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my 1st and 2nd grandsons and friends in Facebook


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Sacrifice

As-Saaffat [37:102]
Then when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, he said: "O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice: now see what is thy view!" (The son) said: "O my father! do as thou art commanded: thou will find me if Allah so wills one practicing Patience and Constancy!"

As-Saaffat [37:103]
So when they had both submitted (to Allah), and He had laid Him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice)

As-Saaffat [37:107]
And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice:

Those are verses from the Koraan about Sacrifice to be done during Eid ulAdha. Eid ulAdha fell on Monday the 8th of Dec 2008 this year. And this time I am slaughtering part of a cow (Islam allows 1/7th of a cow per person, sharing with other people who have the same intentions) as a required sacrifice for my 3rd grandson. My other grandsons have all done their sacrifices in their earlier years.

Here was the cow,


and here was how they downed the cow for the sacrifice slaughtering (not for the weak hearted).



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In Croydon, UK

My 1st and 2nd Grandsons have joined this group of young people.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=417875380







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Baby grows

Yes, baby soon grows fast.







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Dammir

My second grandson, Dammir, has joined Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=feed&id=637069922#/profile.php?id=633361370



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Eid Mubarak 2008

On the Eid el Fitr day 2008. Beautiful cap.


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5 months

Just about 5 months old, and my 3rd grandson has managed to roll over himself. Is that normal or is he slow?
Just about 8 kg.



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Eid Fitr is coming

Its the middle of Ramadan now, the middle of the Muslim fasting month. Everyone (Muslims that is, especially in Malaysia) is preparing to celebrate the Eid Fitr, which is due at the very end of September or very early October.

My third grandson is trying on his first 'baju Melayu' (the Malay national dress). Looks good but the girth of his 'seluar' (the pants that goes with the 'baju') could not fit his big thighs and his fat waist). Something has to be done with the belting of the 'seluar'.

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Kadeem on holiday

My first grandson Kadeem was on holiday at Camber Sands, Rye, Sussex, UK recently





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Aqiqah

http://www.aqiqahkorban.com/aqiqah.html

http://www.hidaya.org/social-welfare/charity-at-the-time-of-child-birth/

My third grandson recently had his hair shaved (Malay = bercukur) (http://atuklias.blogspot.com/2008/07/just-hair-cutting.html) and in reality that should have been done with the aqiqah but circumstances was that it could not be done.
So the family decided that the aqiqah was to be done in the village (Malay = kampong) on Friday 23 Aug. 2008 (nothing really significant about the date, but it was just a convenient date for all the family members to attend) where I come from so that all the family could gather (together) for the occasion. It was really a combination of family gathering and an obligatory Muslim religious ceremony.
Being a male,

my grandson needed 2 sheep of 1 year old (at least) and in good condition. This we procured in the kampong; a relative sold us 2 sheep at a very reasonable price.

And we slaughtered it. (Caution: I advice caution, the photo is not for the weak heart or those who fear blood).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/mylias/Family/kampong220808025.jpg

And we invited our nearest neighbours in the village (Malay = kampong) to share the aqiqah meat, and that night we had the basic religious ceremony,

ceremonies that we as Muslims only know how. May be strange to some people but those are what we know.
And we also read verses from the Koraan that night and made dua (doa)

for the good fortune and good health of the babies (there were two babies involved, one was my third grandson and another the granddaughter of my wife’s uncle. She being a female needed only one animal and they slaughtered a goat)
The ceremony and the dua (doa) ended well past the early Isha (Isha) prayers time.

Note: Those two chairs on the dias (in the video)? Those were for a ‘bersanding’ ceremony the next day for my wife’s cousion’s wedding.




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Just hair cutting

Some call it ‘cukur jambul’ and some just call it just ‘bercukur’. I don’t really know which is the correct version or the correct term. To me it’s only the first time that one cuts the newly born baby’s head hair. And I also do not know how it all started; some said it has got religious implications but I am not that knowledgeable in this religious thing. Some said that it should be done within 2 weeks of the baby’s birth, and some added that it should be done with the ‘aqiqah’ ……. that is first sacrifice of animals for the baby, supposedly to be Prophet Muhammad’s PBUH tradition.

