Finally....

   Finally, I was chosen by Allah as His guest to perform umrah. Thanks to my younger brother, Azman who fully sponsored me for this. To Saudi Arabia, we flew on 12 December 2015 by Kuwait Air. Our group consisted of 10 (5 males & 5 females including the determined blind male). My tears were keep flowing whenever I saw the Holy Baitullah or praying (solat & doa) just in front of Kaabah. O Allah! Do accept my umrah & ibadah in particular & the ibadah of my younger brother, Azman. After  a few days in the Holy City of Makkah, we then travelled to the second Holy City which is Medina.

   Besides performing the ibadahs in Masjidil Haram (where the Baitullah is located), we also visited the base of Jabal Nur, Jabal Rahmah & some places for hajj rituals. I joined another group to climb over to Hira’ Cave. In Medina, we visited the Uhud War site, Quba’ Mosque. I had a chance to jointly carry a body to Baqi’ Cemetery just besides the Masjidil Nabawi. In these two mosques (Masjidil Haram & Masjidil Nabawi), a special prayer (for dead people) is always performed following  compulsory (wajib) prayers. My tears were also keep running down whenever I recited a prayer (doa) at the grave of Rasulullah s.a.w. I also visited the graves of Saiyidina Abu Bakar As-Siddiq & Saiyidina Umar Al-Khattab….

   To be here is every Muslim’s wish. Here, we must be strong, both physically & mentally. Here, patience is very important element too. The people have come from all corners of the globe. Here, we do not have something else in our mind except fully doing the ibadah. May Allah do accept all our ibadah & good deeds. May Allah open our heart & mind to be one of His  best servants/creatures.

Kemunting

Rhodomyrtus tomentosa or the Rose Myrtle (known as kemunting in Malaysia) is a woody plant with pink flowers. It is commonly found especially in the open sandy ground on the seashore/river sandy banks. Its shrub is about 3 metre tall. Its leaves are ovate, leathery & about 4-6 cm in length. The fruits (berries) are oblong, topped by persistent sepals & ripening to purple. The fleshy berry is sweet & aromatic.  The plant belongs to the family of Myrtaceae; same family with Malaysian jambu air (Eugenia spp.) & gelam (Melaleuca spp.). The plant is very free-flowering & grows abundantly. The fruits are also can be used to treat dysentery & diarrhoea. In fact, its leaves can be used to heal the wounds.

Cashew

The tree normally has large leaves & pink flowers. The fruit of the cashew trees can be divided into the cashew apple & cashew nut. Cashew apple is rich with vitamin C, refreshing & very juicy. The cashew nut (inside the ‘kidney’ shell) is attached to the bottom of the cashew apple.

The Cashew, Anacardium occidentale L., comes from the Anacardiaceae family. New foliage contains reddish pigment. They are borne terminally on panicles, generally at the beginning of the dry season.

The cashew tree’s leaves & bark as well as the cashew apple possess herbal health benefits such as the ability of killing bacteria & germs, stopping diarrhea, increasing the libido, and reducing blood sugar, blood pressure & body temperature. Cashew nut contains high levels of the essential minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper & manganese. Cashew nuts are also known to be a ‘low-fat’ nut.  Cashew apples have the anti-bacterial properties.