

Back to hajj preparation, basically InsyaAllah we are prepared both mentally and physically. We only carry one backpack. Actually it is two bag altogether, mine and her bag. But I put her bag into my backpack so that it becomes two in one. So she don't have to carry anything.

Yasmeen & Zulaikha

Yasmeen Safa :

Born in 25th November 2002 and she is our third child. She has been enrolled to Zikrul Hakim Kindegarten. This kindergarten is run by Saudi Islamic Outreach Centre. As the named was, the kindergarten's objective mainly emphasized on memorizing Al-Quran and Arabic words. At first she was reluctant to enter the school but now she really enjoying it. Just look at her face! the teacher had painted her face to look as a cat.

Alhamdulillah, now she is able to memorize few short surah from Al-Quran although not as good as Arabic speaker students.

Aina Zulaikha :

She is born in December,13 2001 and she is our second child. We have enrolled her to Al-Tawhid International School in downtown and now in prep-school class. We are sending her to this school as a preparation before she enters the Yanbu International School next year.

She also attending Al-Quran school in the evening which also run by Saudi Islamic Outreach. Subhanallah, Aina has a magnificent ability to listen and memorizing words. May be because of her eyesight problem.

Like Yasmeen, Aina also able to memorize few surah from Al-Quran and supplication.

Hajj Update

Latest news, we will leaving from Yanbu Al-Bahr at 4.00pm 16th Disember 2007 (7th Zulhijah 1427H) to Mekah. Estimate to arrive at 12.00 am due to heavy traffic. We will perform Tawaf Qudum and Sai'e Hajj. On the next day we will move to Mina and stay there until 9th Zulhijjah.

We will start moving to Arafah on the 9th for Wukuf. After Maghrib prayer, again we move to Mudzalifah and stay there for the whole night. After Fajr prayer on the next day, we will move back to Mina and soon after Dzohor prayer, we will perform stoning at the Jamrat Aqabah.

Hajj 1428H

We (me and my wife) is planning to perform hajj this year. This is the main purpose we came to this place; perform hajj, umrah and pay visit to Rasulullah (p.bu.h). We received our Tasreh (security pass for doing hajj for local people) yesterday. Alhamdulillah everything was fine.

We will follow a local "hafilah" named Rakbul Huda. As we were told, our tent in Mina is around 600 mtr to 1km from Jamrat. The Hafilah will provide us transportation from Yanbu-Mekah-Mina-Yanbu, meal and tent.

Saudi government had annouced the day of wukuf will be on Tuesday 18th Disember 2007 (9th Zulkaedah 1427) that's mean we will depart from Yanbu to Mekah on Sunday 16th Dis 2007.

Our children will be taken care by our servant as well as our neighbours. We pray to Allah for their safety. To readers, please pray Allah will grant us hajj mabrur.

Gathering in Madinah

Almost 2 month we have not update our blog. Not purposely, but too many stuff need to be settled.

We went to Madinah last 2 weeks, 23rd November 2007. Our neighbour in Saujana Utama, Sungai Buloh (Abg Rahman and Kak June) was here to perform Hajj. We are still in contact since we left Malaysia last year. Thanks to Allah who gives man idea to invent internet and other technologies. With these technologies, the world become closer although we are thousand kilometers away from others.

We met Abg Rahman and Kak June in Mawaddah Hotel Madinah, after Jumaat Prayer. My children, especially Eiman, Aina and Yasmeen still remember them. We had a long chat at the hotel lobby. Abang Rahman just like always, simple and humble.

We took them go around Madinah city by our car. We went to Uhud and Quba' Mosque and we stop there for 'Asr Prayer. After that we went to Dates shop behind the mosque. Abg Rahman and Kak June was enjoyed bought the dates while we enjoyed eating free dates. The prices are quite reasonable compared to other places and the dates also new. Rotab also sold there.

We left Madinah after performing maghrib prayer. InsyaAllah we will meet them again in Mekah during hajj.

Stop Over at Jeddah

On the way we went back to Yanbu, suddenly we decided to stop and had a tour in Jeddah. At first we thought just want to stop for an hour or two and finally we changed our mind to stay overnight and may be we can enjoy sight seing in Jeddah city.

Here are some photos snapped during the sightseing in Jeddah Corniche and Historical Distric Area.

Before we drove home, we had our Thai-style lunch in a Philiphine restaurant. Not bad.

