Happy New Prosporous 1430 Hijjri Year

We would like to wish you all a Happy 1430 Hijri Year. Let us bring our hands together supplicating before Allah swt. for His Blessing; Keeping us in the right path; ever after united; hardworking and determined; honest and upright; and last but not least, bless us with excellent health. A little bit on the history of Hijrah. The Hijrah (هِجْرَة), or withdrawal, is the migration of the great prophet Muhammad saw and his companions or followers to the city of Madinah in 622 M.
Technically, the first Hijrah occurred in 615 when a band of Muslims was counseled by Rasullullah saw to escape persecution in Makkah and travel to the Kingdom of Axum, which was ruled by a Christian king. Prophet Muhammad saw himself did not join this emigration. In that year, his followers fled Makkah's leading tribe, the Quraysh, who sent emissaries to Axum to bring them back to Arabia. The nascent movement faced growing opposition and persecution. When Rasullullah saw and his companions received an invitation from the people of Yathrib, they decided to leave Makkah.In September 622 M, the Prophet Muhammad saw and his companions immigrated to the city of Yathrib, 320 km north of Makkah. Yathrib was soon renamed Madinat un-Nabi, literately "the City of the Prophet", but ‘un-Nabi’ was soon dropped, so its name in English is Medina, meaning "the city". The Muslim year during which the Hijrah occurred was designated the first year of the Islamic calendar by the second Caliph saidina Umar Ibn Khattab ra. in 638 M. 17 AH (anno hegirae = "in the year of the hijra").

A Rainforest in Cairo?

Rainforest in Cairo? You must be kidding! Situated under the tropic of cancer, it is quite impossible to find one. However, you will find one at the fifth floor of the City Star Shopping complex, the biggest shopping complex in Egypt – a Rainforest Café

Decorated with green artificial and live plants, aquarium, waterfall, mechanical reptiles, insects and mammals like crocodiles, panda bears, orang-utan, lions, butterflies, and other insects, the café is just like in one of the jungle in the rainforest reserve of Borneo Island of Malaysia.
The Boys had obviously enjoying the ambience and definitely the foods. It was another experience having dinner in the 6 star restaurant. Lucky them!

The cute but serious Afiqah having serious discussion with her counterpart.

The women had surely entertained by the awesome team, program and atmosphere.

Except me, the scrumptious foods and bevearages spoilt the kids and others. My performance was at the bottom curve wrecked havoc by the cough, flu and fever. Hence, I did not really enjoy the foods. Alhamdullilah, the jungle vegetable soup and lemon juice managed boosting my apetite a little bit.

Despite my usual jovial impression, deep in my head, the notorious virus infected my nerves and brain cell, forced me to short circuit the program, and excused myself earlier from the Jungle.

The wonderful Q4 PETRONAS ELNG Secondees dinner had certainly delighted all the family members.

Adnan's Clan & Laksa Sarawak ala Alex

Sarawak laksa or in Malay: Laksa Sarawak comes from the town of Kuching in the Malaysian state Sarawak. It is actually very different from the curry laksa as the soup contains no curry in its ingredient at all. It has a base of prawn paste or Sambal belacan, sour tamarind, garlic, galangal, lemon grass and coconut milk, topped with omelet strips, chicken strips, prawns, fresh coriander and optionally lime. Ingredients such as bean sprouts, (sliced) fried tofu or other seafood are not traditional but are sometimes added.
Any visit to Sarawak, Malaysia especially to the major cities and towns like Kuching, Bintulu, Sibu and Miri would not be complete without a indulging in the very delicious Sarawak Laksa. You will have to be there early to catch a bowl.
Nana cooked/prepared Sarawak Laksa this morning. We invited Adnan & his clan, Zahrul, Ahmed Sharifuddin and Kamarul over and we had a good time. All were spoilt by the hot spicy Laksa but we felt something was lacking. Could it be the Laksa paste was not spicy enough? Some of the ingredients were lacking, hence, Laksa Sarawak ala Alex!

