#12 Ezahaians In Turkey (Day 1-3)

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 

Assalamualaikum everyone, I hope you’re all in the best of health & doing well as always =) so, my family and I had to go on a trip to a beautiful & blessed country, Turkey and I’m going to share some informations + reviews about our trip there, hopefully this will help a lil’ bit if you’re planning to go there one day hehe. Plus, there are some special short videos that I made throughout our journey in Turkey, hope you'll watch that too! xx

DAY 1 - ISTANBUL

• We arrived at Ataturk International Airport, Istanbul after our 12 hours++ flight (including our transit in Abu Dhabi) and it was around 12 afternoon, after all the immigration businesses, we went straight to our hotel called Hotel Saba’ @ SultanAhmet by a van.

  

• ·      I recommend this hotel because it is close to the Blue Mosque & it’s easy to walk from the hotel to the city/tram station (it took about 10-15 mins) with beautiful view along the way.
• ·         After checking in, we went out and had our lunch at a local restaurant and yes, it was our first Turkish cuisine lunch. We had what they call Adana Kebab & Testi Kebab, which was interesting because they cooked it in a pot and they poured it in front of us (you'll see that in my video)
  
• ·         After lunch, we had a lil walk to take some photos in front of the Blue Mosque or the Turks called it SultanAhmet Camii. The weather was coldd like it was around 3 degree Celcius but nevertheless, we enjoyed our first moments in Istanbul! We also took some pictures in front of the beautiful & historical Hagia Sophia but then it started to get dark.
  
• ·         We walked to the city and had some coffee, and took a look inside some gift shops, jacket shops & many more. Few minutes after, we walked back to our hotel accompanied by the cold weather & the beautiful adhaan from mosques there, at that moment I just felt peace and I also knew that, I fall in love with that place <3
  
  
  
  

        DAY 2 – ISTANBUL

• ·         We started our day by having breakfast at our hotel (one perk of staying at Hotel Saba’ is that you get to enjoy the beautiful view of Blue Mosque & a part of Istanbul at the rooftop of the hotel) and also you get to enjoy Turkish breakfast. Well, they weren’t really my taste because they have all kinds of sauces and cheese.
• ·         Me? well umi brought chilli sauce all the wayyy from Malaysia and I took some bread + sliced meat + cheese + pepper + sauce (konon konon subway) and some cereal for that morning.
• ·         Honestly, my appetite is at its worst especially in the morning but I just ate as much as I could so that I wouldn’t be hungry during our journey that day.
  
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• ·         After breakfast, we walked to Hagia Sophia from our hotel (which took around 10-15 mins) and the weather was a lil bit gloomy and it was raining lightly.
• ·         Then, we met our tour guide named Fuad & he took us all the way inside & outside the building while explaining about the histories of the building.
• ·         Well, Hagia Sophia comes from these two words; Hagia means Holy while Sophia means wisdom. It was first built as a church but this building used to be the target of the people when there was a riot so it got destroyed multiple times.
• ·         Until then, it was redesigned as a mosque by the great Sultan Muhammad Al-Fateh in 1453 after the downfall of Constantinople. Christians-related drawings like Jesus, Mary & many more were covered when it became a mosque and in 1953, under the command of Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, it became a museum. 
  
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• ·         I could see a lot of combinations between Islam & Christianity in the building for example for Islam there were the names of Allah, Muhammad, Companions of Muhammad & a lot more and for Christianity there were the drawings of Jesus, Mary, Moses & many more.
• ·         It was indeed so beautiful that we couldn’t take our eyes off of the paintings and the drawings inside but unfortunately there was a construction going on at that time (as Fuad told us that the dome fell down a few times) so we couldn’t really enjoy the whole view inside it. Nevertheless, Hagia Sophia is still one of the best places there and I’m hoping that I could go there again one day.