Eidul Fitri Mubarak, Kullu 'Am Wa Antum Bi Khair

Since this year is our second year in Kingdom, and we did not know what will happen next year, we would like to take this oppotunity to celebrate Eid in Mecca ~ perform Solat sunnatu Eid in Masjidul Haram together with the children is our wish.

I still remember and I always want to remember my wish and my promise I made to Allah when I performed my Umrah in 2002, during Wida' my last wish before I left Baitullah deeply in my heart, I really hope Allah will grant me a chance to stay in Kingdom together with the children so that I can visit as often as possible Baitullah with all of them. Now, I guess He had fullfilled the wish, so now it become my responsibility to keep the promise.

Every weekend during Ramadhan we tried to make ourself in Mecca. Alhamdulillah, finally we managed to do it. Now Ramadhan has end. I feel the Yanbu city is so quite now. Before it was so alive because all mosques recited a surah during Terawih prayer. Towards 10 days to Eid, almost all mosque were opened 24 hours to the public to do i'tikaf and qiyamullail. Towards 10 days to Eid, you can hear the voice of the imam reciting the surah everywhere. But now no more. I wish every month will be like Ramadhan. The month where the poor will get a chance to eat better food because more people giving "sedeqah".

We spent 3 days and 2 night in Mecca. Since I have relatives in Mecca , so we visited them and celebrated Eid together. With us were other 2 Malaysian family (also working in Yanbu) and a few Malaysian family from other cities that spent their Eid Holidays in Mecca. According to calendar , Eidu will be on Saturday, so we still wait for Terawih on the Thursday night. Initially we heard sound of cannon blast several times and an anouncement, but since we did not understand arabic well so we did not know what was happening. Suddenly, we realized people were leaving. Few hours ago, the mosque were packed up to the third floor.Suddenly, no more. Actually it was announcement for Eidul Fitri for the next day. My friend said, if you think the this is packed, during Hajj is even worse( she had performed Hajj for two times previously). I could not imagine how it would be. I had uploaded some photos at for view. Please see link OUR PHOTOS IN KSA.

The next morning, after Sunat prayer we visited the house of Tabung Haji employees. There were 8 houses. But we managed to visit 4 of them. Among of them are Pak Wan+wife(Tabung Haji driver), K. Normah+husband(who have been staying in Jeddah more than 20 years) - t.q for a nice laksa. Fredi+wife - t.q for a tasty nice mee(home-made) rebus. During our visit, we also met En.Aziz the Consulat of Malaysia+ wife(K.Jah) and all their children + son in law. As well as Pak Long from Madinah(Insya-allah if permit by Allah we will visit you soon in Madinah).

We spent an overnight again in Mecca. The next day, we left Mecca at 11.30 and now we would like to try new route instead of Mecca - Yanbu, now we used the route Mecca- Jeddah - Yanbu( to be continued..........). Probably we will stay for another day in Jeddah.

Celebrating Eid in Mekah

We will celebrate Eid-ul-Fitri (Eid Mubarak) in Mekah this time. We will go to Mekah tomorrow after morning prayer. InsyaAllah we will reach there before Dzohor prayer.

To my friends out there and also to the visitors, Happy Eid Mubarak and may Allah bless you all.

Selamat Hari Raya dan Maaf Zahir Batin.

First year in Yanbu

29th September 2007, marks our first year in Yanbu. So far, we are happy with our life here. The childrens have good schools and friends though they missed their relatives in Malaysia. We have good jobs, neighbourhood, less traffic in the streets which release you from headache (this one I like most), nice food and the best ever, proximity from Mekah and Madinah.

We don't know yet what it will be in future. According to plan, there is another year for us to enjoy such a living in Yanbu. But somehow, I remember my former friend always told me, nothing will happen except by the will of Allah. Allah knows what will happen after a year, a month , a week or even tomorrow. So we leave to Allah to decide our future.

Ramadhan in Mekah

Our first day of Ramadhan was in Mekah. We left Yanbu at 7.00 am on Thursdays by car and reached Miqat Juhfah two hours later. We continued the journey to Mekah at 10.00 am and arrived at 12.00pm. We parked our car at Tan'im mosque and then took a taxi to Haram Mosque. At that time the cost was 20SR per van. We heard two weeks later the cost increased 10 times which was about 200SR. At first it was so surprising, but later we understood that not only the cab rental price was increasing but almost everything including groceries and foods stuff. Even the hotel rate rose up to 900 - 1000 per night.

