Friday, March 4, 2011

* Paradise Awaits *

AMAZING CREATURE

Bismillah.

The baby’s getting bigger and I am getting nervous. I keep thinking about the preparations I need to store in myself in order to become an excellent mom. There is one thing which sometimes making me feel restless; my past sins. Afraid that whatever I have done in my life would affect the life of my baby. Believe me, when you are becoming a mommy (or daddy), you will constantly have the urge of wanting to change to a better self. And I hope that I am on my way to improve myself in term of my relationship with Allah.

Last weekend we went to a bookstore with no intentions of buying book, however suddenly I found this one amazing book about baby. It is not a very thick book, yet the contents are very useful and inshaAllah can give the advantages which will last a lifetime. The book is entitled “How to Teach Your Baby Math” by Glenn Doman. (Even the title is captivating, isn’t it?)

In the first paragraph of the introduction, the author said:

Very few people buy a book for the purpose of disagreeing with it. The fact that you’ve bought this book means that, no matter how improbable the title sounds, you’ve got a healthy suspicion that it is possible to teach your baby how to do math, and in that suspicion you are entirely correct.

Oh my Allah, my heart pumped rapidly as I was scanning and skimming the book. I want this book! I must read it! No sane mother would deny the fact that she will always wants the best for her kids, even since their pre-births. The author did mention that this book was written as a result of a research done thirty five years ago, beginning with a venture to find out the way to help the severely brain-injured children.

Okay, enough with the introduction. I just can’t stop feeling the excitement of wanting to share this profoundly important fact with readers out there. Wait, so do you already believe that baby can do math? Even when they haven’t reached the age of being able to speak fluently? If you haven’t, please do so, because it IS an established fact. And please be reminded; never belittle tiny child’s abilities, because you still have no idea about what they can do that you can’t do. :) But of course, parents’ efforts are highly required in this process.



FACTS ABOUT BABIES & LEARNING

I’ll just type some interesting facts (some are rephrased by me) that I found throughout my half-way reading on it:

1. It is much easier to teach a one (or two) year old child to read than it is to teach a four-year old. (Many mothers out there had successfully taught their 2 year old kid to read, and since then, the question of: “isn’t it easier for them to learn math?” was raised and they found the answer, with a result which initially left them in open-mouthed astonishment).

2. This question was once asked to a three-year old boy: “How many zeros are there in a sextillion?” The boy pondered for a few seconds only and then announced the answer with a smile: “21”. And he was exactly right.

3. We grown-ups believed that the older you are, the easier it is to learn, and in some things this is true. But certainly is NOT true concerning languages. (And math IS a language).

4. Tiny children want to learn math.

5. Tiny children can learn math (and the younger the child, the easier it is).

6. Tiny children should learn math because it is an advantage to do math better and more easily.

7. Some kids go on through life believing that learning is fun and the only game worth playing. We have name for such people. We call them geniuses.

8. ALL babies are linguistic geniuses.

I think I am at my limit. I am not writing a book! However for parents out there, this book is highly recommended if you really want to teach your tiny child in their young ages. Remember, the younger the easier, inshaAllah. (There are other series of books written by the same author regarding developing babies’ abilities).

MOTHERS = PARADISE

The author said:

WE HAVE LEARNED THAT MOTHERS ARE THE MOST SUPERB TEACHERS OF CHILDREN THIS OLD WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.

Subhaanallah, it leaves a great impact in my heart. Becoming a mother is totally an honored job given by Allah and I have to play my role wholeheartedly and patiently, no doubt.

Talking about mothers really brings my mind to my mom at home. There was this one day, when I suddenly burst out into tears while cooking because I was wondering what my mother is eating. I really couldn’t stop the tears. Is my mother doing fine? Does she eat the food as good as I am eating now? Without any hesitation, I sent a message to her (I couldn’t call her since it will definitely make my tears flow faster) to ask about her and to tell her how much my heart hurts because I was worrying about her. My mom replied with long advices and soothing words. One thing she said: You have to be a strong lady, especially when you are pregnant. InshaAllah the strength that you build in yourself will more or less directed to your baby. Isn’t it among the things we need in order to survive in this challenging life?

Thanks mom. I wish I was a better daughter. I know I used to be a stubborn kid and always failed to make your heart blossoms with happiness. Ya Allah, please forgive me if there are things which I had done before that made my mom cries. Please bless her and my dad.





Do you know what the Prophet sollallahu alaihi wasallam had told us about showing good manners towards mom (and dad)? If we do, then are we practicing it? Hopefully. Lots of hadith are stressing about the importance of enjoying good manners to them, specifically mothers. I was mesmerized when I read this hadith:

Let him be humbled into dust; let him be humbled into dust. It was said: Allah's Messenger, who is he? He said: He who sees either of his parents during their old age or he sees both of them, but he does not enter Paradise. (Sahih Muslim, book 32, no. 6189)

What does the hadith mean? Basically it is telling us that one of the ways to enter the Paradise is by doing good deeds towards parents, especially when they are old and need us to take care of them. It is such a big loss if we have them and were given the chance to live till they’re in their old age, but we failed to make the chance (by serving them nicely) as a reason for us to enter His Paradise.

