a new beginning

i'm obviously a day late in going about greetings of new year and resolutions but im gonna go thru them nevertheless. like every year, 2007 has brought many joys and grief as well. but im happy to say that overall, 2007 was a good year.

as of ystrdy, this blog has officially turned 1 =) this blog was never started for the public interest, its just a means for me to rant and rave about watever i feel like. but alhamdulillah, many frens have come across this blog and kept in touch. im not saying it was hate-mail free - i got my first couple of hate taggers during my 3rd or 4th mth of blogging? cant remember. but its been a blessing so far and imma keep blogging till i feel like it.

2007 was the year:

i officially had a 1 year-old relationship with current boyfren. we're still counting, people, so wish us luck.



i passed my first year of university which i am very grateful for. they say law is one of the toughest courses in uni so im glad that the kent law school has a critical approach to law which, personally, makes law a hell lot easier.

i started living with in the best house with the best housemates. okay, i may be exaggerating, but honestly, i cud not ask for better people to live with. i hope the feeling's mutual tho. hehehe



i discovered my love of sweating ie exercising. im no longer the rabz who shuns the sun but now i thrive and crave on exercise. nothing like a morning yoga session or a jog in winter ;p right bee? also discovered that i CAN cook and clean, contrary to my mum's belief. so i can be domestic when it comes down to it. 2007 was quite a year of self-discovery hehe.

i got closer to my cousins, which is great. blood really is thicker than water. i'm talking abt u loud, crazy, silly girls, kaka itah, kaka amal, cits, imah and huda. i love u girls =)

i spent my first new year's eve with the boyfren. thank u for everything u've done for me.

theres definitely more to it, like karaoke-ing in london with the best gang ever (azam rirah aufa malvern girls auntie tipah sanny etc), shopping in factory outlets (haha awu. nda pandai miss nie shopping ah) and the final harry potter book! it was a good year and hopefully i've learnt from my mistakes in 2007. 2008 will insyaAllah, roll in a better me.

as for resolutions? i believe new year is just an excuse for ppl to make any because if u really wanna change, u can do it anytime of the year. but then again, a new year calls for a fresh start, no? anyhoos, something profound happened to me lastnite and a conversation today made me rethink about what i am and what i do. so for 2008, following apip's footsteps, i vow to spend/shop less (and yes, dont laugh! if apip can do it, so can i) and bersyukur for what i have. i'll try to expect less from others so when others do make the effort, i'd appreciate it more.

lastly, thank u to all the colourful people who have come my way. happy new year and gudluck to everyone whos looking for a fresh start.

much love,
be'ah xxx

p/s the plan was to put a picture to each 2007 event majigy, but i just realised my pictures file is so big so yea. sorry

cells tagged me

Here are the Tagging rules:

1. Each blogger must post these rules.
2. Each Blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and read your blog.

8 random facts.. hmm.. gotta be stuff that doesnt involve my weight, boyfren and shopping bcoz i talk abt that like, all the time. lets see..

1.i love kids, especially little girls. not to be biased or anything, but i grew up with 6 brothers, so little girls fill up that missing little-sister-void for me. plus, im a girly girl, playing princesses and dressing up are so much more fun than playing robots and video games.

2.i love putting the effort into gifts/presents. i want the best for my loved ones =)

3.i have a guilty conscience. so i justify the mean things i do by thinking 'what would (insert person's name who i was mean to) do if the situation were reversed?' over and over again to make myself feel not guilty.

4.i believe that what comes around goes around. so i really do try not to be mean. i live my life by 'do to others what u want others to do to u'

5.i hate waiting, so i always try be ready early when i go out (refer to no. 4)

6.i love going to the dentist =D

7.hate travelling long distance bcoz my body aches all over easily.

8. i love mornings. coz u get more things done. and the cartoons on tv arent bad either ;)


now that ive done all that, i tink i've done this b4. but what the heck. and i'm gonna break the last rule by not tagging. shapa yg interested can join in.

happy new year everybody!

much love,
be'ah xxx

Q: How can Islam be called the religion of peace when it was spread by the sword?

continuing from Jirin's line of thought, yes facebook is useful for stalking. but its also useful for learning new things. look wat i found today =)

its by Dr.Zakir Naik and its quite an interesting read. thought i might share it here.

"It is a common complaint among some non-Muslims that Islam would not have millions of adherents all over the world, if it had not been spread by the use of force. The following points will make it clear, that far from being spread by the sword, it was the inherent force of truth, reason and logic that was responsible for the rapid spread of Islam.

1. Islam means peace.

Islam comes from the root word ‘salaam’, which means peace. It also means submitting one’s will to Allah (swt). Thus Islam is a religion of peace, which is acquired by submitting one’s will to the will of the Supreme Creator, Allah (swt).

2. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace.

Each and every human being in this world is not in favour of maintaining peace and harmony. There are many, who would disrupt it for their own vested interests. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace. It is precisely for this reason that we have the police who use force against criminals and anti-social elements to maintain peace in the country. Islam promotes peace. At the same time, Islam exhorts it followers to fight where there is oppression. The fight against oppression may, at times, require the use of force. In Islam force can only be used to promote peace and justice.

3. Opinion of historian De Lacy O’Leary.

The best reply to the misconception that Islam was spread by the sword is given by the noted historian De Lacy O’Leary in the book "Islam at the cross road" (Page 8):

"History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myth that historians have ever repeated."

4. Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years.