It almost Dzohor prayer when we reached Haram. People were walking to the mosque and we were walking opposite their direction towards to the hotel. Alhamdulillah we had booked our hotel rooms earlier through a friend, or else we will put our self in big trouble since the hotels were fully booked during Ramadhan and the room rates were hiking. Travel with 4 young children ages 7,6,5 and 2 years old was not easy. Our movement were very slow and of course we must always keep patience.

We started Tawaf (circle the Ka'abah) after Dzohor prayer end. It was so crowded with pilgrimages and the weather was so hot. My daughters couldn't bear with the situation and keep on asking when we are going to finish. (For non-muslim readers : Tawaf means circling Ka'abah for 7 times).

Next, we proceed to Mount Safa to do Sa'ei (walk between Safa and Marwa for 7 times). It was already Asar time. So we decided to perform Saei after Asar prayer.

Obviously umrah during Ramadhan is totally different from Umrah in the other months especially during the day. We will become tired and exhausted quickly since we are fasting. To my understanding after all experiences we have gone through, performing Umrah or Hajj required physical and mental strength. During tawaf we must know how to slow down and when to move quickly.While during Sa'ei, especially during Ramadhan, we can quickly get thirsty. At the end of Sa'ei you'll feel like you have totally lost all your strength and what comes to your mind is a glass of water will be so help full. I had almost fainted, both arms became numb and I feel like to throw out. Luckily I had my khadamah to help me to look after the kids, I just sat on the floor and tried to catch my breath. My husband help me to find some water and sprinkled on my face with hope that it will help me to refresh.

Suddenly the thought of Hagar(r.a) came to my mind. "Probably this is how she felt when she had to look for water for her son Ismail(a.s) running from mount Safa to Marwa". Allah is the only companion for her and also for us.

To Allah we bestowed and to Him we seek forgiveness.

First week of Ramadhan

Working hours during ramadhan has been shorthened from 8 hours to 6 hours daily. Either you come to work at 7.00 am and go back at 1.00 pm in the afternoon or come at 10.00 am untill 4.00 pm.

This is great. I choose option one, I can go back early and then, definitely go to sleep. No, I will not doing that. I will go back early and then spend my quality times with my daughters. That sounds like a good father. Hehehehe.

Today is the fourth day of Ramadhan. Alhamdulillah, everythings goes well and my son start his first fasting today. He told us, all his muslim classmates but him were fasting and he felt very embarrased. Actually he want to start it earlier, even during the first day of Ramadhan but on that day, went to Mekah for Umrah and we afraid that he could not make it due to long hours journey. And yesterday, he had a swimming lesson at the school so today is the best starting date for him.

He performed his first Umrah on the first day of Ramadhan. We did't planned it at first place. Everythings comes up to my mind when I saw a young boy wearing Ihram at the Miqat. Suddenly I asked him whether he want to wear Ihram like me and perform umrah and the answer is "Yes". Umrah ritual is not an aliens to him. He used to follow us Tawaf and Sai'e but this time he will do it again in Ihram.

Alhamdulillah, praise to Allah, everything goes well and we had a pleasant journey.

Ramadhan

Kullu Am Wa Antum bil Khair. Ramadhan Kareemm.

Ramadhan will begin tomorrow. This is our second Ramadhan in the Kingdom and my third ramadhan outside Malaysia. Ramadhan was celebrated with full of joy by the local and Muslim expat here. People greets each other "Ramadhan Kareem" when they meet. My mail boxes was full with ramadhan greetings from colleagues and friends.

A good things about stay in Yanbu was, it is near to Mecca and Madinah. People took advantage from this by performing umrah or ziarah. Every weekend, we can see buses full with man in white ihram dress going to Mecca. This will increase towards the end of Ramadhan.

To all Muslim out there, we wish you Ramadhan Kareem.

MERDEKA, MERDEKA, MERDEKA

Malaysia has celebrate her 50 years of Nationhood yesterday. 31st August 1957, Malaysia or Malaya was declared independence from the British Colonialization. Many thanks to the fighters and warriors who fought for the independence.They sacrifice themselves for the sake of their future generations. Many of them were not remembered as part of the history or may be their name were listed as traitor to the British Government, but to me they are true warriors.

To all Malaysian out there, love our country as how our warriors did. Learn from the history and march to glory.

May Allah bless Malaysia.

And tomorrow is my birthday. 2 days after the national day.......hemmm, I'm getting older.

Allah, forgive me on my wrong doing.

Extremely Hot Weather

Today is the worst summer in Yanbu for the past 2 months. The temperature reached 47 degree celcius and it is extremely hot. You can feel your face is burning, it just like standing infront of the Oven. Hopefully this extremely weather will be end soon.