And there is a hadith indirectly says that doing good deeds to mothers can erase our sins, even big sins as killing people. Once, there was a man who had killed a woman (due to her rejection of marrying him), and he wanted to repent. He asked Ibn ‘Abbas RA whether Allah will still accept his repentance or not. Ibn ‘Abbas responded to his question by asking: “Is your mom still alive?” ‘Atho’ bin Yassar who heard this question was puzzled thus asked Ibn ‘Abbas the reason of questioning that man about his mother. Ibn ‘Abbas replied: I never know any deeds which are nearer to Allah except birrul waalidah (doing good deeds to the mother). (Narrated by Imam al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, and is mentioned by Imam as Suyuthi in al-Dur al-Manthur. In Silsilah al-Sahihah, al-Albani said this hadith is sahih)

AllahuAkbar. Allah is the Greatest. After knowing about these two hadith, may we can set an intention in our hearts to become a better son/daughter to our mothers. How can we take it for granted, after the Prophet sollallahu alaihi wasallam had told us that treating our parents with good virtues can bring us to Paradise? Aren’t our hearts yearning and longing to be a part of the Paradise?

Thus, let us treat our parents nicely. Ask for forgiveness from them if we had done any mistakes towards them. Pray to Allah in abundance to give them a blessed and happy life. May one day we and our parents will meet again in Jannah. Amin Ya Rabb!


Tuesday, March 1, 2011

* Dari Dimensi Akhirat *



Subhanallah. Satu kuliah yang benar-benar meruntun hati dan sanubari... Membuka mata & hati kepada hakikat tentang kehidupan ini. Alhamdulillah andai digerakkan hati untuk meluang sedikit masa (11 minit) untuk mendengar pesanan ini. Andai kesuntukan masa, di sini saya akan menukilkan sedikit intipati kuliah ini:

* Ramai orang tersalah sangka tentang maksud ketenangan dalam hidup. Mereka mengaitkannya dengan faktor kekayaan. Walaupun itu boleh jadi penyumbang, tapi ia bukan segala-galanya.

* Jika Allah ingin memberi kebahagiaan kepada seseorang, dia tidak boleh ditahan oleh apa-apa tangan sekalipun.

* Jika Allah menghalang kebahagiaan kepada seseorang, dia tidak boleh dihulur oleh apa apa tangan sekalipun.

* Jika Allah mengatur urusan untuk kita, apa yang orang sangka tewas, kita akan melihat kemenangan dari sisi Allah.

* Jika dulu kita mungkin pernah mengadu kepada Allah, " Ya Allah tolonglah aku, tolonglah aku... Aku susah ya Allah..." Namun hari ini kita sendiri sudah lupakan perkataan itu.

* Kadang-kadang kita lupa untuk bersyukur, di atas pelbagai ranjau hidup yang telah Allah keluarkan kita daripadanya.

* Orang-orang yang pernah hidup dan bertawakal, dia akan mengetahui keajaiban bertawakal.

* Apabila insan melihat dunia daripada dimensi akhirat, dia akan merasa dunia ini sangat kecil.

* Dalam hadith riwayat Muslim, Nabi sollallahu alaihi wasallam ada menyebut bahawa di akhirat kelak, Allah akan bawa manusia yang paling derita di atas muka bumi ini dan celupkannya di dalam syurga buat sekelip mata, kemudian dia dikeluarkan, lalu Allah bertanya: Ya fulan, pernahkah engkau merasa derita ketika hidup (di dunia dahulu)? Jawab manusia itu: Tidak! Aku tidak pernah merasa derita. Kemudian Allah ambil manusia yang paling banyak mendapat nikmat dalam dunia ini, kemudian mencelupkannya sekelip mata ke dalam neraka, kemudian dikeluarkan, lalu ditanya kepadanya: Ya Fulan, pernahkah engkau merasa nikmat ketika hidup di dunia? Jawabnya: Tidak! Aku tidak pernah merasai nikmat ketika hidup dahulu.

* Hanya kerana masuk sekelip mata di dlm syurga, lupa cerita derita... Hanya kerana satu celupan sahaja ke dalam neraka, manusia lupa segala kisah nikmat dlm hidupnya...

* Kita ini sering lupa untuk bersyukur kerana tidak putus-putus kita diberi nikmat yang baru, yang kita tidak sedar akannya.

* Kerana itu, sebahagian para sarjana ada menyebut bahawa kadangkala syukur itu lebih tinggi maqamnya daripada sabar. Kerana ramai orang terpaksa sabar, tetapi belum tentu orang yang mendapat nikmat itu bersyukur.

* Pesanan Nabi sollallahu alaihi wasallam kepada ummatnya: Janganlah bersedih, sesungguhnya Allah bersama kita! (Surah at Taubah: 40)

Wallahua'lam.