What ever it was, I felt that I should do something with my newly born 3rd grandson’s hair (Not really newly, he was born about 3 months ago). If not for anything, it was a way of cleaning the birth dirt on his head. So on the Saturday morning the 26th of July 2008, I decided that, with the agreement of the baby’s parents and my wife, to have a sort of ceremony to have the first cut of my grandson’s hair. After the Subuh prayers on that days I had my surau (small mosque) crowd (those who were in the surau that morning for the Subuh prayers) come to my house to have the ceremony done. And of course we have to have a good ‘eat’ for the crowd as well.





Here is what they did during the hair cutting.



(The youtube video may not be that good when first downloaded but improves on another playback normally).

But before that we said some prayers,



followed by the ‘selawat’ (in praise of Prophet Muhammad PBUH) during the hair cutting ceremony, as in the video.

My grandson’s hair all looked good the previous day,



That how it looked on the Saturday morning prior to the ceremony.



And my grandson’s head looked like after (a close view).



My grandson is now hairless, until the hair grow again.

What did we do with the hair that had just been cut? We buried it in the ground behind our house.

Letters to Sam

I have just finished reading this book "Letters to Sam" by Daniel Gottlieb, published by Sterling New York/London; the book I bought last week, started reading it before mid-night last night and just finished it late this afternoon.

Its a wonderful book, Sam is the author's grandchild. The book is recommended to be read by all grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the advice given by the grandfather to his young grandson Sam.

Yes, how they have grown.

My two grown up grandchildren. And they look very smart, aren't they?

winner of Style Icon 2008

Here is the winner of Style Icon 2008 and it is Kadeem Boyce. As you might have seen from the previous Style Icon video Kadeem got through to the final. Well this video shows the very moment that he won Style Icon.

KADEEM AND DAMMIR EVENT AT THE CROYDON CLOCKTOWER

Kadeem and Dammir have been doing a series of workshops in poetry, music and rapping with established artists on either on the British or International circuit. Their mentors were a African British rapper called Breis and a renown Poet called Francesa Beard ( who incidently was born in KL is a Malaysian, she is well known in England, wrote a play for Radio 4, is widely acclaimed) This is a video of them performing their own poems and raps to a paying audience. The Event was called IGNITE POETRY & MUSIC and was held at the Croydon Clocktower in Greater London.

(Kadeem and Dammir are after the girl's poem)

cukur jambul (hair cut?)

What is the baby next stage in life? He has to undergo the ‘cukur jambul’ which basically means that he has to have his hair cut. Another ceremony.

Personally I do not know how much of his hair has got to be cut. Traditional in Malaysia is that only tiny weeny bit of his hair need cutting; normally in that ceremony everyone present will be asked to cut a bit of his hair. The cut bit of the hair is then put in a young coconut, the coconut top face cut open, and when the ceremony is finished the coconut is then buried in the ground (so I understand but never seen).

However there is another school of thought that the whole of his head has got to be shaven clean. The thought is that what he brought out of his mother’s womb has got to be cut and disposed off. In old days the hair is then put into a ripe coconut, top face also cut open, which was then closed and the coconut let float into the nearest river. Don’t ask me why it has to be float into the nearest river (ripe coconut floats in water).

There is a Hadith….Prophet Muhammad’s PBUM traditions (I think) about this hair cutting but I am not familiar with it, I am not familiar whether the hair is just snipped (like what the Malay community is doing now) or the head has to be shaven clean (like what some other part of the Malay community does).

What is cukur jambul.? Its explained here, http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cukur_jambul

(The article is in Bahasa Malaysia, need to translate that).

Perhaps this explains it briefly, as someone has written about the ceremony,

” Adat Cukur Jambul

A Traditional Malay Ceremony celebrated for the new born baby.

This occasion is celebrated by Malay Community whereby a newly born baby born will celebrate on the 7th. day of birth with a "Kendury" of "Aqiqah" . In this celebration if the baby is a boy, 2 goats will be cut while only one goat for a baby girl. In that ceremony the parents of the baby will invite all neighbors from the village depending on the status of the family for Custom recital and sumptuous feast.