An Evening in the Desert

I had a chance to spend my evening in the desert yesterday. My neighbour, Mr. Muhammad Al-Otaibi had invited me to joint him and his clan. Actually he had invited me many times before but I was so busy with my familiy. Yesterday was a good time for me since my family are having summer holiday and will come back soon from Malaysia on this Friday.

Lets enjoy the little space left as a bachelor...hehehehheehe.

We spent that evening with chatting, drinking tea and arabic coffee. As a guest, I was treated handsomely.

We left the desert after Isya' prayer. The good thing about being in Saudi Arabia, people pray at anyplace when the times come. Subhanallah.

Our First Trip to Madinah

Our first trip to Madinah Al-Munawwarah was on 9 Zulkhaedah 1427H last year.We celebrate our Eidul Adha in Madinah. It took 3 hours the journey from Yanbu to madinah by bus. The bus stop at Badr town (another historical place in Islam where the first war between Muslim Madinah and Kuffar Mekah took place) to pick-up another passenger.

We arrived Madinah at 11.00 am and immediately go to get the hotel room. Most of the hotel were fully booked and the rates were very expensive. We were told that many Saudis' came to Madinah to spend their Eidul Adha. Finally, we managed to get one small room with 3 beds.

It was so cold in Madinah that time. We have to buy gloves, caps and jacket for the childrens. We spent most of the time in the Prophet Mosque. We took our children to visit Prophet Muhammad (p.b.o.h) tomb. We told them who is him to us and why we need to visit his tomb.

We left Madinah on 11 Zulkhaedah after spending 3 days overthere.

Yanbu today

1) Youths Cool Down in School Pool

Muhammad Al-Homaid, Arab News

YANBU, 14 August 2007 — Police in Yanbu were called to a high school following a telephone call by a local resident who saw a number of youth jumping over a school wall. The youngsters ran away when police arrived. Police found towels at the school pool, indicating the youngsters had entered the school to cool down during the summer heat.

2) Guards Save Youth From Drowning

Muhammad Al-Homaid, Arab News

YANBU, 14 August 2007 — Border guards rescued a Saudi youth, who got into difficulties while swimming in an out-of-bound area off the Yanbu coast. The youth’s family alerted border guards about the youngster, who was struggling to swim and was shouting for help. Border guards called on people to exercise care when swimming in the sea and to avoid restricted areas.

Welcome new Malaysian to Yanbu

With a great honour, we welcome you new Malaysian to Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah. Ahlan Wa Sahlan. Marhaba bikum.

It is our pleasure to assist you to the new life in Yanbu.

May Allah grant you peace in this land of Prophet.

Our Family

Alhamdulillah, we were blessed with 4 childrens. The eldest is Shah Eiman Amzar, second; Siti Aina Zulaikha, third; Siti Yasmeen Safa and the last but not least Siti Hannan Safiyyah. Picture was taken in October 2006 during Eidul Fitri.

Yanbu Al-Bahr

From Wikipedia,

Yanbu, Saudi Arabia Yanbu' al Bahr (Arabic: ينبع "spring by the sea"), also known simply as Yanbu, Yambo, or Yenbo, is a major Red Sea port in the Al Madinah province of western Saudi Arabia. It is approximately 350 kilometers north of Jeddah (at 24°05′N, 38°00′E). The population is 188,430 (2004 census).

Yanbu's history dates back at least 2500 years, when it was a staging point on the spice and incense route from Yemen to Egypt and the Mediterranean region. Yanbu served as a supply and operational base for Arab and British forces fighting the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. It remained a small port town until 1975, when the Saudi government designated it as one of the country's two new industrial centres (the other being Al Jubayl on the Persian Gulf).

The city is subdivided into three smaller villages, which are about 15 minutes drive by car away from each other. The Town (often call "Al-Balad") which means the actual city which has most of the population and all the shops centers etc. Second is Yanbu Al-Nakhel (Al-Nakheel), which is very old and mainly only has farms. And finally the industrial city, Yanbu Al-Sina'iya (literally "the industrial Yanbu), established around 1975 with a very modern housing architecture. It houses all the major refineries and petrochemical installations and still growing very fast.

