I'm back with my family right now.
Exams were terribly difficult and the wait for my results is getting pretty stressful.
other than that, nothing eventful has happened to me.

Assalam alaykum everyone

Assalam alaykum

I turned 22 a couple of days ago and now I am back home with my family.

I'd like to give a shout out to Skye from Muslimah In Aus for giving me a pleasant surprise by mailing me a whole package full of DVDs with Islamic lectures, nashids and Quran recitations. Thank you Sis!

I haven't been commenting on blogs so I am sorry for that. Just to reply to some comments...

@ Saafir: You're right. Consistent work is needed for success. It's very difficult to succeed if we skip classes all year long and try to make up for it in one week.

@ Almas: You're welcome, hope it helped you in some ways.

@ Malekat: Miss you too, checked your blog for updates regularly!


I keep thinking about my results and how it could possibly have been the last time I'm going to be attending University. But, I tried my best and I never worked harder. I just need to stop worrying and leave it to Allah, for He knows best.

I could be anywhere but I'll still be waiting for Firo.

20 Exam Tips for Students

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Praise be to Allaah and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger and upon his family and companions.

The Muslim student puts his trust in Allaah when facing the tests of this world, and he seeks His help whilst following the prescribed means, in accordance with the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “The strong believer is better and is more beloved to Allaah than the weak believer, although both are good. Strive to attain that which will benefit you and seek the help of Allaah, and do not feel helpless.” (Saheeh Muslim, hadeeth no. 2664)

Among those means are the following:

- Turning to Allaah by making du’aa’ in any way that is prescribed in Islam, such as saying, “Rabbiy ishrah li sadri wa yassir li amri (O my Lord, expand my chest and make things easy for me).”

- Getting used to sleeping early and going to exams on time.

- Preparing all required or permitted equipment such as pens, rulers and setsquares, calculators and watches, because being well prepared helps one to answer questions.

- Reciting the du’aa’ for leaving the house: “Bismillaah, tawakkaltu ‘ala Allaah, wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah. Allaahumma inni a’oodhu bika an adilla aw udalla, aw azilla aw uzalla, aw azlima aw uzlama, aw ajhala aw yujhala ‘alayya (In the name of Allaah, I put my trust in Allaah, and there is no strength and no power except with Allaah. O Allaah, I seek refuge with You lest I should stray or be led astray, lest I slip (commit a sin unintentionally) or be tripped, lest I oppress or be oppressed, lest I behave foolishly or be treated foolishly).” Do not forget to seek your parents’ approval, for their du’aa’ for you will be answered.

- Mention the name of Allaah before you start, for mentioning the name of Allaah is prescribed when beginning any permissible action; this brings blessing, and seeking the help of Allaah is one of the means of strength.

- Fear Allaah with regard to your classmates, and do not be affected by their anxiety or fear just before the exam, for anxiety is a contagious disease. Instead, make them feel optimistic by saying good words as prescribed in Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was optimistic when he heard the name of Suhayl (which means “easy”) and he said: “Things have been made easy for you.” He used to like to hear the words ‘Yaa Raashid, when he went out for any purpose. So be optimistic that you and your brothers will pass this exam.

- Remembering Allaah (dhikr) dispels anxiety and tension. If something is too difficult for you, then pray to Allaah to make it easy for you. Whenever Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) found something too difficult to understand, he would say, “O You Who taught Ibraaheem, teach me; O You Who caused Sulaymaan to understand, cause me to understand.”

- Choose a good place to sit during the exam, if you can. Keep your back straight, and sit on the chair in a healthy manner.

- Look over the exam first. Studies advise spending 10% of the exam time in reading the questions carefully, noting the important words and dividing one’s time between the questions.

- Plan to answer the easy questions first, then the difficult ones. Whilst reading the questions, write notes and ideas which you can use in your answers later.

- Answer questions according to importance.

- Start by answering the easy questions which you know. Then move on to the questions which carry high marks, and leave till the end the questions to which you do not know the answers, or which you think will take a long time to produce an answer or which do not carry such high marks.