The peak of the celebration is whereby the baby will be pass from one person to another in their arm cradled cutely in the big circle and the baby will be sprinkled with holy water with "bunga rampai" , a certain portion of the baby's hair will be cut (cukur Jambul) and the baby's mouth with be sprinkled with holy water and sweet / sour / salty food as symbol of knowing and experiencing the new life.

While the above occasion is taking place, there will be a singing of " Marhaban" (Custom recitals).

After that, all invited guests will be invited for brunch or high tea and these guests will be given "Bunga Telur "as a gift while leaving the occasion.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_haircut

http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/archive_posts.asp?imBoard=61&imParent=3287092

But I must include this FAQ, for better understanding to what I have written above.

http://www.muis.gov.sg/eservices/faqs

What is the significance behind the baby head shaving ceremony?
Shaving the hair of a newborn's head is recommended by Islam on the the seventh day after birth. There are several reasons for this:
1) To eliminate the old hair that has been coated with mucus during its time in its mother's womb.
2) To excite the hair follicles so that a new set of healthy hair can grow bringing out with it the trap and hidden mucus.
3) To share the happiness of having a newborn baby with the less fortunate and poor by giving them amount of the estimate weight of gold of the shaved hair.

What is the hukum if we decide to shave our newborn baby's hair outside aqiqah (any given day)?
For newborns, there are four things that should be done for them by their parents:
1) To recite azan and iqamah near their ears immediately after they are born. It is also recommended to put date or honey at the roof of the new born's mouth.
2) To give them good names.
3) To shave their hair and give alms the value of gold of the hair's weight.
4) To do aqiqah for them.
All those things can be done at separate times, although it is recommended that number 2 to 4 be done on the seventh day after their birth.

What is the significance of shaving a newborn's hair and placing the strands of hair in a decorated coconut and the feast of yellow rice, white and brown porridge after the ceremony?
Islam encourages, not command, its followers to shave the newborn's hair because it had been submerged in the mother's water bag for a number of months. Despite having a good wash, there will always be some minute dried blood and water in between the hair follicles. Shaving the hair will physically excite the scalp and hair follicles. The new hair will grow and bring out those trapped minuscule filth, hence contributing to healthier hair.
Placing cut strands of hair onto a decorated coconut is not Islamic. It is based more on tradition. Muslims are not allowed to do this since it is based on some superstition.
There is also no Islamic command to have a feast that includes having yellow rice, white porridge, and so forth. The choice of menu is left for Muslims to decide as long as the foods are Halal. Having a feast itself is not compulsory.

What’s in a name,

What’s in a name one may ask? Well, a name once given (by your parents) will be there for life, yes your life. Unless you decide to change it, which really then you become quite ungrateful to your parents. And in many culture, being ungrateful to your parents is a taboo.

I shall only confine my write-up to Malay names. Actually today there is no such a thing as a Malay name, most Malay names are derived from some Arabic words, names of prophet are chosen normally. Or some other Arabic words which has a meaning, good meaning really, something positive, a word that does not make you a ridicule when some Arabic speaking persons call you. For a normal Malay Muslim man, there may always be Ahmad or Muhammad at the beginning of his names, spelt in any fashion, in the short forms or in the real long form, and sometime pronounced as in Arabic when written in the Arabic alphabet, but when written in the Romanised Malay the name may sound quite different. To the best of my knowledge there is no real rule when giving names to Malay Muslim females, but of course the name must have Arabic sounding with a positive meaning. And the names given can be a combination of one word or two words or even three words, which now becomes first name, middle name and last name or to some similar effect.

But Malay names can also be meaningless some time. I dare not give examples here, but some couple use derivatives of their names and combining them and in addition some may even have some short spellings of their fathers or mothers names even grandfathers and grandmothers names including. So the child grows up with a name that may be quite meaningless really in any language but a name that he or she be called.