The Hot Spicy Laksa Sarawak

The recipe of Sarawak Laksa - good for 16 bowls. Enjoy!
Ingredients

• 750 grammes of Bee Hoon (rice vermicelli) (pre-soaked)
• 1.2 kilogrammes of medium-sized prawns (with head and shell)
• 1.5 kilogramme chicken (whole bird minus the head and feet)
• 5 eggs
• 500 grammes of bean sprouts
• 16 to 20 pieces of lime
• 900 grammes of Sarawak Laksa paste (varieties of brands)
• Coconut milk from 1 1/2 coconuts (about 300 mls)
• Salt and sugar to taste
• 20 bowls of water (about 8 litres)
• Coriander leaves (for garnishing)

The Process

1] Beat eggs and fry them thinly on a frying pan. Cut into strips. Set aside.
2]Boil 4 litres of water in a stock pot. Upon boiling, add 2 teaspoons of salt followed by prawns. 3]Boil the prawns till they start to float indicating that they are cooked. Remove the prawns and let it cool.
4]Separately, boil 4 litres of water in another stock pot. Upon boiling, add 2 teaspooons of salt followed by the chicken. Boil till chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove chicken and let it cool.
5]Remove head and shell from prawn. Put back the head and shell into the first pot, cover lid and continue boiling for at least 2 hours on medium heat. Place prawn aside.
6]Remove chicken meat from bones and shred it. Put back the chicken bones into the second pot, cover lid and continue boiling for at least 2 hours on medium heat. Place shredded chicken meat aside.
7]Once both stocks are cooked, remove heads and shells of prawns as well as chicken bones. Combine the stock into one pot. Add Sarawak Laksa paste and let it boil at medium to high heat for at least 30 minutes.
8]Using freshly boiled water, blanch the bean sprouts in 3 batches for 1 minute each. Drain bean sprouts and set aside.
9]Next, cook the pre-soaked Beehoon in 4 to 5 batches by blanching them in boiling water for at least 1 minute. Drain and set aside.
10]After the Sarawak Laksa paste has been left boiling for at least 30 minutes, turn off heat and sieve and remove the spice from the stock. Bring the stock (now laksa soup) to boil again. Turn off heat and add coconut milk gradually whilst stirring. Add salt and sugar to suit your taste.

Alexandria Zoo during Winter

Why must we celebrate our Birthday?

In Our Opinion: Housewife - a Noble Profession

No matter what most of the people especially in Malaysia perceived it, I assertively believe that, from many perspectives, housewife is a noble profession which has significant roles in the corporate world at large. Defending on how we define the term ‘WORK’, housewife is an occupation or a job or a position where one should fulfill certain requirements, must posses certain knowledge and skills before she could be fill up the box. It is a career by itself of which one should be considered career women as well.
On this memorable day of mine, 11.12.2008, allow me to elaborate further my perception and opinion about this noble profession called housewife: It is somehow or rather; implanted amongst many Malaysian amidst the modernization of the socio economy, always underestimated and categorized the non-working women as the second class ‘citizen’ in the society. To them ‘working, is defined as someone who earn their living by going to office employed by any organizations, consequently, got paid monthly. Thus, if you fall in this category or definition, you are considered a career high class woman!
Sometime you hear “ hey, she is not working….. a housewife” or “ you are much better than her, you have a better job in KL…” To me that kind of odd remark only came from a narrow minded person.
The word ‘WORKING’ has a very broad meaning and to me, anyone, I mean any men or women who do something for living whether monthly or daily paid monetarily or intangibly paid are considered working. By having said that, irrespective of what you do be it in an office as a Clerk, CEO, Managers, Office Boy, Clerk, Officers or; as Sherpa in the mountain; Fishermen; Farmer; a Captain navigating ship; Footballers; Entertainers such as Singer, Dancer, Musician, Comedian, etc.; Artist; Sellers or Marketers or last but not least Homemaker, you are considered ‘working’. You are said to have roles to play, job to be completed, responsibilities to shoulder and goals to achieve. And, you are equally important, not more or less, in the supply & demand chain; in the communities and in the corporate societies.
The function of the Homemaker or Housewife is not only confined to preparing of foods or washing and ironing of clothes. The Job Description stipulates at least 4 main functions:

1] Managing and planning of daily Food and Beverages which includes; planning of the menu; budgeting; purchasing the raw materials, preparing and serving the meals and housekeeping.
2] Managing, counseling and tutoring children (for those who children) school activities which covers; ensuring their homework or assignment is properly completed, comforting them if they have problems, etc.

3] Managing household budget and monitoring financial performance
4] Social Director – Managing and planning of family social events like wedding reception, appointment with doctor, other receptions, etc.

From the Islamic perspective, what I’ve learnt from many pious religious guru, preacher, Maulana and Sheikh when I was in Pakistan, most of them concluded that the top 5 jobs for any Muslims is as per the hierarchy below:
1] Ibadah
2] Dakwah
3] Running own Business
4] Farming or Fishing
5] Working with someone

6] Begging

Looking at it religiously though, the job of homemaking or housewife is much better and much noble than being employed by someone. In other words to put it up, the roles of a Personal Assistant of a CEO in any big organizations or a Senior Manager of a big multinationals and a HOUSEWIFE are equally important. However, a housewife is much less expose to many unwanted affairs as compared to any women who work ‘outside’ the house. One simple example, a working woman sometime has to work odd hours in odd areas with men due to work requirement or in short, she has to comply and obey someone’s rules rather than her husband’s! As far as I’m concerned, this is not a healthy phenomenon. One of the articles that I read published by yahoo.com, it says, 40% of broken marriage was caused by working women. Think about it.

In the nutshell, a housewife is a profession which is equally important in the corporate world that requires certain professional knowledge, experience and skills. In fact, a woman who is filling up the box is considered a WORKING woman.

439 KM Haiyu Ashar - Jabel Musa Trip

In the morning of 11 Dzulhijjah 1429, the first day of Tashrik, while about 2 millions Muslims are at Mina and Makkah, we made our first step at 08:30 am from Rumah Kenyalang at El Haiyu El Ashar heading towards Suez. Albeit our tired muscles, we were energized and excited! Arrived at Ahmed Hamdy Tunnel (AHT) around 10:05 am. Some statistics about the AHT which I read from the internet: The AHT runs under the Suez Canal at about 17 km to the north of Suez city, connecting the Sinai Peninsula with the eastern lands of Egypt. The construction of the tunnel was completed in 1983 with the open face shield tunneling method and was the first project in the plan set for the development of the peninsula. The tunnel is 1.64 km with a total length of 4.20 km including the entrances. Its internal diameter is 10.40m providing two lanes with a width of 7.5 m for traffic and a longitudinal slope of 3.8%. The designed traffic capacity is 300 vehicles per hour for each direction.The original tunnel lining consisted of precast reinforced concrete rings, 0.60 m thick. Each ring has a length of 1.20 m and consists of 16 segments including the key segment. The route of the tunnel is in a stiff impermeable clay layer. The lowest point in the tunnel is at a depth of 51 m.