Yanbu is an important petroleum shipping terminal and is also home to three oil refineries, a plastics facility, and several other petrochemical plants. It is the country's second port (after Jiddah) and serves as the main port for the holy city of Medina, 160km (100 miles) to the east. The natural harbour is protected on both sides by wide coral reefs. These reefs remain mostly untouched making them excellent areas for diving. Three major oil pipelines lead across the desert from the oilfields in the east to terminate at the Red Sea in Yanbu. Yanbu also has a domestic airport (code YNB) and a naval base. The naval base called Al-Minhalapin utilizes islands and underwater facilities to protect the landmass.

A new highway now passes through Yanbu linking Jeddah to the northern parts of the kingdom and the neighboring countries Syria, Jordan etc

Madinat Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah

Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah or Yanbu Industrial Area was located at the Red Sea coast. It was 20km away from Yanbu Al- Bahr, 200 km and 400km from Madinah and Mekkah respectively.

Yanbu is a very nice place with non extreme weather unlike other places in the Kingdom. It can go up to 41 deg Celcius during summer and 12 degree Celcius during winter.

Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah comes from The idea of H.M King Faisal as the path to reduce the Kingdom’ dependence on crude oil exports, upgrade its precious natural resources, diversify the national economy, and ultimately, raise the standard of living of the entire Saudi population.

1976, Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu was established by King Khaled, successor to King Faisal. The task is to developed and maintain the township.

Petrochemical Industry is the main activity here where we can see all the factory from the main road before entering Yanbu.

As a well planned township, Yanbu is a very much different from other township in the Kingdom. Consist of well planned housing, schools, hospital, shopping complexes and higher learning institution.

Malaysian in Yanbu

As todate, approximately 9 Malaysian and their families resides in Yanbu and most of them working in the Yanbu Industrial College and Yanbu University College (Male & Female)and only a few working in the industrial sector. With an attractive sallary and free schooling for childrens provided by the Royal Commision, more Malaysian were expected to come in the future.

For Muslim, its location near to Haram (Mekah & Madinah) makes it more attractive where umrah and ziarah (visit) can easily perform during the weekend.

other link to Madinat Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah :

http://www.urar.org.sa/ibda/mahawer6-6.html

Water Leaking from Apartment Above

2 Aug 2007 :

Alamakk.....I saw water dripping from my house ceiling...hemm probably it comes from my air-conditioning unit. Maybe the drain pipe was blocked. My floor carpet starting get wet and tomorrow it will become stingky. I used what ever we have; bucket, trash can and even cooking pot to collect the water.

I called property department on the next day and told them about the problem and they came to my house to verified my report.

4th August 2006 :

I received a phone call from Mr. Shahin (maintenace department). Again they want to check the problem. But it was scheduled on the next day. I pleaded them to make it today since the condition is worsened. They said, they have a thight schedule today and appointment with other peoples were made earlier.

5th August 2007 :

As promised I waited them at my house at 9.30 am but the only appear at 10.00 am. Their reason was they can't find the house since the address was wrong. OK, I have no problem on that as long they come and fix the problem.

They open the ceiling maintenance access to check the aircond drain pan. There is no drain pan and that means the water not coming from the condesate water. After opening the second access panel, they saw water dripping from the floor slab above. At last we found the source but we face a new problem. The house was vacant and the owner going back to USA for vacation. They will only come back end of August.

By that time I have to live on that condition.

Durian in Yanbu ??

Believe it or not, we can get durian and mangosteen in Yanbu. Panda Hypermarket (2 month old in Yanbu) is the only place offering tropical fruits. Many Saudi's loves mangoesteen and they kept it in their freezer at home.

These tropical fruit came from Thailand. Looks like Thailand is a champion in producing agricultural products from South East Asia. Salute you guys.

Price ? Hewww.....SR 38.00 /kg for durian and SR 24.00/kg for mangoesteen. Well to my fellow Malaysian back home, eat durian as you can before coming to Saudi Arabia.

P/s : still remember eating mangoesteen with my late mother under the tree. I miss that moment.

Holiday In Genting Highland

I thought of giving my family members a treat. At first, we planned to go to Pangkor Islang Resort (formerly known as Pan Pacific Pangkor). Suddenly, my younger brother said , he did not agreed .. yeaahh nothing to do in Pangkor. He preferred we spent time in Genting Highland. Beside, it has been a long time for him did not go to Genting. So , we agreed with him.. Since it was a sudden plan... so we could not make any room reservation.. it was too late to book. We just went up without make any confirmed reservation.

When we reached the peak it was true there is no more room available... we were so surprised .. can you imagine , approximately 10 000 rooms were fully booked. What to do.. It ended up .. we got a private apartment.. which was poorly managed .. and the price as high as a deluxe room.