Nowadays it is not a problem anymore to have your new child’s name given and registered, you are educated and you can spell the name the way you want it, normally in Romanised Malay for a Malay Muslim. Then you have the name registered at the Government Registration Department and your new child will be issued with the correct name that you wish him or her to have. But in the old days in Malaya or even in the Borneo Island then, when you want to register your child’s name you go the Village Headman or the nearest Police Station to report the birth (in those days birth almost always take place at home) and to inform the Village Headman or the Policeman in charge of the station what you want your child to be called and registered. Mind you the Village Headman or even the Head of the Police Station was only half educated (or even not properly educated in the Western sense) and may spell the name of the child like what he likes to spell the name as, even adding the spelling according to his local slang. You will end up with your child with a funny name, or even wrongly spelt. It had been known in the Borneo Island that you may have a child named Beruk (which literally means a short tailed monkey) instead of Brooke.

One superstition among the rural Malays then, names can be wrongly given to the child. As a result the child may fall ill, so they believed, when the name was wrongly given. There was no real remedy really once the name was officially is registered, but these rural Malays had always managed to overcome this. The child may then be known as A name in the village whereas his or her registered name is B. When he or she goes out of the village then he or she will always be known as B outside the village circle, but in the village circle he or she known as A. So if you go to rural village (even now) where you know you B friend lives, and you ask the rural village folk for B, no one may know. But you do not know that B is now A in the village. And you will never locate that friend, unless by accident.

How did the Malays change the name? It’s quite ingenious really. The family gathered and wrote names (in Jawi, using localised Arabic alphabets, used not in the Arabic sense but pronounced in Malay) on say half a dozen green bettle leave. Then they put the child near the bettle leaves of which each had the written name, and when the child picked up a leave then the child will be known by what was written on that leave. He or she will grow up with that name in the rural village. His or her registered name will only be used for official papers only. What if that new name did not suit him or her again? Simple, have another name picking session and forget the old name. Ingenious really, but very confusing when the child grows up and leave the village. He will now go about with a new ‘official’ identity.

So what is it in names?

http://www.ummah.net/family/masc.html

http://www.ummah.net/family/fem.html

http://www.babynology.com/malaysian_babynames.html

http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Malay-Names-And-Meanings-55702.html

Muhammad Dammir.

My other grandson is at,
http://dammir.motime.com.

Ahmad Kadeem winning semi-final of style icon

Ahmad Kadeem entered Style Icon 2008 and passed the semi-final and will be in the final on the 1st June 2008. Even if he doesn't win at least he had fun! To see him in the video you will have to wait until 15+ at the end.

Islam

http://www.islamonline.net/english/index.shtml

Baby slideshow for May 2008

After the hospital

At my house after the hospital experience. Just about 13 days old.

Jaundice

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/common/jaundice.html

Just received a phone call from my son informing that my newly arrived grandson has developed jaundice. He is bringing him to the Hospital where he probably will be warded.

Yes, he was warded and spent two nights in the hospital (Edited on 14/05/2008)

Give Thanks to Allah .......... for additional grandson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIYFg41bp1w

Now and then

When I went into the hospital where my 3rd grandson was born, I straight away thought about how it was when I or my brothers and sisters were born. For one thing the surrounding then was dirty; the births were at home with untrained (but experienced) midwives. Water was from the river nearby but boiled (so it must have been quite safe). The cloth that was used to wrap us was old cloth, probably to be thrown away, except some which were of permanent use to wrap us in. But we were put in ‘straight jacket’ to make our limbs straight (so they said). And the umbilical cord was normally cut using the sharp outer-skin of a bamboo tree. This was done because that part of the bamboo is very sharp, and being just cut from the bamboo tree it must have been (assumed) sterilized. But in many cases that ‘knife’ was infected. I have seen some remaining umbilical cord left on the baby being infected.

And to keep our stomach from bloating, chewed beetle leave concoctions and chewed tobacco were spewed on our stomach and back and wrapped up with soft cloth, and the cloth would be used again and again, untill the colour of the cloth became dirty bloody red.

But at least we were breast fed, but later I saw one of my brother and my sister (by another mother) given milk. I am not sure now what that milk brand was but on reflecting I think it was plain condensed milk in hot water given via rubber teated feeding bottles.