30 km from the AHT, we stopped at Uyun Musa dsitrict or Ain Musa - Musa Spring. The district, according to one of the soldier that we met near the Uyun Musa Fortified Firing Position memorial, kept two important historical events: A place where Israelites landed and positioned their artilleries during the 6 Days War in 1967. Secondly, thousand years back, it was said that when Prophet Musa a.s. and his followers – the Jews landed at the Sinai Peninsula after being chased by the Pharaoh, crossing the Red Sea, he used his stick and the miracle bestowed by the Almighty Allah swt, water came out from the twelve rocks or areas for the 12 Jewish tribes. However, sad and sorry to mention that the place is an eye soar; there is no proper signage or information board, the entrance is decorated with trash and the empty springs are full with refuse. There are three springs still available and according to one of the tourist police, the remaining 9 springs were covered by the Israelites! Nevertheless, personally, I still doubt the evidences of the so called story as there is also another Ain Musa at Wadi Musa, Petra in Jordan?!Allah Hu Alam.
At about 11:40 hrs, 104 km from Uyun Musa, we stopped at Abu Zenimah as a humble servant to Allah Rabbul Jalil answering His call for the Dzuhur prayer. Alhamdullillah, we prayed Jama’ for Dzuhur & ‘Asar, a gift by Allah swt for musafirin or travelers who travels for Allah swt. Abu Zenimah has no significant history to share. However, the exquisite beach facing the historic Red Sea lured people to stop enjoying the charming breeze. And, the treasure stored underneath him – the black gold has placed Abu Zenimah’s name so significant in the Sinai Peninsula map.
We made another pit stop after the Watia Pass around 13:25 hrs; stretched our legs and bodies, answered our natures’ calls and filled up our tanks with some locally made breads and muffins. Watia Pass is range of gorgeous mountains abstract and contemporarily landscaped by the Al-Mighty Allah Azza Wa Jala. There were so amazing that one will be astonished by the natural colors and original shapes made of sandstone, marble, granite, quartz, etc. Amid the scenic landscape, the Kids took the opportunity skateboarded the Ras Sharatib – Mount Musa Highway, another lifetime experience.
We reached the entrance of the St Catherine’s perimeter gate, which is about 5 km to the town center at 14:10 hrs. We have to stop for the security inspection and as usual in Egypt; entrance tickets which cost us LE 35 for 7 persons are essential. Situated at about a kilometer from the gate, one said a tomb of Prophet Salih a.s. We stopped to have a closer look of the tomb area. With a mixed feeling though, the small mosque-like building is smeared with graffiti and litters. There are also other Bedouins graveyards around the area.
We finally reached the 434 km milestone at the roundabout which split the St Catherine’s town and the foot of the Mount Musa at 14:20 hrs. Alhamdullillah Salamah … Allahu Salamaik.
On the way to the Mount Musa’s foot, we spent about 15 minutes at an area one called the Golden Calf believed to be a place where Samiri impatiently diverted the faith of the Prophet Musa a.s. believers; built and placed the Golden Calf statue whilst Prophet Musa a.s. spent 40 days and 40 nights met the Al-Mighty Allah swt at about 2285 meters above the sea-level at the peak of now called Mount Musa to receive the commandments. In this area, you could obviously see a calf-like rock which is said to be the remnant or fossil of the Golden Calf statue. Personally, it is hard to believe though. Allah Hu Alam.
Adjacent to the Golden Calf area, is the Prophet Harun a.s’s hill. One could see the tomb said to be Prophet Harun’s?! Geographically and from the Al-Quran, there is some alignment with the stories, but I'm still in doubt mainly due to the fact that, the Jordanian also claimed that the tomb of Prophet Harun a.s. situated at Wadi Musa at the Nabatean district. Well, we need to read & study more. Allah Hu Alam.
Here we are, clocked-in at 14:43 hrs at the foot of Mount Musa. The temperature was 16 degrees Centigrade. One of the souvenir shops Assistant excitingly recognised us - the Malaysian and was able to say few Malay vocabularies! The place is decent and the ambience was awesome.