• ·         After spending about 2 hours in Hagia Sophia, we went out and bought some hot corn for our little break before continuing our journey. Then, we went to the Basilica Cistern; it was built in the 6^th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian to provide a water filtration system for the Great Palace of Constantinople, Topkapi Palace and other important buildings.
• ·         Historical texts claim that 7,000 slaves were involved in the construction of the cistern.
• ·         The cistern was so beautiful but I couldn’t take many pictures because it was a lil dark in there, plus it also made me feel like I was living in that era, which was an amazing feeling. There were also this medusa heads that they called which is famous for its story; the origin of the two heads is unknown and is still a mystery (I also read that in the old days, whoever looked at medusa heads will be cursed and become a rock – and also other stories/ myths)

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  (not my photo)

• ·         This Basilica Cistern is commonly used as a location for a few famous movies like James Bond, The International and new; Inferno (also includes Hagia Sophia)

  

  not my photo

  ·         After the Basilica Cistern, we went straight ahead to the Blue Mosque/ SultanAhmet Camii --- when we visited that place, what amazed me is that they have this efficient system where they provide plastic bags to put in our shoes, and then we carry with us while we’re inside the mosque.
  ·         The mosque, as we all know, is indeed very, very, very beautiful and you’ll feel peace when you’re inside, we took pictures for few minutes and then we went out.
  

  
  ·         When going out, they also provide bins for us to throw our plastic bags and I think this is really good as the place is a tourist attraction, definitely 5 stars from me!!
  

  
  ·         In the afternoon, we went on a cruise; Bosphorus Cruise and we had our lunch on the boat. The lunch was..mehh ~~ good, worth trying.
  

  

  
  

  

  my lil bro -- jimmy

  ·         After lunch, the boat started its journey and we went upstairs, it was an open rooftop so we could see & feel the view around us. The weather was very very cold plus windy as well, so we had to go up and down couple times to take pictures (we’re Malaysian, we’re not used to it hahah)
  

  

  excuse the pose

  ·         Hence, we also had a chance to try on  Turkish traditional clothes (Me, Jimmy & Jihah) and be a model for the moment (I have the photos but I wouldn’t put it online because it was really embarrassing huhuu).
  ·         During our cruise, we’ve seen a lot of historical buildings like castles, military schools and the remnants of wall from the old wars. We also stopped at a fishing village oh and did I mention; THEY WERE DOGS EVERYWHERE! They were tame dogs but hey, I still hate dogs (afraid, actually >.<)  We prayed jama’ Zohor + Asar at a small mosque there and they weren’t a lot of things to do because the time they gave us was pretty short.
  ·         By the time we arrived on the ground, it was already dark (around 530 pm or so) and we went to Grand Bazaar with a bus they provided. We didn’t really have the chance to shop because the place would be closed by 7 pm so we just walked around.
  

  

  
  

  
  ·         Then, we had our dinner at a restaurant named Aras (the food was okay, but really really expensive, I don’t really recommend this restaurant). Oh and yeah, during our dinner, it snowed! Honestly I haven’t got the chance to experience real snow falling down so that was first time and I got really excited (aka jakun). After dinner, we went back to our hotel and we called it a night. 

DAY 3 – ISTANBUL

• ·         We woke up at 5.30 in the morning and by 6.30, we went to the Blue Mosque for our Subh prayer. We walked there and the weather was really, really cold (hence my hungry-ness during that time). The feelings were different like you know you’re in such a blessed and beautiful mosque, in a different country, with different people, it was honestly so beautiful it made me cry.

  

  muka sedang bertafakur kononnya (plus jihah)

• ·         Then we went back to our hotel and by 8, we had our breakfast at the same spot, with the same buffet menu (already missed nasi lemak & roti canai at that time huhu)
• ·         After breakfast, we started to walk to Topkapi Palace and it took about 20-30 minutes. Our trip to Topkapi Palace was more about history and we also had the chance to see personal belongings of a few prophets like Daud AS, Musa AS, Ishak AS and not to forget our beloved prophet Muhammad SAW & his companions (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali) --- swords, beard and other personal belongings were displayed.
• ·         The palace was built by Sultan Muhammad Al Fateh, with the total area of 700,000 acre and it took us about 3-4 hours exploring a lot of things.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• ·         Then, we walked back and had our lunch at a local restaurant and it was so yummy! We had meals like meatballs, grilled chicken, mashed potato, rice and my fav; apple tea! (they still had that Turkish-taste yknow).

