Aiman Azlan's Blog

Bismillah. I went to my first Eid Dinner organized by UTM MSA . Sheikh Alaa' Elsayed, an Imaam from Masjid ISNA, gave a tazkirah about "A New Beginning". The title of the tazkirah was also the theme of the dinner. He asked us what have we learned having went through 30 days of Ramadhan. Did we "graduate" the "school" of Ramadhan with flying colours? Sheikh Alaa' is the kind of sheikh who can do stand up and tazkirah at the same time. Very funny guy. Even with all the jokes that he did, he managed to drive his point home. His talk really struck me hard. It took me 30 days of Ramadhan, a week of Eid, and a lot of screw ups to come to a point where I put my foot down and say, "Ya Allah, it's time." What better time to change than now? I just hope this time, it'll be for good. [ Aside ] A bit about the dinner, some memory notes, the food was awesome! We had chicken, mash potato, this thingy with mayonnaise ( I don'...

Bismillah. When you celebrate Eid without your family around for the first time, surely there will be a story to tell. But I don't like to write long posts. So, here's what happened in 2 days...summarized. Eid in downtown Toronto. Slept at Salman's. Last iftar went to a restaurant in front of U of T. Ate burger. So delicious. Cook for Eid (nasi lemak, kebab, and rendang). Eid day. Wake up. Planned to pray at CNE. Rendezvous at Union Station at 9.00am. 8.10am still in bed. Managed to get ready anyway. I borrowed Salman's baju Melayu. Took pictures. Walked to the subway, eyes on us. We were colourful. Group photo in front of Salman's house At CNE, whollotta people! All colours and all kinds of dress. Takbir was very energetic, not like Malaysia. Met Naim, a Pakistani man who lived in Malaysia for 10 years. Fluent Malay. Prayed. Khutbah was about giving to the needy. Muslims of different backgrounds all together for Eid prayer Went out to meet the r...

Bismillah. KLIA JPA asked us to be there at 5.00pm even though the flight is at 12.00am. No time for protest, just went with the flow. Went to Counter L in International Departure section and checked in my bags at L14 (I think). A JPA officer gave me MAS tags to identify my bags and "Malaysia Student" badge. Surprisingly, my fully loaded bags only weigh 36kg in total. The limit is only 2 bags, 23kg each. I'm safe! After checking in, spent time with family until 8.45pm for briefing. It was a long wait. Got bored a bit. Broke fast at KFC and prayed at the surau nearby. Briefing time! Mr. Azlan gave the 1st briefing. Telling us what to do in the plane and when we get there. And then another dude (I forgot his name!) gave the next briefing, reminding us why we're going to Canada for (hint : not for shopping) and out of nowhere, elected me as chief of the group (Sigh). Spent some time with family to say good bye. Touching moment when I saw my dad cried. Gave me s...

Bismillah. Another entry to my crowded sweet memories. I was invited by Mr. Roslam to give a speech on behalf of all Infineight. To be honest, I was really nervous because the hall was full and I had to stand there and talk. Plus, I just prepared my speech on the ferry ride to Langkawi. You should see my notes...they were like cave drawings. But you know what, I pulled myself together because I was there to give advice to my little brothers and sisters especially the ones which are going to sit for their SPM exam. So I went up there and I screwed up my introduction. Nervousness started to build up but I tried to pull myself together and determined to achieve my purpose. Out of a sudden, this odd comfort feeling just came to me and I was talking my way through my speech like I was practicing it all night long. There are some who said that I was giving a sermon up there. I smiled. But at least I managed to give a significant impact to the audience (I hope) because that's my mai...