So, next time if you plan to stay overnight in Genting .. make sure you make a reservation 3 months early.. Whalla..

Summer Vacation in Hutan Melintang, Perak

This is rambutan trees. Its age is 7 years old. We planted it while I was pregnant our first baby. Now we had harvested the fruits for 6 years.. This year Alhamdulillah I had another chance to taste it.. Whalla
Can you see the durians... it were sent by my Pak Anjang( My mother's brother) . He is a very kind person..I always envy his kindness and always want to be like him..
He knows.. that his house is quite far for everybody to reach.. and sometimes we coud not find suitable time to go to enjoy the fruit.. so he brought them instead of waiting for us to come....

oooo balik kampung

28 Jun 2007 ..tak sabor nak balik dah..........

Blood Test

I did a blood test last week, thursday 26th July and yesterday 28th July I went to see the doctor again to collect the results.

Generally everything was fine except my cholestrol level. My cholestrol level was 5.6 and it is 0.3 higher than the recommended value.

Dr. Mahmood advised me to control my diet especially fat. No more full cream milk, Cheese, full fat butter, red meat and last but not least seafood.

The next six month I have to repeat the test.

You guys out there, go get your blood check before it is too late.

Shah

Life of a lonely man

Morning - Go to Work
Lunch - Shawarma / Sandwich
Evening - Cook for dinner and go to Gymnasium
Night - TV / Internet

Waaaaaa....what a boring life .....

Another Farewell Party for Benoy

Kekasih yang dirindu

Nazrey Raihan

Benoys' Farewell Party

Mr. Benoy Samantha who is SAPL Mechanical Section Director has served in Yanbu for 17 1/2 years. Sadly he will leave Yanbu for good this July 2007.

Mr. Benoy is a very humble and modest man and keen to assist anybody either that man his subordinate or not. His wife, Mrs Lolita was a librarian in Yanbu International School and she has helped our son (Eiman) a lot and now, Eiman can conversed English very well.

A farewell party has been organised to appreciate his contribution to SAPL in Yanbu. It was a very nice party with a plenty of foods, drinks and nice weather.

Lonely.......

Lonely im so lonely,
I have nobody,
To call my owwnnn
Im so lonely, im mr. Lonely
I have nobody,
To call my owwnnn


Issshhh...baru sehari diaorang balik Malaysia....

PULANG KE MALAYSIA

Today 28th JUNE 2007 , Thursday, I'm going back to Malaysia for summer holiday. I'll be in Malaysia for 60 days and will come back to Yanbu on 24th August 2007.

see u guys in Malaysia

Ooo..oooo..Balik kampung

ooo..oooo.. balik kampung

ooo..oooo.. balik kampung

hati giranggggg.............

My Office

by : shah

My workstation..... in Saudi Arabian Parson Limited (SAPL)

I don't know what to do today. Just take some photos of my workstation...than publish in the blog.

See it and believe it....so neat, looks like I got no job to do. Cool !!




I have coffee, reference books - original (hardly have one in Malaysia)

Well guys, give me your comments.

PERJUMPAAN MALAYSIAN YANBU

Warga Malaysian Yanbu yang kebanyakannya terdiri dari tenaga pengajar di Yanbu Industrial College dan Yanbu University College (Male & Female Campus) telah mengadakan perjumpaan terakhir untuk semester ini.

Memandangkan cuti musim panas yang bakal tiba dan hampir semua akan pulang bercuti selama 2 bulan , maka kami berhasrat untuk mengadakan jamuan " Makan2+ Sembang2 ".

Perjumpaan ini turut dihadiri oleh rakan-rakan dari Singaporean Yanbu yang juga merupakan tenaga pengajar di Institusi pendidikan tersebut.

Perjumpaan diadakan di rumah kami dan jamuan diadakan secara "Potluck". Jamuan istemewa adalah nasi briyani ayam yang dimasak oleh En. Ayob, kueh karipap dan bubur kacang yang disediakan oleh tuan rumah.

Tak kurang juga yang menyumbang agar-agar kemenyan, nugget, sayur goreng, kurma ayam, baklava+ roti-cheese (makanan famous kat sini - mostly in every occasion mesti ada roti ni). Akhir sekali penuh le meja makan kami dengan beraneka makanan.

Perjumpaan ini juga sebagai menghargai persahabatan yang telah dijalinkan dan juga kesedihan kami di atas perpisahan dengan En. Raj yang akan meninggalkan Yanbu.

Salam perpisahan dan selamat datang kepada bakal warga Malaysia Yanbu.