  

  rinduuuu

• ·         After filling our stomachs, we continued our journey to Jurassic Land (it was my lil’s brother, Jimmy’s demand) and we went there by tram & metro train. We took the tram from SultanAhmet to Yusufpasa and we went on the metro train afterwards. Jurassic Land is located in a mall called Forum.
  
  
• ·         The place was okay, nothing new to me. For those who have small kids especially boys, I would probably recommend this place because they’ll take you through the so-called experiment lab, 6D theatre & moving dinosaurs; which was exciting --- for a 17 years old hahah.
  
• ·         After spending about an hour and a half at Jurassic Land, we went shopping! The little ones (including me & my older sister) were already complaining about our sore and swollen feet. Yes, that day was probably the most tiring day because we had to walk a lotttt. But still, I got a new boots!
• ·         When we got back to SultanAhmet, it was already dark & umi and abah wanted to stopped by at a carpet shop there to buy some carpets for our relatives and friends and we were served with chay(Turkish tea) and apple tea.
  
• ·         After that, we bought kebabs – but we ate it at our hotel because everyone was so tired and then we called it a night.

muka sedang membetulkan tudung selebet

I'm gonna continue writing for the other days at my next entry, hehe. Oh and, like I said, I made a special video! Take a look and hope you enjoy! Salam Alaykum & bye for now xx

Find me on:

instagram: @annaezaha_

Youtube: Anna Ezaha

#11 Seminar Solat & Selawat 2016

 بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحي

Salam alaykum and hello everyone! I am so very happy that I've been very lucky because I've been chosen to attend such a blessed event, Alhamdulillah. But first thing first I want to apologize for not writing on my blog for such a long time, it has been 9 months actually because as you all know I have been very busy with SPM and I just finished my trial :') so I wish you could all pray for me hehe.
So back to the topic, fortunately I decided to write about what I've learnt from this event because overall this event really opened my eyes about so many things especially about prayers and solat =) And just to clarify I'm gonna write the infos in Malay because I barely got time to translate it all huhu. So, without beating around the bushes, let's get started!! 

1. PROF DR MUHAYA

Sorry my phone's camera isnt very clear

• Benda paling mahal di dunia: TAUFIK & HIDAYAH ALLAH SWT.
• Benda paling bahaya dalam hidup ialah ego & nafsu.
• Kejahatan kita pada orang adalah lebih bahaya dprd kejahatan orang pada kita -- kerana tak ada kejahatan yang kita buat tak berpatah balik kepada kita,
• Orang yang paling bijak di dunia: orang yang INGAT MATI & BERSEDIA.
• Apakah kejayaan sebenar yang boleh kita kecapi? -- Redha Allah, melihat wajah Allah di syurga, melepas kerinduan kepada Rasulullah & masuk ke syurga Firdaus dengan keluarga tanpa dihisab (Aamiin Ya Rabbal Alamin)
• Kualiti solat kita -- menentukan kualiti hidup kita.
• Semasa bersalaman (terutamanya perempuan), tak perlu bercium-cium pipi kerana apabila berciuman pipi, mata tak bertentang dan kita tak berdoa untuk orang, tapi genggamlah tangan orang tersebut sambil melihat matanya, selawat dan berdoa :)
• Manusia yang hidup dengan 'KALAU' & 'TAPI' -- SUSAH! 
• Jikalau hati kita penuh dengan zikrullah & mengingati Allah, tak akan ada apa yang boleh halang kita termasuklah bila ada orang kutuk kita. 
• Kita boleh MEMPENGARUHI & DIPENGARUHI
• Antara ciri-ciri orang yang paling kaya:
  - anak yang soleh
  - orang yang mempunyai ilmu pengetahuan
  - orang yang suka bersedekah
  - orang yang hati bersih & berdada lapang 
• Kualiti hidup kita bergantung kepada 3 perkara:
  - Kualiti solat
  - Kualiti hati
  - Kualiti masa