Muslims ruled Spain for about 800 years. The Muslims in Spain never used the sword to force the people to convert. Later the Christian Crusaders came to Spain and wiped out the Muslims. There was not a single Muslim in Spain who could openly give the adhan, that is the call for prayers.

5. 14 million Arabs are Coptic Christians.

Muslims were the lords of Arabia for 1400 years. For a few years the British ruled, and for a few years the French ruled. Overall, the Muslims ruled Arabia for 1400 years. Yet today, there are 14 million Arabs who are Coptic Christians i.e. Christians since generations. If the Muslims had used the sword there would not have been a single Arab who would have remained a Christian.

6. More than 80% non-Muslims in India.

The Muslims ruled India for about a thousand years. If they wanted, they had the power of converting each and every non-Muslim of India to Islam. Today more than 80% of the population of India are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Indians are bearing witness today that Islam was not spread by the sword.

7. Indonesia and Malaysia.

Indonesia is a country that has the maximum number of Muslims in the world. The majority of people in Malaysia are Muslims. May one ask, "Which Muslim army went to Indonesia and Malaysia?"

8. East Coast of Africa.

Similarly, Islam has spread rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. One may again ask, if Islam was spread by the sword, "Which Muslim army went to the East Coast of Africa?"

9. Thomas Carlyle.

The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book "Heroes and Hero worship", refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam: "The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one. In one man’s head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can."

10. No compulsion in religion.

With which sword was Islam spread? Even if Muslims had it they could not use it to spread Islam because the Qur’an says in the following verse:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error" [Al-Qur’an 2:256]

11. Sword of the Intellect.

It is the sword of intellect. The sword that conquers the hearts and minds of people. The Qur’an says in Surah Nahl, chapter 16 verse 125:

"Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious." [Al-Qur’an 16:125]

12. Increase in the world religions from 1934 to 1984.

An article in Reader’s Digest ‘Almanac’, year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article also appeared in ‘The Plain Truth’ magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by 235%, and Christianity had increased only by 47%. May one ask, which war took place in this century which converted millions of people to Islam?

13. Islam is the fastest growing religion in America and Europe.

Today the fastest growing religion in America is Islam. The fastest growing religion in Europe in Islam. Which sword is forcing people in the West to accept Islam in such large numbers?

14. Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson.

Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson rightly says, "People who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in the hands of the Arabs, fail to realize that the Islamic bomb has been dropped already, it fell the day MUHAMMED (pbuh) was born"."

things like these just make my hati sejuk, u knw wat i mean? =)

much love,
be'ah xxx

running..

with the nike+ ipod sports kit.



muneer introduced it to me tdi. he mentioned abt it and i check it out online and now i want it so bad. throw in the nike amp+ sports remote and a jasari mix from itunes and i will be one very endorphins-pumped-up woman =)

oh wait, i still need to get a pair of nike+ ready shoes. haha buleh i thought any nike shoes would do so when i read up about it i went straight to my gym shoes (which are nikes btw) and peeled of the insoles on the left shoe. haha one shoe ruined bcoz i didnt read till the end.

but i reli reli want it. maybe my mum can get me this instead of the treadmill i asked for last week. at least this is cheaper than a treadmill...

how are u guys up in the uk? sajuk? =p

much love,
be'ah xxx

baby day

tak menyesal saya balik brunei!

ystrdy i got to see two new additions to my family, a 2 week old cousin and a newly born one. one is a baby girl form my dad's side and and the other a baby boy from my mum's side. im flattering myself that both babies were waiting till i was in brunei to pop out hehe. i know the baby boy was borned a week earlier than predicted. baby girl is the 2nd daughter and 5th child to my unchu elol and unchu bini and baby boy is the second child and first son of my usu amit and usu ali. congratulations to both sets of parents =D

babies are soooo adorable. i want lots of them one day =)

selamat dtg ke dunia alai Azirah Anuar and alai Mohd Al-Hakim Ali. semoga menjadi anak yg soleh dan solehah. amiin.

much love,
kaka be'ah xxx

p/s sorry no pictures. i had the babies in my arms during the whole visit and that was wayy better than taking a picture just to post it up hehe

merry xmas

jem was saying how during the hols ppl go off blogs facebook etc.

mana ada. aku active masih dlm PESBOOK =p

haha. hope ur feeling better now jem. sinar-sinari lah rumah dgn kecalian mu. pebaik sorang diri becali. nanti sudah kami balik, well-practised jua kau dah kan hehe

this holiday's been turning out good so far. despite the bf working he still has the odd day off every now and then and surprisingly my parents are letting me go out everytime i want which means lotsa dates with the prince charming. ertinya nda lgi lama kawin nie!

haha apakan?

ka rozie got married last weekend. it was a beautiful simple wedding. lawaaa her tiara headband thingy. i wish u all the best in ur marriage ka =) cant wait for mine. pasal aku mau jadi princess! kan sayang?

princess consuela banana hammock dengan crap bag.

hahahaha. nadalah. i love u.

to those who celebrate xmas, happy xmas!

much love,
be'ah xxx

selamat hari raya

salam raya aidil adha everyone!




isnt the kambing cute? kesian plg psl kan kana sembalih hehe.

update: im enjoying brunei. watched enchanted and had sushi ystrdy. and apparently i lost more weight (from UK) so i feel less guilty about binging. been seeing the boyfren a lot and he's getting more handsome everytime i see him. banaar! hehe

next on the agenda will be the golden compass, alvin and the chipmunks, narnia and possibly the dazzling lights festival in jp =D

much love,
be'ah xxx