A Beautiful Day

Salam,
Cerita dari tok guru aku yang belum jadik atok..
Kisah benar tentang aqiqah and tahneek... an end-to-end process.
This story was put here for fellow readers to know the correct process and sunnah in doing aqiqah and tahneek for our own child.
It is also meant to share the experience of the father, and telling us that we can do the same as well. (of course with some preparations)

Tuesday, 1st May 2007

Subuh Aku bangun. Lepas tu gi solat, terus prepare untuk list tugasan hari ini. Hari ini walaupun cuti Labour Day sepatutnya aku di ofis sebab ada kerja penting untuk Weatherford Australia. Tapi Alhamdulillah, Allah telah lembutkan hati boss aku. Allah Maha Kaya. Aku siap-siapkan diri.

8:00am
Aku pun bertolak dari Bukit Damansara ke Bandar Sri Damansara. Ke rumah Noorul Zaman. Sebab dia tahu kat mana tempat kandang biri-biri aqiqah tu. Adam pun ada. Denis Russian pun ada. Siap bawa camera canggih lagi. Depa nak ambik gambar masa sembelih. Gementar jugak aku. Tak pernah zabah. Semalam dok revise berkali-kali agar tak ter-miss detail-detail sunnah dalam procedure Aqiqah.

8:30am
Selepas berkumpul, kami berempat pun bertolak ke Sungai Buloh. Agak jauh dan pendalaman juga tempat ni. Kawasan kampung Melayu Paya Jaras. Alhamdulillah tak sesat. Zaman kemudi yang mantap MashaAllah.

9:00am
Lepas sampai terus bebudak remaja lingkungan awal belasan tahun keluar dari rumah. Semua menyambut. Rupa-rupanya ayah mereka seorang Mejar askar bersara. Bagus si-ayahnya mentarbiah anak. Ajar jaga kambing & biri-biri. Ajar zabah. Ajar tangkap kambing. Ajar ikat kambing. Ajar lapah sekali. MashaAllah. Anak-anak bandar main PS2. Macam ni ka mau pergi jihad? Hmmm.

Kami dibawa ke kandang biri-biri. Aku remind myself - in ASWJ - the most superior is biri-biri. Then kambing putih, if not kambing tawny (beach coloured-like), then spotted, then black is last in preference. The animal should not be sick, nor blind, nor derranged, nor under-aged. Biri-biri setahun je cukup umur. Kambing 2 tahun. Aku pun survey lah. Zaman, Adam dan Denis bagus memberi syor. Last-last aku pilih yang mana aku nampak biri-biri jantan bertanduk paling tinggi dan paling besar. Lepas pilih, adik remaja pun spray-kan tanda merah atas kulit biri-biri. Marked for Zabah. My sacrifice for aqiqah InshaAllah.

9:30am
Kami berempat pun turun dari kandang. Sambil tunggu, sambil berdebar. Last-last adik remaja tu bersama adik-beradiknya dan ibunya pun bawa turun biri-biri tu. Lubang tanah untuk menyambut darah biri-biri dah ready digali sejak semalam lagi. Aku cuak juga. Kalau kantul zabah ni siap jadi bangkai je. Mereka mengikat kaki biri-biri. Aku arahkan agar hanya tiga kaki diikatkan. Tinggal kaki belakang kanan sahaja agar boleh biri-biri tu bergerak dan tidak cemas. Inilah sunnah. Diadabkan biri sembelihan ke arah qiblat, menyenggeng badannya ke kiri.

I was passed the long zabah knife. Suddenly a sudden stream of calm entered my heart at that moment. I didn't feel nervous. Subhanallah. It all went away. Allah gave confidence, and determination. Focus. Sambil dua orang memegang kepala biri-biri dan badannya. Pisau itu diletakkan di tengkok biri-biri. Aku berselawat dulu dan membaca - "Bismillah AllahuAkbar." Aku pun start menyembelih. Denis sambil memfokus cameranya macam tourist. Pasang continuous-snaps mode. Snap-snap-snap-snap.