- Take your time to answer, for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Deliberation is from Allaah and haste is from the Shaytaan.” (A hasan hadeeth. Saheeh al-Jaami, 3011).

- Think carefully about the answer and choose the right answer when answering multiple-choice questions. Deal with them in the following manner. If you are sure that you have chosen the right answer, then beware of waswasah (insinuating whispers from the Shaytaan). If you are not sure, then start by eliminating the wrong or unlikely answers, then choose the correct answer based on what you think is most likely to be correct. If you guessed at a correct answer then do not change it unless you are sure that it is wrong – especially if you will lose marks for a wrong answer. Research indicates that the correct answer is usually that which the student thinks of first.

- In written exams, collect your thoughts before you start to answer. Write an outline for your answer with some words which will indicate the ideas which you want to discuss. Then number the ideas in the sequence in which you want to present them.

- Write the main points of your answer at the beginning of the line, because this is what the examiner is looking for, and he may not see what he is looking for if it is in the middle of the page and he is in a hurry.

- Devote 10% of the time for reviewing your answers. Take your time in reviewing, especially in mathematical problems and writing numbers. Resist the desire to hand in the exam papers quickly, and do not let the fact that some people are leaving early bother you. They may be among the people who have handed in their papers too early.

- If you discover after the exam that you answered some questions incorrectly, then take that as a lesson in the importance of being well prepared in the future, and not rushing to answer questions. Accept the will and decree of Allaah and do not fall prey to frustration and despair. Remember the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “If anything befalls you, do not say, ‘If only I had done such and such.’ Rather say, ‘Qadar Allaah wa maa sha’a kaan (the decree of Allaah and what He wills happened),’ for saying ‘if only’ opens the door for the Shaytaan.” (Saheeh Muslim, and the first part of this hadeeth was mentioned above).

- Note that cheating is haraam whether it is in foreign language tests or any other tests. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Whoever cheats is not one of us.” It is wrongdoing and it is a haraam means of attaining a degree or certificate, etc., that you have no right to. The consensus is that cheating is a kind of cooperation in sin and transgression. So do without that which is haraam, and Allaah will suffice you from His bounty. Reject all offers of haraam things that come to you from others. Whoever gives up a thing for the sake of Allaah, Allaah will compensate him with something better. You have to denounce and resist evil, and tell the authorities about any such thing that you see during the exam, or before or after it. This is not the forbidden kind of slander rather it is denouncing evil which is obligatory.

Advise those who buy or sell questions or post them on the Internet etc., or who prepare cheat notes. Tell them to fear Allaah, and tell them of the ruling on what they are doing and on the money they earn from that. Tell them that the time they are spending in preparing these haraam things, if they spent it in studying, or answering previous exams, or helping one another to understand the subject before the exam, that would be better for them than doing these haraam things.

- Remember what you have prepared for the Hereafter, and the questions of the examination in the grave, and how to be saved on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever is saved from the Fire and admitted to Paradise will indeed have succeeded.

We ask Allaah to make us succeed in this world and cause us to be among those who are victorious and saved in the Hereafter, for He is the All-Hearing Who answers prayer.

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

From: http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/books/75

About loving and being loved

Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) said: “A person cannot be a perfect Muslim unless he desires for his brother (in Faith) that which he desires for himself.”

(Bukhari & Muslim)

Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him), relates that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said: “The bonds (of brotherhood) between Muslims are like parts of a house; one part strengthens and holds another”. He crossed the fingers of one hand between those of the other (to illustrate the point).

(Bukhari & Muslim)

Nu‘man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him), relates that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him), said: “The Muslims, in their mutual love, kindness and compassion are like the human body: when one of its parts is in agony, the entire body feels the pain, both in sleeplessness and fever”.

(Bukhari & Muslim)

i just got scared to death. update later. need to breathe..

BOO!

Here I am, dusting the cobwebs off my blog. I would like to say that I've been very busy, achieving my dreams in this 1 week absence but sadly, all I've achieved is earning the status of CSI Freak, bestowed to me by my best friend (at the moment - hey, friends come and go...I've stopped believing in ever lasting friendships..nah, just messing with ya heads OMG I am ranting!!)