169 KM Jabel Musa - Taba Trip

Our next destination was Taba, 169 km away from Jabel Musa. We departed Jabel Musa with mixed feeling – disappointment and excitement; disappointed that the so called Islamic historical evidence or spots are not properly maintained and managed. In fact, the spots' authenticities are still being challenged by the Western Scholars, Historian and archeologists. Some claimed that, Mount Sinai is situated in the Northern part of Saudi Arabia, in the Eastern side of Gulf of Aqaba. And, as far as my knowledge is concerned, no Islamic Scholars tried to proof the histories which have been stipulated in the Holy AL-Quran 1428 years ago.
The journey to Taba was thrilled by the winding Nuweiba highway sandwich by Jabel Gunna and Jabel Umm. An hour after departing Jabel Musa, the swaying but smooth highway forced us to stop, wrecked havoc our headache and one of us thrown-out. The rest took the opportunity to show their mountaineering skills.
Arrived at Nuweiba around 16:40 hrs. We performed our Maghrib and ‘Isya prayers at Nuweiba Mosque. Subsequently, went around the small town and decided moving off at 17:30 hrs to Taba.
We approached Taba’s night skyline at about 18:15 hrs. One could hardly see the beach-line and the rugged mountain ranges on the right. However, we were amazed by the glittering Red Sea poured by the striking lights from all 5 and 6 Stars Resorts along the 20 km Taba’s beach. There were no towns except resorts along the Nuweiba – Taba highway. Luckily, 50 meters before the exclusive Taba Heights entrance, a very pleasant restaurant next to Esso Gas station called SeaView Restaurant catered our empty ‘tanks’ and energized our tired muscle with delicious & scrumptious grilled chickens, locally prepared macaroni, Egyptian rice and Chai bi Laban. All these cost us LE 190. We captured the charming scene the next morning at around 08:30hrs. A very unusual scene for us though, you could watch some wild camels loitering around the beach scavenging for food.

Alhamdullillah Salamah, praise only for Allah swt that we had safely arrived at the eastern tip of Egypt, the southern gate to Israel – Taba. Taba is the border town of Egypt-Israel border. You could cross the border to visit Aqaba, Jordan via Elat, Israel by paying LE 63 per person and LE29 for the car. At this point, there are two 5 Stars hotels – Hilton Taba and Movenpick. Newly built Hotel Sand is not operating yet. Basically, there are no shops, restaurants, information center and other public amenities except the three hotels, Immigration office, Check points, Power station and flag memorial at this tip. Taxi services are easily available. This is what we called the missed opportunity! You could spend your shopping time and other activities at Elat which is just 2 km away across the border. Unfortunately, we Malaysians were prohibited to enter Israel due to diplomatic reason. However, we managed to capture few photos at the No Man land.
The No Man land between Egypt and Israel. Our lifetime experience and a dream came through. Million of Thanks PETRONAS.

263 KM Taba - Suez Trip

10.12.2008, the sun obediently started its tasks as directed by the Almighty Allah swt, brighten up the Gulf of Aqaba from the Northern hemisphere of Saudi Arabia and the Southern tip of Jordan. It freshen us up while we prepared our journey back to Alexandria.