Subhanallah - darah mengalir pantas. Zabah begitu mudah MashaAllah. Tiada masalah. Kedua-dua liang makanan dan liang pernafasan biri-biri putus. Both blood lines were also cut MashaAllah. I confirmed a last blade roll pass the sheep's neck to confirm. Everything less than 5 seconds.

Alhamdulillah. The funny thing was, after the zabah, I had this urge to slaughter more. MashaAllah - the experience gave me encouragement - and I exhort to all of you brothers to perform the zabah for aqiqah of your children yourselves as that is the sunnah. The person who will support the child should perform the Zabah.

After that the four of us observed how these youngsters and their mother prepared the meat. Kerja melapah. Begitu mudah. They were instructed not to cut the bones, but just at the joints as that is what is prescribed. Minta daging tu potong kecil-kecil. I also requested for the skin. I wanted to try to make some home-made leather. Zaman gave some advice on how to do it.

10:15am
Denis and Zaman helped to transfer the meat into the boot of the car. I paid the money due. Told the youngster to recount the money for Mu'amalat reasons. The lafaz aqad. And us four left. I sent our three brothers back to Zaman's place; and proceeded back to Bukit Damansara.


11:30am
My wife and our kids got ready. Kami empat beranak bertolak ke Masjid Sri Petaling. My wife, the baby, her elder sister - Khadijah and myself. We arrived easy Alhamdulillah.

I sent the box of meat to the madrasah's kitchen. The khidmat jama'ah were already expecting the meat. They were all helpful and listened intentively MashaAllah. Not that they knew me. but the spirit of Muslim brotherhood was there. They consisted of an Indian-Muslim jama'ah from Penang. With chefs in the jamat ! But food would be simple. Bones not cut - sweet sauce. Some chicken was also brought to complement - especially for those who couldn't eat lamb. The food would be consumed by the 'Aalim students, orphans and Ulama after Isyak solat. I was happy. Very happy.

12:00am
The principle of Madrasah Miftahul Ulum, Ustaz Abdul Hamid bin Chin was already near there. His office was nearby. I informed him about Tahneek. He was already informed earlier last week, so he knew about it. And we arranged so that we meet in the Ulama board's office. I returned to the car, and picked-up my second daughter from my wife, dates, and water and hurried to the madrasah's office.

Ustaz Abdul Hamid had already prepared his personal cushion for supporting the baby. He chose one of the dates and started chewing. He swallowed some, and gave some to the baby. I was ecstatic. It didn't take long. He hinted as to whether I knew the procedures for khuluq (shaving). I told him that I was going to shave her head myself. And he approved this action. As that is the sunnah. the father should do it himself. Fully. All done by the father. And all hair shaved off.

Next Ustaz Abdul Hamid lifted his hands and supplicated with full concentration and devotion. My eyes started to water. I was too happy. Having this chance. This privilege. It was absolute ecstasy. Subhanallahi Wabihamdihi Subhanallahil Adheem. Finally Ustaz Abdul Hamid recommended a place for female circumcision in Section 6, Shah Alam. Dr Rosnani's clinic - opposite 7-Eleven. (Details given here so that you can send your child too, kalau belum buat lagi)


12:30pm
Next I carried my baby daughter to the west wing of the masjid. The foreign jamat room. And at the entrance I met Ustaz Hamzah - the principle of the Aalimah (Girl's) Madrasah. He was so happy to meet me. And I was so touched because this grand scholar was being so apologetic. How can this be? I am the one who is intruding and asking for his time. But such hearts of noble people are like that. They always accommodate. Always. True Ulama behave like slaves. They serve the Ummah.

The same procedure was done again. Not that twice was necessary, but because I wanted the involvement of these two noble personalities and their du'as; and their students. Ustaz Hamzah did the very same thing. The same rigorous du'a. Sheikh Muhammad was also there. Malaysia Shura; as well as other Elders. I was also holding up my hands for the du'a. I heard the words - "Ya Allah make her Aalimah."..."Ya Allah make her Hafizah"..."Ya Allah make her Da'ie"... and a lot more. Happy I was. Very happy. My daughter was calm throughout everything from the very start. Sahih & Wallahi - in Sunnah there is only Senerity and Sakinah. Even In Hardship. Even in Hardship. Subhanallah. It is all worth

13:15pm
Timing was perfect. I sent my daughter back to the car and passed her to my wife. Khadijah was okay in the car. She had no complaints. I lifted her up for a while. She smiled. I gave her a kiss. Good girl. Alhamdulillah.

