Thursday, August 6, 2009

What French Mothers Teach Their Daughters

According to Susan Sommers author of "French Chic" young girls in France are taught to "appreciate and to emphasize their most unique and striking, even offbeat, natural assets." They are to taught to feel "bien dans leur peau" -- good in their skin. Sommers says that it is this confidence with their bodies that gives the French woman the power to look chic and lovely no matter what her actual physical features are.

The mothers pass down to their daughters a confidence and natural self-respect and self-appreciation. By believing in herself the French woman radiates poise and beauty. The French girl learns from a young age to be at ease with her body both dressed and undressed, for beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

I am reminded of this lesson when I watched a play at our local theater. The lead actress though very heavy set, appeared in a skimpy negligee. She was confident, and absolutely radiated sexuality. Her beauty was completely shining forth in her attitude alone.

Here in the States we are often bought up to cover up. To be ashamed of our bodies if they are the least bit of what we consider imperfect. So it can become difficult for us, growing up in a society that covets physical perfection, to relearn how to appreciate a variety of shapes and sizes and enjoy them.

What to do? How can we overcome this cultural standard that shuns all but the perfect Barbie form? Start with yourself. Learn to like, even love what you have always criticized because your beauty comes from the inside-out, not the other way around. Remember, "The Barbie" is a fake illusion.

Instead of seeing your body as parts, see your body as a fluid whole. Stand tall and walk proudly. Appreciate what your body has to offer you.

Simple Steps To Body Love:

1. Treat your body like a good friend, by feeding it well, getting adequate sleep, and taking care of it.
2. Pamper your body. Lotions on the skin, manicures - things that make you feel good.
3. Send yourself positive messages (no constant self criticism). And not putting yourself down with other people either!
4. So my (fill in the blank) isn't perfect. Does it really matter?
5. Surround yourself with what you love and enjoy.

Cultivate this attitude of internal confidence and it will show through in your walk, your talk, and you'll notice the difference it makes in how people respond to you as well!

Monday, August 3, 2009

DO YOU WANT TO FINISH READING THE HOLLY QUR'AN THIS RAMADHAN?



All you have to do is to read around 4.5 pages after each prayer


CHECK THIS OUT

4.5

X


5



X

30



=


604

=

WOW!!!

WHAT AN INVESTMENT!!!


If you are in real hurry you can finish it once every two months by reading just 2 pages.


And remember, each letter you read in Qur'an counts 10 hasanat.















Sunday, July 19, 2009

JIHAD DI BUMI ISRAK

Bulan Rejab sangat berkait rapat dengan peristiwa Isra' dan Mi'raj. Ia merupakan satu bukti tentang kebesaran, kekuasaan dan kehebatan Allah SWT yang memperjalankan hamba iaitu Muhammad SAW dari Masjidil Haram di Mekah ke Masjid Al-Aqsa, Baitul Muqadis di Palestin dan seterusnya Nabi s.a.w di angkat kelangit untuk bertemu dengan Allah SWT.

Firman Allah SWT dalam Surah Al-Isra' ayat 1:

"Maha suci Allah yang telah menjalankan hambaNya (Muhammad) pada malam hari dari Masjid Al-Haraam (di Makkah) ke Masjid Al-Aqsa (di Palestin), yang Kami berkati sekelilingnya, untuk memperlihatkan kepadanya tanda-tanda (kekuasaan dan kebesaran) kami. Sesungguhnya Allah jualah yang Maha Mendengar, lagi Maha mengetahui." (Al-Isra' ayat 1)

Peristiwa ini berlaku dua tahun sebelum bginda hijrah ke Madinah. Ia sangat menguji keimanan dan keyakinan umat Islam terhadap kekuasan Allah serta bukti kebenaran kenabian Nabi Muhammad SWT kerana bagi pandangan orang-orang yang tidak beriman atau tipis imannya mereka menyatakan bahawa peristiwa Isra' dan Mi'raj ini tidak mungkin akan berlaku dan tidak mempercayainya. Tetapi bagi orang-orang yang benar-benar beriman kepada Allah dan rasulnya, mereka bertambah tetap keimanannya dan keyakinan serta meperakui kebenaran peristiwa tersebut.

