"O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most
honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”
(Al-Hujurat: 13)"
Keep updating your blog, Sarah" a reminder from a friend. Thanks!
Alhamdulillah, another journey I've been through during my holiday, All praises to Allah for giving me this treasured opportunity to be in Songkla,Thailand, to experienced the way of life of the Muslims there.
Subhanallah!Subhanallah!Subhanallah!
I still can't believe it myself, that I've been there a few days ago, it's suppose to be my sister who should be going on this trip, but due to certain circumstances, and luckily, it was during my holiday, so, my father asked me, and so I decided, why not going to a new place? And it is Thailand!~
Thailand? right on that moment, my mind was full of images of the killing scenes where the Muslims being attacked by the barbarous soldiers and unpleasant feeling strike me that instant.
"Are you sure it will be safe? my mum asked curiously. And then my father reply," Insya Allah, I’ve been there once".
That's quite assuring, I guess. But still, I'm not in a very pleasant mood when we arrived. We arrived there at about 9 p.m and we immediately stop at a restaurant, huh,this long journey really caught me starving.
Done with our dinner, we were brought to a hotel nearby the beach. It was dark, and all I saw was a dull-spooky-like chalets.*goosebumps*
What if there something happen in the middle of the night, if there smugglers, robbers,thugs or maybe a VAMPIRE?*there goes my imaginary thought*
What I’m supposed to do in this chalet? it’s just 9.30pm, with no internet access, there is a television but fully in Thai language with no subtitles given? and with no single word I understand?oh, except sawadhikha!hehe
How on earth I’m suppose to live here for another 4 days?? And there it goes again, my imaginary mind works, how can I sleep when my mind is busy worrying that we’re staying just beside the seashore, when at that time, there the breaking news of Tsunami in Japan?
Really an uncomfortable night!
So, I decide to have a quick iadah that night before going to bed, and by reading the Quran, it soothed me in and all. Eventually, I slept and just awake when I heard my clock alarmed at exactly 5 early in the morning.
And , my adventure in Thailand begin~
I walked outside our chalet finding that how amazed I am as the view of the seaside catch my anxious eyes..
Subhanallah, the beauty of Allah’s creation…
The waves was approaching the shore slowly, the wind was blowing lightly and there are palm trees everywhere along the seaside..
What makes me amazed of more is as I saw a group of youngsters having a study circle nearby the seashore, it makes me smiled, what a pleasant view,indeed!~and suddenly, seeing them remind me of my Usrah in Malaysia:’(
And right that moment, I murmured myself, Thailand is not bad after all..
I remember once Brother Lim told me about the influence of the Media to our brain. Just imagine, of all the news that was showed on the television, or wrote in the newspaper, is mostly about tragedy, accidents, problems, and etc…
Heh, if it is not about that, there will be no news right? That’s the way of working in a Media. That’s how they’re paid.
“No news is good news”, as I recall back what my English teacher used to said before we start our lesson back then when I was in Form 1, I realized it now. But that doesn’t mean that we didn’t have to be cautious in times, because we never know when the fatal will come. Wanauzubillah~
Right, talking about I’m in Thailand, Media did influenced me a bit, as I read about the Muslims being suppressed by the soldiers, some been killed, it’s sure give me the negative perception about this country. But, the things seems to be not as what I expected it to be, early that morning, on the 15 of March, we went to the Chana Power Plant Center to attend the 1st National Conference of ASEAN Studies in Islamic Studies and Languages: From Theory to Practice. This Seminar was held with the collaboration of some of the Universities in Malaysia mainly UKM,UPSI AND USIM with the Darul Naim Foundation in Thailand.
And the two days seminar had opened my eyes about these places in Songkla where most of the residents were Muslim as I’ve been informed that in this small city of Chana, there are over 90% Muslim living and surprisingly, most of them can speak Malay. Most of the participants in the Seminar were teachers-to-be, and this Seminar was held to give them the demonstration of efficacious teaching methods in school.
Some of the presentation was delivered fully in Thai Language* which I didn’t understand* but overall I can say that it was a success..Alhamdulillah~
Hey, and we didn’t even get to the best part yet!~
What the best thing I like in Songkla?
Let me tell you, I enjoy every bit of my days in Songkla!~
I was mesmerized by the way of their lifestyle, oh, did I mention that they rented a van to fetch us in Seremban all their way from Thailand? Really appreciate that!~
And I can feel that they really appreciate our visit there, our programme has been scheduled perfectly from the day we came until the last day we’ve been there.And the five days I ‘ve spent living there, had fascinated me of the beauty of Songkla and its people..
What makes me impressed of is how they appreciate Islam as the the way of living in Songkla..Whenever the calling of prayer was heard, the men of Songkla will immediately walked their way to the nearby mosque.Subhanallah!
Even,when we're on our way from Chana to Saddau to visit some of the religious school there, we'll drop to the nearby mosque for praying before continuing our journey.
To be continued...