So anyways, my mom's surprise party is ON this Friday and I've been the Master Mind behind this evil plot to SURPRISE her. But the big glitch is that we havent gotten her a present. Imagine all these people coming to the party with their gifts and us 5 kids just smiling nervously and saying "Err, we organised the party?"

Saafir has given me another riddle that has left me feeling completely and utterly useless.

I still havent collected my dress and abaya from the tailor...so no pictures ):

I argued with him again but he's always right(eous) and I'm always wrong.

Uni...I feel like quitting.

Hurting

I tried to be what I thought you wanted. I convinced myself that this was me, that this was what I have always wanted to be. I will stop today. I don't know how else to explain the feelings I am suppressing. They are welled up in my throat.

I feel like I don't know who I am. When did I start depending on someone else to tell me how much I am worth? Right now, I feel like nothing.

All these people, they lied to me. They said all these good things about me but those praises were lies. If I am as good as they said I am, then how come you don't see it?

Modesty: Outraged

Today I got molested by accident.

Mom, brother and I had just returned from lunch and we were at the main door to my dad's office. One of the men who works there was standing at the door, holding the door half open, and checking out the ladies at the end of the walkway. So I stood a respectable distance away, infront of my mom.
The man then turned, extending his arms for some unknown reason. He brushed across my whole chest before almost walking into my mom. I did not have time to back away. He immediately apologised, more to me than my mom. Mom had no idea why I was so upset until I told her later. Mom told dad and he blamed us for standing too close.

Yeah, right. Like I knew the idiot was going to turn and extend his arms.

Anyways, I was upset and my friend asked me why. I told my friend about this incident...and what I received was "Did you like it?"

There are too many perverse people around.



on a totally unrelated note,

bebsi
avocoda juice
headache --> take bills
sween flu

Something for you to read

Someone from the travel agency just called home to check with my mom about my elder brother who just returned from umrah yesterday. Apparently, someone from Saudi immigration had called up the travel agency, asking why my brother was still in Saudi today.

Erm, he came home yesterday? Lol.

He bought me an abaya and many awesome scarves. His friend's mom also gave me (okay, my mom) loads of henna and pretty stencils. So now I have a fantastic henna design on my hand.

The housing agent in Perth has suggested a $25 weekly increment to our rent. Apparently, it is effective IMMEDIATELY. So the rent we have previously paid is not enough and we have to cover the shortfall. This is totally rubbish. It's so much more convenient to pay rent monthly but when the agent does something like this, weekly rent sounds a whole lot cheaper. So now, we have to pay maybe an additional $75.
Also, this agent has arranged for a house inspection about 5 times previously. She never showed up. Yesterday she had the nerve to ask me if she could do a house inspection and today she asked if there would be anyone home. Yeah right lady. Last time I stayed home to wait for you and you never turned up.

What's in a name?

Today someone called me Nado and I felt so repelled by it. I was thinking that he had absolutely NO RIGHT to call me that.

No one else had ever called me that except one person. But seriously, NOW, NO ONE calls me that and I don't want anyone else to.

I was thinking of changing my name because every Nadia I know, knows another Nadia. My friend asked if I had a 2nd name and I said no. He was making a contact list...He already had a Nadia on that list so I suggested that he included my surname as well but wait, he already has that too.

My brother says I have a bus port name. The kind where you're in the middle of a crowded bus port and you shout "Nadia!" and ten million girls turn to look at you because you just called them.

HOME

Assalam alaykum everyone!

I'm home!! Thanks to all of you for your well wishes. I am going to catch up on my favourite hobby of all times --> Reading fiction books. I have 2 new ones at the moment. I need to get more tomorrow inshaAllah.

Will update more and reply to comments soon.

