Monday, September 20, 2010

Iktikaf and Open Air Raya Lunch (updated)

Blimey! I seem to have corrupted some of my CPU.. I have been racking my brain to remember the details I heard some umpteen years ago on things we have to do to achieve the reward of ‘Umrah. I was keen to remember this as I was reminded the other day in a surau nearest to my home to iktikaf after the Fajr prayer until Israk and to perform 2 rakaah of solat sunat Israk.

If I remember it correctly, there was a friend (may be more) of prophet who was lamenting to the Prophet (pbuh) that the Meccan (those who stayed in Mecca) can performed umrah on daily basis, should they wish to do so.. whereas he who was staying in Medina could not do the same..then come this hadith..

According to Ibn Maajah:Whoever purifies himself in his house, then comes to the Mosque of Quba’ and prays there, he will have the reward of ‘Umrah.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 1412.


Mosque of Quba'

The story does not stop there.. The Grace of Allah extend to those who are not in the two holy cities of Islam.. as there is another Prophet’s tradition which meant +- Iktikaf in mosque after Fajr prayers until Israk time (7.30 to 8.00 a.m.) and perform 2 rakaah of solat sunat Dhuha, the reward will be equal to 'Umrah”.

Wallahu a’lam.. (Kindly correct me if I quote wrongly).. Some ustaz said that there is a chance that there is NO solat sunat Israk ..

I notices 1 or 2 pensioners stayed at the newly completed Sungai Udang mosque in Kuala Dungun until about 7:45 a.m. most mornings save for the Idilfitri . My Kudos to those who have the time, guidance, patience and will power to make it a point to do the solat fajar iktikaf and the solat sunat Dhuha on daily basis.

I enjoyed a rather light snack before solat idilfitri, hariraya cookies and tapai pulut wrapped in " daun jambu laut". After the solat idilfitri and two voluminous plate of nasi dagang (specially prepared by my other half, the preparation start in the evening before for the “ gulai ikan aya” and at 4 a.m. for the nasi dagang) , my family of four went to Seberang Baroh , Kuala Trengganu and spent the whole day paying respect to my mum, my elder sister’s big clan and visiting relatives. Late Idilfitri evening saw us visiting my sister-in-law in Rhu Bathil, Kuala Abang.


Yours truly and the Nasi Dagang

The second raya was planned to be sort of another big day for us in Dungun, Nasi Beryani Klang has been gazetted (there was no circular , sakela in Trengganuspeak , being distributed to announce the event ) to be the special lunch menu and close relatives as far as Gua Musang has been informed . It was supposed to be sponsored by another sister-in-law and her husband, as you can correctly guessed, came all the way from Klang to arrive in Sungai Udang Dungun in the wee hours of that second day Idilfitri.

Preparation started as early as 4 a.m. although we have to wait for our sponsor (to wake up from their after Subuh sleep) to make that special nasi Beryani Klang . As the wait became a lil bit long for the children, we have to improvise available stools and tables to be the place where the youngster can spend their time to play, or would you prefer, vent their impatience.. outside the busy kitchen area. When the time came for lunch, everybody was so comfortable to be in that space, that we decided to have our lunch there .. The stools, tables and the space were insufficient to place for everybody present at one sitting, but then .. the children said it is going to be fun…

First let the ladies fill the plate with Beryani rice



Now we can not wait to fill in the delicious fried chicken

Add Image
Now why are the children taking so long to finish their lunch?


Consuming hot Klang beryani in equally hot afternoon has induced the art of "berlengging"


Even the sponsor have to take a back seat!

Please forgive my feeble attempt to hide my lack of time to update the blog.. have a good days ahead..

19 comments:

yohteh said...

...ayoh Wang... kalu ggitu, memang biserlah Nasi Beryani Klang... pah bbowoh umoh nye asok bui... am looking foward if you'll be writing down the recipe somewhere in your blog... hehehe...
anyway, it's a nice Eid's sketch of yours, i.e in your very own perspective which chilled me down...

yohteh said...

...again when the second last picture was enlarged... whilst others still consuming the beriyani, several pinggans of yours had already licin-ed... hehehe...