2. USTAZ MUHADIR B. JOLL - SOLAT KETIKA SAKIT 

• Di Kaabah, sunat semasa solat memandang Kaabah -- tempat soalan selain di depan Kaabah, tempat sunat memandang ialah tempat sujud.
• 4 perkara seharian yang menjadi ibadah:
  - Melihat Kaabah
  - Melihat wajah mak ayah
  - Melihat langit
  - Melihat Al-Quran
• Sembahyang juga sebenarnya merupakan mikraj dan perjalanan kepada Allah, perjalanan roh kita untuk bertemu dengan Allah -- jika kita lakukan dengan betul.
• Hikmah rukhsah solat/ solat ketika sakit:
  - Kasih sayang Allah kepada hambaNya
  - Islam agama yang mudah & tidak menyusahkan umatnya.
  - Solat merupakan ibadah paling utama.
• Allah maha berkuasa, walau satu dunia tak solat sekalipun, ia tak akan jejaskan kuasa Allah yang sangat besar & agung.
• Islam itu tak susah, yang susah apabila kita tiada ilmu.
  
  
  10 CARA MENUNAIKAN SOLAT KETIKA SAKIT
• Mampu berdiri & rukuk tetapi tak mampu sujud.
• Mampu berdiri tetapi tak mampu sujud & rukuk.
• Tak mampu berdiri tetapi mampu duduk (iftirasy)
• Tak mampu berdiri tetapi mampu duduk (atas kerusi)
• Tak mampu berdiri, tetapi duduk di birai katil.
• Tak mampu berdiri, tetapi mampu duduk di atas katil.
• Tak mampu berdiri, duduk melunjur atas katil.
• Solat mengiring menghadap kiblat.
• Solat baring menelentang.
• Solat mengiring dengan isyarat mata.
• Berdiri semasa solat itu adalah satu NIKMAT yang dimana ramai umat Islam yang tak mampu buat.
• Mencontohi orang yang mulia itu adalah satu kejayaan -- contoh terbaik ialah Rasulullah SAW.
• Kedudukan makmum yang solat di atas kerusi hendaklah berada di bahagian paling kiri atau kanan saf.
• Orang yang mampu tetapi 'buat buat' tak mampu, maka batal solatnya -- contoh jika seseorang itu mampu untuk sujud seperti biasa tetapi memilih dengan cara mudah, maka solatnya terbatal. 