Take care (:

freaking out freaking out freaking out freaking out

6am - Fajr, revise notes
7am - shower, iron clothes
745am- leave home for Uni
820am - wait for H infront of MCS building
845am - arrive at exam venue
9am - the torture begins
12pm - the torture ends
1215pm - released from exam venue
1pm - arrive home, pack luggage like a mad woman, Dzuhr, lunch maybe
145pm - catch cab to airport
245pm - check in luggage
3pm - breathe, proceed to gate
355pm - flight leaves for home
915pm - HOME BABY HOME :D

InshaAllah


ps. Dad is gona freak if he knows I havent packed and I'm only planning to check in 1 hour before flight leaves. I've been trained to do it at least 2 hours before the flight and I've never strayed from this instruction. Yikes :/

Fourth Housemate

Assalam alaykum

Do you guys believe in ghosts/spirits? I don't.

Okay, story time.

Story #1
When we first moved into the house, everything seemed fine until one night, my housemate entered the bathroom and came out because she said it smelled too strongly of perfume. She then asked my other housemate and I if we had put on perfume in the bathroom. Nope, we didn't.

Story #2
I went downstairs to the kitchen late at night to get a drink and caught a strong whiff of the fragrant spray/softener that we use for ironing clothes. That area is open so for me to have smelled it, someone must have used it recently. I went upstairs and asked which of my housemates had just religiously ironed her clothes for the next day. It wasn't either of them.

Story #3
This is where it gets a little creepy. I was alone upstairs and everywhere else was dark. My door was open and my light was on. I was reading something on the net when I heard a whisper. It was loud enough for it to seem like the person whispered directly into my ear but still, it like came from outside my door. It was a female voice and she whispered "look left" to me. I ignored this and the whisper came a second time, prompting me to take a huge breath and look RIGHT, then look left. There was nothing but I was soooooo scared. By the way, she whispered to me in my Mother Tongue which later on, became sort of a joke because we always said that Aussie 'ghosts' would greet their victims with "Hows it going mate?" or something like that.

Story #4
My housemate heard people talking outside her room. She opened the door, there was noone.

Story #5
Just happened tonight. I was in the kitchen cooking as both my housemates had returned to their rooms. I caught a glance of someone in black walking up the stairs so I thought one of my housemates came back downstairs. I shouted from the kitchen, asking which of them came down. Both said it wasn't them.

One of our friends have heard a few of these stories and she claims that her brother can 'see' these beings. He has also been asked to help get rid of them when they were causing a huge disturbance. All I see is him looking into a huge crystal ball...
I don't know how he does it but apparently he's good at it. I'm scared that this might border on shirk because I don't want to enlist someone's help without knowing what exactly he'll be doing. Besides, I'd rather not know if there really is a presence in my home.

What do you guys think about this?

Foto Friday

Hello.

My exam was so-so [ had 2 arab invigilators during the anatomy section of my practical exam. one of them wouldn't stop looking at the only hijabi in class ie. ME Weird LOL. everytime I looked up from my paper, I'd catch him just turning away. hope he marks my paper? and is lenient because I am his sister in Islam :b ]
I had an awesome lunner (lunch +dinner?) yesterday.
My family left yesterday.
One more exam then I'm FREE.
Where are you?

Bye.

Wouldn't it be nice if the world was Cadbury?

I give up on you.

Sunday Smiles

Just had some food leftover from a barbie.

Cup of coffee and notes.

And the studying begins!!

PS. 2 exams (theory + practical) that I need to ace. Got a 69% on the recent test, which was below average but Alhamd lellah I passed.

PPS. yesterday I flipped open my anatomy atlas in the math lab and this dude sitting across me asked if I was doing Medicine. I wanted to say "No, I'm doing engineering just like you but I happen to like looking at pictures of cadavers and organs", but I didn't. I am unnecessarily sarcastic at times. Bad habit that needs to be changed.

I don't want to be 40...

I don't want to be 40 and still living with my parents because I was the only child who didn't get married and hence, the natural choice for my parents to live with.

I don't want to be 40 and be the doctor who's always covering shifts of other people because they took time off to be with their families/celebrate wedding anniversaries/welcoming the birth of their new baby.

I don't want to be 40 and still have my parents scold me for coming home past 11pm and pigging out on junk food.