The Adhaan was called out. I returned to the mosque, and was literally like a black sheep in a crowd of white sheep. The white-cladded brothers where students of Miftahul Ulum. All white. Their faces beaming with radiance of obedience. I whispered to my heart - that should I have a son - I will send him here or a similar institution. My daughters will be sent to the girl's madrasah. InshaAllah.

The Imam then stood up, and we arranged our safs as the Iqamah was called out. As soon as the Imam lifted his takbir, my heart started to tremble. As I lifted mine in concurrence, I burst into tears. Terlalu happy. many things got done today. Properly. Promptly. Manis rasanya. Allah buat semua. Allah arrange semua. I wanted to read Al-Fatihah but couldn't. My sobs and out-of-breathness let me down. But at last before the Imams rukuk, I got to finish my recitation. Solat Zuhur memang manis. Black sheep pun black sheep lah. Asalkan ada Ulama di sekeliling, kalau mati macam ni pun tak apa.

14:00pm
Arrived home and started treating the sheep-skin to make home-made leather. First step is curing. lots and lots of salt. After that had a rest.

18:45pm
Left the house for masjid Sri Petaling.

19:30pm
Sat in the talk. Did translation for Denis as he didn't understand Malay. Adam gave a tour of the markaz and madrasah for Denis. Denis was very impressed. He said he has never seen anything like it before.

20:45pm
We proceeded to the dining hall. We shared our food with the madrasah students, orphans and Ulama. I shared my plate with Zaman, Pyan and Arape. I was happy because the volume of people did not get abused by merry-making and vain-talk. Subhanallah. As I took the food from the kitchen window, I observed how the brothers in charge of khidmat in the kitchen mentioned again and again -kambing, kambing, kambing. Guess this was a bit above the ordinary for the students. The food was simple. For tarbiyah. But above standards for those undergoing tarbiyah. MashaAllah.

The bones of the lamb was left for the responsible brothers to take care off. Later I had a chance to show our brothers the madrasah, the kitchen, glimpses of tarbiyah among the students, and the ladies section of the masjid which is fully segregated to provide facility to listen to bayan. Me, Arape & Zaman hanged aroung for more. Talked about Deen, Aqiqah etc. kat kedai makan later that night.

All in all - It was a beautiful day.

I have named my daughter -ASIAH After one of the four greatest women in Paradise - Khadijah RA, Asiah RA, Maryam RA and Fatimah RA. Two down, four to go. hehehe.

Asiah RA is mentioned in the Qur'an:
And Allah cites an example for those who believe: the wife of Fir'aun when she said: 'My Lord! Build for me a home with thee in the Garden, and deliver me from Fir'aun and his work, and deliver me from evil-doing folk'; " - (Al-Qur'an: Surah At-Tahrim: Ayat 11)

Nabi Muhammad SAW has mentioned four women that had received special standing in the Hereafter, namely Khadijah daughter of Khuwailid (Arabic conglomerate, the first person to enter into Islam, the wife of Muhammad and defender of religion), Fatimah Az-Zaharah daughter of Muhammad SAW (the wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib RA), Maryam daughter of Imran (the mother of Prophet Isa AS), and Asiah daughter of Mazahim (the wife of Fir'aun, faithful follower of Prophet Musa AS).

Ibn Abbas RA said that Nabi SAW uttered:
"The prominent and knowledgeable women of heaven are Khadijah daughter of Khuwailid, Fatimah daughter of Muhammad (SAW), Maryam daughter of Imran, and Asiah daughter of Mazahim." (Musnad Ahmad)

Asiah RA was the lady who found Musa AS in the basket from the river, and begged Fir'aun to save the child. Upon following the teachings of Musa AS, Asiah RA was torchered until she died a shahid.