Unknown said...

..salam..beautdiful scenes, wan, pakmat enjoyed looking at it and imagining mood of the occasion..the children must be having a blast..selamat raya..

Wan Sharif said...

Yohteh,
Ha, ha, ha… nye asok pah ke bbowoh umoh tu pasal dok cukup teppat... doh dok tahang lapar pung ade jugok . Eh, dok panda lah pulok Ayoh Wang nok tulih resepi Nasi Beryani Klang tu.. rasenyer sama jer macam hok orang lain buat .. Cuma untuk kari atau gulai dia orang paka reppah tumbuk dan adunan ibu tuan sponsor dari Klang.

Raison d'ĂȘtre for so many pinggan licin-ed (empty plates) was the long wait coupled with hot and humid afternoon that induced hunger pangs (at times.. a little flash of anger) resulting in the process of 'bahang' (wallop) instead of the normal 'makang' (eating).

Thank you for the second visit. I was told by one of my much respected blog visitor Ninotaziz who previously wrote a comment to me stating “In poets blogsphere, it is said that when fellow poets visit your blog twice, they are true and loyal blog friends” .. Wow, Alhamdulillah for that second visit..

Wan Sharif said...

Salam pakmat,
Comparatively, the raya bring more joys to the children than most of us..
Can I equate that the Raya joy is mathematically exponential to the number of children.. for Raya without children will be a most boring if not a very sad state of affair.. That may remind us to bring our chidren and visit those old folk houses (if there is any in close vicinity)..

Cheers.. Do take a very good care..my friend.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Ayoh Wang,
My Mama said, in Klang, the best biryani can only be found at Restoran Bismillah that used to be located opposite the Klang railway station. Said to be at par with the famous Restoran Bilal of KL's Jalan TAR. We don't know if the restaurant is still around. Anyway, yes...Eis is all bout family and friends. Duduk ramai-ramai, berkongsi makan dan bercerita...especially for the kids. purrr....meow!

psst... would kill for a plate of nasi dagang right now!

DrSam said...

salam ayoh wang. Reading this has really salivated me dry. kalu bahang nasi dagang sapa dua pinggang tu memang lapor sunggoh...tapi ambe kalu bab nasi dagang ni, lapor dok lapor pong...memang bahang dua pinggang sokmo :)

BTW...whereabout is that homely Seberang baroh ayoh wang?

Wan Sharif said...

Salam Idilfitri CiS, (Pst.. special salam to your mama as well)
Mmm that's nice.. will take note of that..
will bring my in-laws to that Bismillah restaurant..
Those kids really have a gala times.. "makkan jjammu- youngsters Gganuspeak".
Ah the nasi dagang..
when we visit our neighbour on the second day.. the neighbour told us that her mother came and enjoyed our nasi dagang.. and on learning that my other half is the one who prepared it.. the old lady cried.. saying that she missed my other half and have not tasted such a nice nasi dagang for a long time... our neighbour told her mother that we were in KT then.. when she asked to see my other half..
So when you say 'that" of nasi dagang.. I reckon you would.. metaphorically.. hiargh ha..

Wan Sharif said...

Waa'laikumussalam DrSam,
He, he, he.. molek lah masa boleh bahang tu bahang sungguhti.. kekgi dok berapa gagah nok godang pulok..
Seberang Baroh is in between losong and durian burong.. or cabang tiga and pulau musang/Paloh..
Shamefully.. that the whereabout of that fireworks accident recently.. in which the man who sold the firecrackers lost his only child of six yo who was blown coconut tree high... not sky high..
Ah selalulah peringatan Allah itu tidak di ambil perhatian...

Ida BorneoLove said...

hmm.. more food. Alhamdulillah but have to control lah. Bila dah above 35 ni, bahaya coz of food macam macam ada. Boleh enjoy, but in small portions.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Ayoh Wang,
My Mama was on the phone with a friend from KL yesterday and said he was at that particular time pekena nasi dagang at this place called Ulik Mayang in Taman Melawati. Sangatlah zalimnya kan? purrr....meow!