I don't want to be 40 and still wondering where the hell I went wrong.

I am this close to giving up this lame degree. I don't see results even when I'm working hard. I am tired of hoping because hope never got me anywhere. Yes I want to be a doctor but no, I didn't sign up for all these extra emotional baggage that came along with studying abroad.

I'm 21 and I can't confidently tell you one thing that I've been proud to achieve.

Half past Four

Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home. Needs to go home.

Seriously, its 430am in the morning and I'm still in Uni. Im wide awake but my brain is rejecting any new information. I didn't even study much bahhhh. I ain't doing another all nighter. This doesn't work for me.

"You know, whatever happens...it won't be me."


A simple sentence, capturing the entire essence of the relationship. UNIT CODE: Way to break a girl's heart 101.

Attacked!

As most of you know, my family is here visiting me. Yesterday, my dad decided to bring us on a shopping trip to Westfield Carousel, which is a huge shopping centre located not far from where I live.

We entered the carpark and it was FULL with many cars still looking for lots. Late night shopping in the suburbs. I'm FOR shops opening past 5pm. But they did a recent vote/referendum (?) and most people didn't like that idea.

Anyways, like always, the girls and boys split up. I went with my mom and my 2 brothers with dad. I bought an awesome coat and all was still OK when the girls bumped into the boys in MYER. Then, mom and I headed to Target. I was queuing up at the Cashier's when I saw dad walking into Target, followed a few seconds later by my brothers. They caught up with him and exchanged a few words. I could see my brothers were distressed and my dad looked pissed. Then they walked OUT of Target.

After paying for stuff, I told mom about what happened. We left and I tried to call my brothers but there was no answer. Finally we saw the boys talking to a security guard. The security personnel were milling around Carousel, I saw plenty of them. They were all smartly dressed in their black suits and little earpieces stuck in their ear,looking all professional. I managed to get the story out of my brothers. I'll be referring to them as brother #2 and brother #4. OK?

Brother #2 decided that he wanted to look around at other shops instead of following dad to Target, so he asked brother #4 to tag along. They walked past a group of 6 big blonde beefy boys/men and 1 brunette kid/teen. They were all wearing hoodies and trucker caps, with multiple piercings. The lil kid had 3 piercings under his lower lip.

This was when brother #2 felt a sharp jab in his stomach. The kid had elbowed my brother straight in the stomach, for absolutely no reason. Brother #2 turned to look at the group properly and this was when the group changed direction and started to follow my brothers.

My brothers made the mistake of entering an empty Vodafone shop, allowing themselves to be cornered by the group. The group pushed brother #2 around until he fell to the ground, completely ignoring brother #4. Then, the beefy guys surrounded brother #2 and the kid took a swing at my brother's face. This was when brother #4 intervened, acting on impulse, and tried to grab the kid's arm.

The kid changed targets and moved on to brother #4, punching him on his cheek. Brother #2 was still struggling to get out from being surrounded by the beefy guys. The kid raised his arm again to punch brother #4 another time, but one of the beefy guys stopped him.

The kid went back to brother #2 and punched him on the nose. The group then nonchalantly walked out of Vodafone. There was a security camera that could have captured the entire scene but maybe it's just a false camera. There were also Vodafone staff and people sitting on benches outside Vodafone. They did nothing to intervene or assist.

We passed my contact number to the security personnel and the rest of the night, we kept seeing guards stopping random boys but none of these boys were the ones who had attacked my brothers. I think, they wont ever get caught.

I'm just really pissed because it was a crowded place and none of us expected this to happen in a a shopping centre with security personnel everywhere. The rest of the night was ruined. Brother #2 was angry because brother #4 got hurt trying to intervene and he could not do anything to help while brother #4was being punched.

I've been abused many times before in Australia but they have always been verbal or visual abuse, relating to the fact that I'm Muslim. The attack on my brothers were definitely not against muslims. I watched in the news about the attack on the indian students, and hear about saudi students being beaten up and now my brothers too.

I won't generalise and say that Australia is a racist nation because it's not. I'll just say white trash need to be taught a harsh lesson.