GARDEN OF PARADISE (PART 2)

Salam to all, 

...more pictures of "Garden of Paradise" : 😃

👇Sent by Badriatul Ashikin (Shah Alam, Selangor). Tqvm Bada...❤️

👇Sent by Zuraidah (Seremban, Negeri Sembilan). Tqvm Zue...❤️

Stay tuned...more to come, inshaAllah 😃😊💚💙♥️

Yuzita

GARDEN OF PARADISE (PART 1)

Salam to all, 

1990...I started my first job at the Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM), Segamat, Johor as a lecturer in mathematics. My husband, Zamdan was working in Kuala Lumpur...taking care of our baby (Yaqeen) and living with my parents in Kelang. So I got lonely most of the time and I decided to adopt a cactus...and named it Siti Sara Sophia (3S ok...not 3W😅). I got it for free...a gift from my friend's father who own a cactus nursery near Segamat.

Sophia was already quite big when I adopted her. I put her in my office at ITM near the window (coz cactus loves sunlight). Every week I would go back to Kelang to visit my family...and one day I forgot to close my office window...and guess what?...when I came back to work Sophia's pot was filled with water!!! I tried my best to take out as much as possible the water from the pot but it was too late...coz a few days later Sophia just went like..."meletup" (isi perut sume terburai!!! 😭). I was so sad that I promised myself I am not ever going to take care of any plant whatsoever for the rest of my life. However I love watching them...☺️

During this Movement Control Order (MCO) my wonderful friends sent me some pictures of the plants they have been working on before and during MCO... :

👆 Top picture:

Sent by my dearest high school friend, Mazlina. Tqvm Maz...❤️...namanya : bunga Siantan🤗

👇Sent by Norehan (Shah Alam, Selangor). Tqvm An...❤️

👇Sent by Rose Zuraida (Ipoh, Perak). Tqvm Rose...❤️

👇Sent by Fara Waheeda (Taman Setiawangsa, Kuala Lumpur). Tqvm kak Fara...♥️

Kak Fara has quite a number of plants to sell (shown here is just a few samples)...if anybody interested to buy...(some of the money is allocated to assist the needy during this MCO).

👇Sent by Nureha (Johor). Tqvm Rie...❤️

👇Bonsai plant

👇Janggut nabi Sulaiman...🤔😀

👇Pokok anggerik

* There a few more pictures that I would like to show you all...but for now...enjoy these pictures 😃.

Note:

MashaAllah...such beautiful creations by our Allah swt, the mighty creator...😊♥️💙💚

Yuzita

Remembering Allah swt...❤️❤️❤️

Salam to all,

One of the imams of the Islamic Center of New Nexico (ICNM) (I don't know his name...🤔?) gave a wonderful tazkirah on five things to do to remembering Allah swt😊 :

1. Say " Subhanallah, Walhamdulillah, Walailaha illallah, Wallahuakhbar" (300x per day) 🤗

2. Istighfar (i e., to ask forgiveness from Allah swt)...and say it as much as you can within your capability 🤗

3. Selawat (i.e., to show gratitude to Allah swt for sending the prophet Muhammad saw to us and all the sacrifices rasulullah saw had done for us)...and say it as much as you can within your capability🤗

4. Tadabbur the Quran (the imam suggested : Yasin (dhuha time), Mulk (night time) & other verses from the Quran)🤗

5. Doa (i e., always raise your hand to ask favor from Allah swt)🤗

*** Do 1 to 5...straight from your heart...and feel the presence of Allah swt in your heart to remember Him❤️😊

InshaAllah...🧡♥️❤️...

👆 Islamic Center of New Mexico (ICNM)

👆 ICNM playground for kids

👆 Main prayer hall

👆 Prayer hall for sisters

*** Sekiranya kita ingat Allah...pasti Allah ingat kita jua...jadi sama2 lah kita mengangkat tangan memohon dgn bersungguh2 kpd Nya agar mengangkat musibah wabak Covid yg sedang melanda negara kita yg tercinta ini...terutamanya di Sabah🙂

Ameen🤲

Yuzita

MARIA♥️❤️❤️...

Salam to all,

Fall 2006...it was a very cold and windy Ramadhan night...we were in a tent outside the Islamic Center of New Mexico (ICNM), Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA (coz ICNM was still under renovation)...wanting to pray maghrib, isya and terawikh together. I can still remember how we (sisters) stood so close to each other during the solat maghrib...to get the warmth from each other😀. The brothers were in a separate tent.

After the maghrib prayer I noticed Maria, a black woman (whom I had met before in the ICNM during numerous occasions) sitting on a chair at the back of the tent. I decided to have a chat with her...to tell her about my problems (as usual...my homesick feeling and the writing of my thesis😅...what else ??? 😂). 

I sat infront of her on the floor...putting my hand on her lap and said : "I have problems to share with you". She said :  "I know what...let each of us tell our problems...who gonna start first?". I replied : "You"🙂.

So she started to tell me about her son and his wife who were very active in spreading Islam to the black community in Albuquerque. They were murdered a few years back. The way they died was very tragic...the murderers got into their apartment and stabbed her son and his wife repeatitively...infront of their kids (two toddlers and one baby) !!! But alhamdulillah the murderers let their kids unharmed. Now the kids were under her care. On top of that...she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and just undergone her first chemoteraphy treatment. And on top of all of that...her husband left her !!!

I went like : "MashaAllah...banyaknya ujian😲..." ...compared to her... my problem is not a problem at all. Tears started to streaming from my eyes as I looked up at her. How can she cope with all of that...😪 ?