And the just given birth mother was not allowed to eat any other food other than plain boiled rice and grilled dried salt fish (probably with grounded salt ... sometime ... and ripe grounded black pepper seeds) for approximately the confinement period. They were made to drink some home prepared concoctions as birth medicine. It must have been hard for these just given birth mothers. And they were made to stay on a sort of temporary platform with smoky logs underneath, day and night, and some time the newly born child there as well. Why dried salt fish? They say it was to make to wound heal faster. No meat was ever allowed or given, it was forbidden. It was believed that meat would make the wound flared up.

And the midwife concerned would come on and off to see the progress of the just born mother, and probably to massage the body especially the stomach part where the womb is. And to make the birth canal and the vagina heal faster, the women would on certain occasions be made to ‘smoke ‘ their bottom, they were made to stand in the smoke of some medicinal leaves collected from the jungle.

The newly given birth women may be 'tortured' for about 40 days....... confinement period they say.

The rate of death at child birth then was pretty high. I have no figure though.

Thankfully, my children (and now grandchild) were all born in modern well equipped hospitals with Doctors in attendance.

http://medicine.com.my/mydobbs/?p=312

this is all new to me

Never done this before, you know write a blog. I am usually a very private person so this might take me out of my shell. Anyway all I really want to say is isn't my nephrew a sweetheart. Such a beautiful baby Masha Allah!

Ahmad Aariz Imran

That is the name registered by his father for my 3rd grandson. Born (weighing 3.28 ib)on Friday 2nd May 2008 (Rabiul Akhir 25, 1429 Hijriah) at about 1.19 pm Malaysian time, just about the Zohor Prayer time then for this part of the world at Ampang Putri.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r1hgXWckno&feature=related

Belief and taboo.

Placenta and umbilical cord seem to attract a lot of attention. Some says the powder as additive to beauty cream, some say for medicinal purposes and some say for witchcraft. But I really do not know about all those.

http://pregnancy.about.com/od/placenta/a/amazingplacenta.htm


Anyway, the placenta and the umbilical cord of my third grandson was taken away by his other grandfather to be washed and buried.

When I met him at his house on the 3rd day he said that he had buried all the stuff in his front lawn. I saw where it was buried. I somehow imagined that he had some sort of ceremony in burying the stuff. He must have a nice hole dug, deep enough but I do not know how deep, buried the stuff and covered it back carefully. He had an oil lamp installed on a post next to it, and he lit the oil lamp the whole night. He said probably in the olden days they did that to ensure that no wild animal dug up the stuff and take them away, to eat. And that is to be avoided, probably if that had happened something bad may occur to the child. I don’t know really what. But Malays are very careful not to loose the stuff, and the stuff must be treated with respect.

Why the front lawn? It seems that for a boy the stuff must be buried in the front lawn, to make him more adventurous. But for a girl it should be buried behind the kitchen, to ensure that she become a good wife, a good cook and a good mother. Again I do not know really the reasons behind all these practices.

I only hope and pray that with all the care taken, my 3rd grandson will grow up into a fine young man, a good husband, a good father and a good citizen.

He had a movie made about the ceremony, and hopefully he may download that to youtube.

Baby is home

In the afternoon of 4th May 2008, baby came home; not to mine but to my son's wife's parents house. I am actually busy and I need to go outstation often. He may actually be happier staying at that grandparents house, there are many people there to look after him.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvBd_F-Fn3w

Ahmad Khadeem

He is one of my grandsons. He is in this Group.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=776615152

A proud grandfather.

A have been a proud grandfather, I have two teenage grandsons but they live overseas, in London, by my daughter Siti Sofina. And now I have more reason to be proud. I have just got a grandson on the 2nd of May 2008, in Malaysia, by my son Ahmad Toufique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0929J-wYv44





We already knew he was coming. And we had the dua (doa) to thank Allah about a month earlier and we praised Prophet Muhammad PBUH in the process. And many people came to give the dua (doa) and to be with us during the praising of the Prophet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swmfpz4G5L0