3. USTAZ DUSUKI - KEPENTINGAN SOLAT & SELAWAT.

• Panduan untuk ke syurga -- ALQURAN & HADIS.
• Solat merupakan lambang Al-Quran, kerana bila kita tinggal solat, lama kelamaan kita akan tinggalkan membaca Al Quran.
• Apabila kita tinggal selawat, lama kelamaan kita akan tinggalkan dan lupakan Rasulullah serta sunnah-sunnah baginda.
• Solat dapat membantu kita mengharungi segala masalah & ujian yang kita harungi dalam kehidupan -- jadi benteng kekuatan kita,
• Dengan bersolat, kita dapat merapatkan diri semula kepada Allah setelah bekerja.
• Oranng yang paling hampir dengan rahmat Allah -- orang yang dalam keadaan bersujud.
• Kalau kita bangga bersama berdekatan dengan selebriti/pembesar, mengapa kita tak rasa bangga apabila kita berada dekat dengan Allah walau kita hanya hambaNya?
• Dalam bersujud kita akan dapat rahmat Allah, jadi mengapa perlu solat dalam keadaan cepat & huru-hara? Tidakkah kita menginginkan rahmat Allah SWT yang sangat berharga?
• Dengan solat juga kita dapat berehat daripada kepenatan seharian bekerja  dan melakukan tugas.
• Dengan bersolat, dapat menyihatkan tubuh badan -- contohnya apabila kita bersujud, tarikan graviti akan membawa darah ke bahagian keseluruhan otak kita dan dapat mengelakkan daripada penyakit-penyakit seperti sakit kepala, strok mahupun arterisklerosis.
• Solat juga menjadikan kita orang yang lebih bertenaga kerana bekalan oksigen yang cukup ke dalam organ sistem saraf pusat kita -- otak! (ceh dak dak bio hehengee)
• Orang yang solat sunat sebanyak 12 rakaat tiap tiap hari, akan dapat istana di syurga kelak, Aamiin ;)
• Solat dapat menjadi pengukuhan diri daripada menjadi insan yang lemah -- dan terpengaruh dengan unsur atau gejala-gejala negatif yang berleluasa,
• Solat dapat menyucikan diri daripada kekotoran dalam hati -- apabila hati bersih, kita dapat beribadah dengan lebih baik & ibadah kita akan lebih diberkati & diterima Allah SWT =)
• Antara masa doa makbul dalam solat:
  - selepas takbiratul ihram
  - selepas bacaan Al Fatihah
  - iktidal
  - sujud (paling mujarab)
  - duduk antara dua sujud.
• Kenapa ada orang yang masih lakukan kemungkaran walaupun dia solat? -- kerana solatnya tak KHUSYUK !
• Antara cara untuk khusyuk dalam solat:
  - hadirkan hati kita dengan niat untuk betul-betul solat, dan bayangkan di hadapan kita ada kebesaran-kebesaran Allah.
  - faham maksud bacaan terutamanya Al Fatihah & tahiyat.
  - rasa membesarkan Allah, rasa kita sedang berdiri didepan Allah, rasa kerdil.
  - rasa malu dengan Allah -- kerana banyaknya dosa kita.
  - solat dengan harapan.
• Jagalah selawat, selawatlah sekurang-kurangnya 70 kali sehari.
• Begitu juga dengan mengingati mati, membayangkannya, muhasabah diri dan bertaubat atas dosa-dosa yang dilakukan.
• Rasulullah SAW akan kenal kita di Padang Mahsyar nanti melalui selawat-selawat yang kita selalu sebut semasa di dunia. 
• Berselawatlah sehingga basah bibir, sehingga tak putus-putus, kerana selawat ini mampu melapangkan dada daripada kesempitan hidup,
• Dapat juga menaikkan darjat kita dari hamba-hambaNya yang lain -- menjadi WALI ALLAH.

4. DR MUHD IZHAR ARIFF - SOLAT MUSAFIR

in my opinion the best speaker of the day =D

• Islam merupakan agama yang sederhana, Allah SWT tak menjadikan urusan agama itu menyulitkan. 
• Dari segi rasionalnya, kita juga merupakan musafir, merantau dari dunia mencari bekalan sehingga kita sampai ke destinasi kita kelak; Akhirat.
• Qasar - Memendekkan solat.
• Syarat sah qasar:
  - dilakukan ketika bermusafir.
  - telah keluar dari sempadan tempat tinggalnya.
  - orang bermusafir tak menjadi makmum kepada orang mukmin yang sedang solat fardhu seperti biasa (kalau tidak dalam keadaan kelam kabut, solatlah solat waktu tersebut bersama imam, kemudian selepas salam terus bangun untuk menunaikan solat seterusnya.)
• Jamak  - menghimpunkan solat.
• Terbahagi kepada dua:
  - Jamak taqdim ( awal )
  - Jamak takhir ( lambat ) *dalam bahasa mudah
• Antara syarat jamak taqdim:
  - tertib antara solat pertama dan kedua( solat ikut turutan -- sama ada zohor/ magrib dahulu)
  - niat jamak untuk menunaikan solat kedua dalam solat pertama (dalam takbiratul ihram)
  - secara mualat (terus bangun selepas salam solat pertama untuk menunaikan solat kedua)
  - perjalanan berterusan sehingga waktu solat kedua

• was-was itu adalah penyakit syaitan.
• Antara syarat Jamak Takhir:
  - niat untuk mentakhirkan solat pertama kepada solat kedua .
  - solat sebelum sampai ke destinasi.
  - tidak disyaratkan tertib (boleh ikut turutan, boleh juga tidak)
• Syarat umum solat musafir:
  - jarak melebihi 85 km.
  - ada tujuan dan perjalanan bukan kerana maksiat. 