We spent one night at Saleh El Din Village a 3 Stars resort situated 10 km from the border. The exhaustive 9 hours strenuous trip was turned-off mentally by the hospitality of the Resorts’ staff. The Duty Manager, Mr. Ahmed welcomed and ushered us with his jovial but pleasant character, boosted our laziness. Nevertheless, our tiredness pushed us to doze off like a full hippopotamus. The one night stay; 2 double rooms and 1 single had cost us USD 150 with breakfast.
Rejuvenated by the cozy Saleh El Din Village ambience, we loaded back our ‘tanks’ with an Egyptian breakfast. The locally prepared kidney beans mixed with the local vegetables and the egg cakes were really mouthwatering. There were group of Estonian tourist having their breakfast in the nice restaurant. In line with the name of the resort, the interior design of the restaurant is fixed with the ancient Roman stuffs and mural painting which denotes the famous Islamic warrior – Saleh El Din fighting in the battlefield.
The resort has one big swimming pool; children play ground; souvenir shops; executive boats and above all, a gorgeous beach line. About 200 meters from the beach, one can see a small castle-like island called Saleh El Din Castle. Honestly, I am not pretty sure what stored inside it, but you can make arrangement with the resort to visit the island besides snorkeling, diving and other water activities. We spent sometime exploring the beach before we resumed our journey at 09:00 hrs.
This sector of our journey was not really entertaining with nothing much to see except deserts cut through by the straight Taba – Suez highway. However, the first 28 km portion of the trip was swung by the new Taba by-pass with sharp bends and thrilled corners. With 2 pit-stops, 4 Check-Points stops and crossed about 2 km stretch of gravel road near the Mitia Pass, alhamdullillah, we reached the Ahmed Hamdy Tunnel around 12:15 hrs. The 3 hours and 15 minutes trip consumed our mental and physical stamina enormously which influenced our decision to stop at the Suez Ahmed Hamdy Tunnel Rest. Here we unloaded all the waste products, fulfilled our responsibilities as the humble servant of the Almighty Allah Rabbul Jalil and loaded back our tanks to re-energize our muscles. In general, the facilities of the rest area were commendable: the mosque, the hammams, the shops and the Suez Rest Restaurant were very impressive. We continued our journey back home, Alexandria, after spending about 2 hours at the rest area.

The Trip Summary

The nineteen and half (19.5) hours on the road; eight and half (8.5) hours exploring the Almighty Allah Rabbul Jalil’s creation and the Egyptian treasures and spent USD 150 for the accommodation, USD 120 for the foods & beverages and USD 95 for others, had added very valuable experiences and knowledge to our life. Alhamdullillah, the trip was smooth as planed with no unwanted circumstances occurred and we were all blessed by Allah swt with good health. Million of thanks to Allah Azza Wa Jala. The experiences that 7 of us: Nana, 'Afi, Muhammad Afiq, Muhammad Asri, Muhammad Aiman, Afiqah and I gained and the knowledge that we learnt had surely make us a new better persons, InsyaAllah. The journey continues....

Eidul Adha 2008:The Big Feast at El-Haiyu El-Ashar

ALHAMDULLILLAH, Praise Only to Allah Azza Wajalla, this is our third year celebrating one of the most significant events in the Muslim Hijr Calendar, the Eidhul Adha in Egypt and the second time we celebrated the occasion with the Al-Azhar students at El Haiyu ElAshar, Qahirah, especially the Sarawakian at the ‘Rumah Kenyalang’ aka Rumah Sarawak (RS)
The RS were very delighted and proud this year that they successfully arranged a big Camel for the ‘Sacrifice’ of ELNG Secondees – Adnan Zainal Abidin; Kamarul Tajul Arifin; Yusmadi Yusof; Ahmad Zaidi Hatta; Zahrul Ali and me. On behalf of RS, I would like to record our heartiest and sincere thanks to all of them. Other than the big size camel, 2 local goats and 1 sheep were slaughtered. May Allah swt give His blessing to all of us and may our Sacrifices be accepted by Him.
Early in the morning, 30 minutes after the sunrise, we performed our Eidul Adha Prayer at As Salam mosque at El-Haiyu El Ashar. The mosque is too small to cater for the big congregation.
The Malaysian Embassy organized the Eidul Adha Prayer at the open area of the Malaysian students’s complex at El Haiyu El Ashara. His Excellency, TYT Datuk Zainal himself recited the sermon and among others, he advised the congregation to work hard, show good leadership examples to others for Allah swt. ‘Afi, Muhammad Afiq and Muhammad Asri joined them as the prayer commenced a little bit later. This year, amid the hazy economic weather, the complex successfully managed 8 Camels; 13 Cows and about 50 goats & sheep for the big feats – the sacrifices. Allah hu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, WalillahhilHamdu.
The RS crew – the future leaders - after the Eidul Adha. May Allah’s Blessing be always with them, make them the better persons that will lead others to the right path and pass their examinations with flying colors.
Yunus, Ahmad Zaidi, Saiful, Yusmadi, Zahrul and Kamarul spent their times with the RS crew to give moral support and to witness their Dahiyah – the sacrifices. Unfortunately, Ahmad Sharifuddin and Adnan Datuk Zainal Abidin who also particpated in the sacrifice were not able to join the big feast.