Maria said : "Sister, dont cry...now tell me what is your problem? "

I replied : I have no problem at all, sister...🙂

After Terawikh prayer Maria and her granchildren sent me back to my apartment and on the way she kept on reminding me to consistently have "husnu zon" (baik sangka/positive thinking) towards Allah and remember that Allah is always with you...🧡

Jazakillahu khairan kathira Sister Maria for your advice and I will keep it in my heart forever and ever inshaAllah❤️😘...

May Allah shower you, my dearest sister and family with His rahmah in this world and hereafter...ameen ya rabbal 'alamin🤲💚

*** Utk Covid yg sedang melanda negara kita Malaysia yg dicintai ini...berbaik sangka lah dgn ketentuan Allah...pasti ada hikmah disebaliknya dan ingatlah Allah sentiasa bersama2 kita dan menjaga kita selagi kita tetap bersabar dan tidak melakukan perkara yg mengundang kemurkaan Nya dan melakukan perkara yg disukai Nya...wallahualam🧡

*** 'Umar al Khattab (radiallahuan) berpesan :

"Bagaimana juapun kesukaran yg dihadapi oleh org yg beriman namun Allah akan melepaskannya jua dpd kesukaran itu."💚

*** As a child Sister Maria was considered as a "gifted child". She received her phd in her early twenties.💙

Yuzita 

SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY, TEXAS, USA

Salam to all,

Winter 1988...it was very cold...I just stood infront of the main door of the Mathematics and Computer Science department building of the Sam Houston State University (SHSU)...not deciding yet whether to get out...ready to face the terrible weather outside or just stood there...until a man from behind me said "Hi little lady, this door is too heavy for you is it?...Let me open it for you"...so with heavy heart I went out as the kind man opened the door for me😀

I didn't feel like going back to my apartment yet coz all my housemates, Norbani and Samsidarwati had gone back to Malaysia for good...they had finished their studies (Master in Computer Science). So I was left alone all by myself😔...

The only Malaysians left at SHSU at that time were Rosdah & Ali (husband & wife), Wan Zamdan and me. I got scared during the night that I turned on every light in the apartment....including the kitchen and toilet 😂 and put the telephone beside me while sleeping at night and was very conscious of any tiny winy sound coming from outside or inside the apartment. So it was like "hell" for me at that time 😐. And most of all I couldn't concentrate on my study, solat, etc...and so when Zamdan propose marriage to me...I accepted it (rasa2nya dia tgh tunggu I la tuh...perasan lah sikit kan...kan...kan! 😂). 

SHSU is very dear to my heart❤️...a place where I met my wonderful husband...a place where I actually grew up coz I was there since I was 18 yrs old until 25 yrs old...a place where I met wonderful friends (not only Malaysians but Arabs, Americans, Chinese, Indians, etc)...a place where I associated myself with islamic organizations like Malaysians Islamic Study Group (MISG) and Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)...etc.

👆SHSU library...

👆Sam Houston...

👆Lowman Student Center (inside)...

👇Lowman Student Center (outside)...

👇Sammy Bearkat (SHSU mascot)...

*** 👇Norehan with red tulips at the Sam Houston State University, Texas🌷...😀❤️🧡♥️

Yuzita

I REMEMBER...❤️

Salam to all,

A number of people asked me : "Masih contact lagi ke supervisor you dulu?" My answer was "Ya" or sometimes I just nodded my head. 

Why shouldn't I🤔??? He had taught me a lot of stuff...not only computer algebra...but he also taught me how to become a modest human being, tolerate other people weaknesses, be polite eventhough you think you are right, reprimand people in a humble way, be patient (especially when he had a student like me😂) and many more.

I remember...the first time I received an email from him...at the very end of his email he just simply wrote his name : "Stan"...and as his student I need to follow his footsteps right?😀...and so since then I wrote my name : "Yuzita"...at the very end of every email I wrote😄.

I remember...when I felt so sick to continue my writing of a paper on the area of Cylindrical Algebraic Decomposition (CAD) algorithms (my phd work) for the journal of Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (before that I wrote a paper for the International Journal of Technology in Mathematics Education (IJTME) (also my phd work ) )...Prof Steinberg and Michael voluntarily took over the writing from me 🙂. I needed to tell people (especially Malaysians) the results of my phd work coz I had spent nearly RM 300K to support this work...and all of it was "duit rakyat". I would not let my sickness to defer me from writing this CAD paper...and alhamdulillah...Allah opened their  heart to help me...🤲🙂.

I remember...the sympathy Prof Steinberg had shown me when I told him about my sickness and sometimes I just couldn't cope with it. He said : "I wish the tumor would go away from you forever and ever and never return". 🤗...Hmmm...that would be nice🤔...😂😂😂

 ...and so many other things to "remember"...😄

He was just like a father to  me...🙂❤️🧡💚

*** I remember...the first time I saw the University of New Mexico (UNM) mascot (picture above)...I went like : "Oh my God...what in the world is that!!! "...sgt la menakutkan😲...😀😅😂...

Yuzita

SAN CARLOS, MEXICO

Salam to all, 

Prof Steinberg and Jan (his wife) are right now at their house in San Carlos, Mexico for a month.

👇Picture of Prof Steinberg's garden in San Carlos, Mexico...

👇The beach in San Carlos, Mexico...where Prof Steinberg went snorkling (I supposed so...😀).

He loves snorkling...

Have a great time, Prof Steinberg & Jan ❤️🤗

*** My dearest friend, Suraya from Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu sent me a picture of the pantai Kelulut Marang, Terengganu.

Perasan x perbezaan warna pasir di antara pantai di San Carlos, Mexico dgn pantai Kelulut Marang, Terengganu?

👇Prof Steinberg sent me the pictures of his house at San Carlos, Mexico :

👆 This beach is within walking distant to Prof Steinberg's house where he and Jan went snorking nearly everyday. This picture was taken from his house (on the second floor).

Yuzita