5. USTAZ DON DANIYAL DON BIYAJID

• Soalan paling popular: Sembah Allah atau Kaabah? -- bayangkan jika Kaabah itu Tuhan, Bilal b Rabbah tidak akan naik ke atasnya dan pijak untuk azan, Kaabah itu hanyalah kayu aras sahaja.
• Jangankan kata 10, satu selawat yang dibalas dari Allah SWT kepada kita pun boleh membuatkan kita bahagia.
• Mengapa kita sembahyang? -- Agar Allah mahsyur terhadap kita, kerana dalam solat kita banyak menyebut nama Allah, kita buka (Allahu Akbar) dan tutup solat (Assalamualaikum Warah matullah) dengan nama Allah SWT.
• Kunci solat yang baik ialah -- WUDHU'
• Orang yang menyedut air kedalam hidung semasa berwudhu' untuk tujuan membersihkan -- akan dapat bau syurga.
•  Mengapa kita sembahyang? -- kerana Allah SWT telah menciptakan semua makhluk untuk sembahyang, termasuk alam sekitar seperti pokok.

Tidakkah engkau mengetahui bahawasanya Allah (Yang Maha Esa dan Maha Kuasa) sentiasa bertasbih kepadaNya sekalian makhluk yang ada di langit dan di bumi serta burung-burung yang terbang berbaris di angkasa? Masing-masing sedia mengetahui (menurut keadaan semulajadinya) akan cara mengerjakan ibadatnya kepada Allah dan memujiNya; dan Allah Maha Mengetahui akan apa yang mereka lakukan

( An-Nur: 41)

Tidakkah engkau mengetahui bahawa segala yang ada di langit dan di bumi tunduk sujud kepada Allah dan (di antaranya termasuklah) matahari dan bulan, dan bintang-bintang, dan gunung-ganang, dan pokok-pokok kayu, dan binatang-binatang, serta sebahagian besar dari manusia? Dan banyak pula (di antara manusia) yang berhak ditimpa azab (disebabkan kekufurannya dan maksiatnya); dan (ingatlah) sesiapa yang dihinakan oleh Allah maka ia tidak akan beroleh sesiapapun yang dapat memuliakannya. Sesungguhnya Allah tetap melakukan apa yang dirancangkanNya. ( Al Hajj: 18 )

• Semua makhluk bersujud pada Allah, termasuklah bayang-bayang kita, SubhanAllah!
• Allah SWT telah menciptakan anggota badan kita untuk solat -- sesuai dengan pergerakan semasa solat, tidak ada pergerakan dalam solat yang badan kita tak mampu lakukan (kecuali dalam keadaan sakit)
• Jangan putuskan sembahyang kalau sembahyang tidak lagi batal -- jangan sengaja keluar atau buang angin untuk batalkan solat.
• Jika kita rasa ada rukun tertinggal, ganti semula rukun dengan rukun, tak perlu batalkan solat untuk menunaikan solat yang baru, ISLAM IS EASY =)

And that is the end of my writing today, people =D I hope you learnt a thing or two with my little note, In shaa Allah and forgive me, do correct me if I get any informatin wrong. So it seems like I won't be writing until I finished SPM which is on 29/11. 

Dear readers, from the bottom of my heart I would like to apologize for the wrongdoings that I've done whether I realize it or not, and I hope you can pray that Allah SWT will help me during my SPM examination so that I could get good results and be succeesful both in the dunya and akhirah =) I, too will pray to Allah to ease each one of your business and to bless you with His blessings, Aaamin!

Until then, Salam Alaykum! <3