Aishah said...

Assalamualaikum Wan Sharif,

What a cheerful Raya. Raya in KL will never be the same as Raya in the kampung. No open house can match an open air open house under the trees as in the kampung.

As for the tradition about jumaah Fajar prayer then berzikir till Dhuha, equals to one Umrah, I just came across it for the first time two days ago, and now I am reading it again. Amazing, don't you think. Teringin nak cuba buat.

Wan Sharif said...

Salam Ida,
Alhamdulillah.. benar lah kata mereka kebanyakkan kita sakit kerana terlebih makan.. betul tu Ida kena control.. in small proportion ..kerana Body Mass Index(BMI) kita kalau dah naik susah nak turun.. kena bersungguh sungguh berkorban baru boleh dapat kembali susuk badan yang lebih slim..

Wan Sharif said...

Salam CiS,
Luckily I did not hear the gedegang sound.. if not there will be someone who have to buy a new hand-phone. Ayoh Wang belum sampai lagi di Ulik Mayang in Taman Melawati, but has sampled a few times the ND in Ulik Mayang Taman Melati.. Maybe CiS salah dengar kot..
Now Taman Melati is more happening than Taman Melawati..with lots of new Condominiums, Apartments etc. being completed and coming up.. maybe because of the LRT terminal being there..

Wan Sharif said...

Waa’laikumussalam Aisyah,
Normally we have the lunch in the house.. only this year we have it open air style hasil dari usaha tangan tuan sponsor yang membuat meja dan stools..(asalnya untuk tempat berehat/ bersembang di waktu petang).. Well it is like what Pakmat has said “the children were having a blast”.. The adults.. tumpang gembira..
As for the tradition about jumaah Fajar prayer then berzikir till Dhuha, equals to one Umrah,..
Yes... It is coincidentally amazing! Now you can quote it here or at your place.. Ayoh Wang tak jumpa lagi hadith tu.. Cuma dengar dari dua tiga sumber.. tanpa “matan dan..”
Rasa nya untuk orang perempuan yang tidak diwajibkan ke Masjid.. bolehlah berjemaah dengan emak/adik/anak dirumah dan iktikaf di satu kawasan khas di dalam rumah.. OOps lagi kuatlah dugaan tu.. dengan bau breakfast dari dapur dan nyanyian kerongcong dari perut yang kosong, ha..ha..
Bukan senang nak dapat pahala umrah ya.. kalau di masjid pada waktu yang ada kuliah subuh, tentu agak senang sikit.. tak lah terasa lama sangat masa iktikaf tu.. cobaan..

Al-Manar said...

Meriah juga lah nampaknya Hari Raya tahun ini. Sekarang tunggu pula Raya Qurban. Bolehlah rasa daging 'Hydrponics'.

I posted one comment yesterday and that seems to have gone atray somewhere.

Salaam dari Pakcik

Wan Sharif said...

Waa'laikumussalam Pakcik...
Alhamdulillah kerana doakan kami..
saperti yang di jangka.. orang yang kita harap.. masih belum buat sebarang committment.. macam politician pulak.. tapi masih berusaha.. without proper support we might be facing some setback .. some 3-24 months setbacks depending on the success of our effort to get necessary fund/ participation to get us moving as fast as planned.

Lee said...

Hi Wan Shariff, I love the pics here especially the last pic of that man sitting on a hammock under the house.
Somebody must be sleeping there, or maybe if isteri naik angin, then tidur bawa tu, ha ha.

Was that a makan shop selling the briyani? Looks good too.
Have a nice weekend, Lee.

Wan Sharif said...

Uncle Lee,
The hammocks under the house have been used to escape the global warming effect.. temperature in Dungun can go as high as 48 degrees Celsius.. a good place for afternoon nap.. and to escape the wind from the "naik angin wife" ha ha..
Just a make-shift tables and stolls crafted by that man sitting on the hammock.. Nampak ceriakan..
De Plein air dejeuner (An open air lunch).. ha,ha.
Take care..stay handsome for Mrs Lee.. only for Mrs Lee you hear!