In Our Opinion: The Feast of Sacrifice

Eidul Adha (عيد الأضحى) or the Festival of Sacrifice is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim a.s. to sacrifice his son Prophet Ismail a.s. an act of obedience to Allah swt. The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey Allah swt and spare his son. As Prophet Ibrahim a.s. was about to sacrifice his son, Allah swt intervened and instead provided a lamb as the sacrifice. This is why today all over the world Muslims who have the means, to sacrifice an animal like camel, cow, sheep or goat, as a reminder of Ibrahim's obedience to Allah swt. The meat is then shared out with family, friends, as well as the poor members of the community.
In our opinion, there are several other important lessons that we should learn from the history of Eidul Adha:
1] There is no short cut in life: To achieve anything you have to work hard, sacrificing your time, physical and mental day and night before actually you harvest the results. As the saying goes; it is not about the destination but the journey itself. The efforts are more important than the results.
2] One must have the will to sacrifice something that he likes or loves for Allah swt so as to earn His Blessings and recognition. That was why we were asked to spend our time, efforts and wealth to the path of Allah swt leaving our beloved family, house and friends to enhance our Iman. Iman, the inner strength given by Allah swt the most gracious and merciful, to those who had worked sincerely hard for it. Iman is very essential for us to comply with our Islamic demand, subsequently our life thereafter.

3] The more you give the more you will be compensated by Allah Rabbul Jalil. Energy receive, energy return. Aspiring others everywhere.

Eidul Adha annually falls on the 10th day of the month of Dzulhijjah of the lunar Islamic calendar. The festivities last for three days or more depending on the country. Eid al-Adha occurs the day after the pilgrims conducting Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Arafat. It happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan
Four thousand years ago the valley of Mecca was a dry and uninhabited place. Prophet Ibrahim a.s. was instructed to bring his wife's servant, Hajar and their child Ismail a.s. to Arabia from Palestine by Allah swt's command. With some supplies of food and water he left them without wanting, his wife Hajar asked him: "Who ordered you to leave us here", Ibrahim a.s. replied:"Allah", she said: "than Allah will not forget us, you can go". However the supplies quickly ran out and within a few days Hajar and Ismail a.s. were suffering from hunger and dehydration. In her desperation Hajar ran up and down two hills called Safa and Marwa trying to see if she could spot any help in the distance. Finally she collapsed beside her baby Ismail a.s. and prayed to Allah swt for deliverance. Ismail a.s. strucked his foot on the ground and this caused a spring of water to gush forth from the earth. Hajar and Ismail a.s. were saved. Now they had a secure water supply they were able to trade water with passing nomads for food and supplies.

After a while the Prophet Ibrahim a.s. returned from Palestine to check on his family and he was amazed to see them running a profitable well. The Prophet Ibrahim a.s. was told by Allah to build a shrine dedicated to him. Ibrahim a.s. and Ismail a.s. constructed a small stone structure – the Kaabah - which was to be the gathering place for all who wished to strengthen their faith in Allah. As the years passed Ismail was blessed with Prophethood and he gave the nomads of the desert the message of surrender to Allah swt.
After many centuries, Makkah became a thriving city, thanks to its reliable water source, the well of Zam Zam.In the year 628 the Prophet Muhammad saw set out on a journey with 1400 of his followers. This was the first pilgrimage in Islam, and would re-establish the religious traditions of the Prophet Ibrahim a.s. The above photo was taken an hour before the camel was sacrifice at El-Haiyu El-Ashar, infront of Rumah Kenyalang aka Rumah Sarawak.