Walaupun nabi sentiasa mendapat ujian dengan kematian isteri tersayang iaitu Saidatina Khadijah yang menjadi pendorong dakwah dan perjuangan baginda, kemudian kematian bapa saudaranya Abu Talib yang menjadi penaung daripada asakan dan tekanan kafir Quraish, namun baginda tetap bersabar dan tabah menghadapinya, baginda tidak bertindak balas terhadap penganiayaan tersebut, tetapi sebaliknya baginda berdoa dengan penuh harapan atas pertolongan Allah SWT.

Inilah tahunnya yang digelar tahun dukacita ‘Amul Hazan', lantas Allah SWT mengangkat baginda di Isra' dan Mi'rajkan, untuk mendorong serta menghiburkan hati baginda SAW.

Setiap kali kita membicarakan peristiwa Isra' dan Mi'raj, maka jiwa kita akan tersentuh, mengenang nasib kedudukan dan keadaan bumi Isra', iaitu Baitul Muqadis dan Masjidil Aqsa yang kini dijajah oleh Yahudi La'natulllah. Pada suasana kita menyambut Isra' dan mi'raj ini umat Islam akan segera memperingati nakbah atau malam petala yang meninpa umat Islam Palestin yang sehingga kini terus menderita sejak 61 tahun yang lalu.

Cengkaman ini bermula semenjak persidangan Basel di Switzerland pada 31 Ogos 1897 iaitu permulaan kepada sejarah tercetusnya gerakan untuk menubuhkan sebuah Negara untuk umat Yahudi. Diikuti pula dengan deklerasi Balfor pada 15 Mei 1984, yang disokong sepenuhnya oleh Amerika Syarikat, akhirnya penubuhan dan pengistiharan Negara Yahudi yang bernama Israel ini, telah benar-benar berlaku.
Tentra Israel telah melancarkan pembersihan etnik, iaitu sejumlah lapan ratus ribu orang atau tiga perempat daripada rakyat Israel, dihalau keluar dari kediaman mereka. Mereka terpaksa berpindah tanpa kerelaan mereka.

Kini sudah enam dekad berlalu pelarian Palestin hidup dalam kemiskinan dan penafian keperluan asas yang sangat parah. Mereka terpaksa hidup tanpa makanan yang mencukupi, tanpa tempat tinggal, tanpa pekerjan, pendidikan dan kemudahan rawatan. Sekiranya ada tempat-tempat kemudahan awam seumpama hospital, sekolah dan universiti sentiasa menjadi sasaran bom, malah tanah perkuburan menerima nasib yang sama dan nasib mereka hingga kini tidak dipeduli oleh masyarakat antarabangsa yang didominasi oleh Amerika Syarikat.

Sebagai hasil gerakan zionis Yahudi ini, sekarang bumi Palestin telah dicerobohi oleh enam juta orang Yahudi. Lebih memilukan lagi, mereka hidup dalam kepungan umpama penjara di tanah air mereka sendiri, seperti di semenanjung Gaza sementara lima juta rakyat Palestin yang lain menjadi pelarian disekitar negara-negara di timur tengah. Sebanyak 80 kem pelarian kini menampung satu juta pelarian Palestin di Jordan, Lubnan dan Syiria. Firman Allah SWT dalm surah Al-Maedah ayat 82:

Maksudnya:

"Demi Sesungguhnya Engkau (Wahai Muhammad) akan dapati manusia yang keras sekali permusuhannya kepada orang-orang yang beriman ialah orang-orang yahudi dan orang-orang musyrik."(Al-Maedah ayat 82)
Amat wajar bagi kita umat Islam, bangkit mempertingkatkan perjuangan menegakkan Islam di mana-mana sahaja. Tidak sekali-sekali memberi ruang kepada Negara-negara umat Islam seluruh dunia menjadi batu loncatan Yahudi untuk mengiktiraf dan merestui kewujudan Negara haram itu. Sebaliknya Yahudi tidak pernah mengiktiraf kewujudan bangsa dan agama lain, sebagiman firman Allah dalm surah Al-Baqarah ayat 120:
Maksudnya:
"Orang-orang Yahudi dan Nasrani tidak sekali-kali akan bersetuju atau suka kepadamu (Wahai Muhammad) sehingga Engkau menurut agama mereka (yang telah terpesong itu)."(Al-Baqarah ayat 120)
Maka kita sebagai umat Islam yang bermaruah, dengan tegas mengutuk dan mengecam sekeras-kerasnya, kekejaman dan tindakan jahat yang dilakukan oleh rejim Yahudi. Kerana ia bukan sahaja telah melanggar hak asasi kemanusiaan, tetapi ia memberi kesan yang cukup besar terutamanya ke atas Masjid Al-Aqsa yang merupakan qiblat pertama umat Islam dan sejarah Isra' baginda SAW.
Sikap kita menyembut ketibaan Isra' dan Mi'raj, bukan sahaj memahami peristiwa dan pengajran ketika Rasulullah SAW diIsra'kan atau diMi'rajkan semata-mata, tetapi yang lebih penting ialah tindakan kita membantu bumi Palestin samada dengan bantuan kewangan, tekanan politik kepada Israel atau apa sahaja bagi menyelamatkan dan memerdekakn bumi Isra' daripada cengkaman Yahudi.
Perpecahan di kalangan pemimpin umat Islam telah membuka ruang yang luas kepada zionis Yahudi, untuk terus menganas di bumi Palestin. Perasaan tidak menghargai betapa bernilai Masjid Al-Aqsa yang merupakan qiblah pertama umat Islam dan tamak kepada habuan dunia yang membara dalam diri umat Islam, adalah menjadi punca utama, kepada penerusan tindakan zalim dan ganas rejim Yahudi terhadap saudara seagama kita di Palestin.
Semuanya itu membuka luas ruang kepada musuh-musuh Islam, untuk membunuh umat Islam tanpa rasa takut dan bimbang. Perasaan-perasan inilah yang merebak hingga keseluruh negar umat Islam, sehingga seolah-olahnya luntur semangat jihad di kalangan Umat Islam.Oleh sebab itulah sempena kita menyambut Isra' dan Mi'raj, hendaklah terlakar dalm diri kita sebagai umat Islam untuk berjuang bersungguh-sungguh, memerangi golongan Yahudi ini, sehingga berakhirnya bangsa zalim ini, sebagaimana hadis Nabi SAW yang diriwayatkan oleh Muslim yang bermaksud:
"Tidak berlaku Kiamat sehingga orang Islam memerangi kaum Yahudi maka mereka akn diperangi oleh orang Islam sehingga Yahudi akan bersembunyi disebalik batu dan pokok lalu berkatalah batu atau pokok: "Wahai orang Islam Hamba Allah!, Ini dia Yahudi dibelakangku maka datanglah dan bunuhlah dia." melainkan pokok Karkad maka sesungguhnya ia merupakan pokok Yahudi."
Sepanjang perjalanan Isra' dan Mi'raj, Rasulullah SAW telah menyaksikan beberapa gambaran perilaku umat manusia samada mereka beriman atau pun tidak. Malah satu peristiwa yang wajr untuk kita sama-sama ambil iktibar ialah apabila baginda perlihatkan baginda sekumpulan manusia yang tidak mampu mengangkat beban tetapi semakin ditambah bebannya adalah gambaran amanah yang belum mampu dilaksanakan, tetapi meminta amanah lain untuk dibuat, pengajarannya ialah sebaiknya hendaklah kita melaksanakan amanah dan tanggungjawab satu persatu, barulah kita meminta yang lain untuk dilaksanakan.
Begitu juga bagaimana diperlihatkan segolongan manusia berebut-rebut makanan yang busuk sedangkan makanan yang lazat lagi baik tidak diambilnya adalah gambaran ada sebahagian manusia mendatangi pasangan-pasangan yang tidak halal untuk berzina sedangkan isteri-isteri yang halal ditinggalkan, pengajarannya kita hendaklah memastikan diri kita dan persekitaran kita selamat daripada dosa dan noda perbuatan jijik dan haram di sisi Islam hendaklah dihindari.
Seterusnya bagaimana Rasulullah telah tercium bauan harum Masyitah dan keluarganya yang telah gugur syahid kerana mempertahankan keimanan kepada Allah dan sanggup berhadapan dengan firaun yang zalim. Mereka lebih sanggup dihumban kedalam kawah yang menggelegak panas demi daripada menerima azab Allah yang lebih pedih jika tunduk kepada firaun yang sesat itu.
Jika kita menghayati peristiwa yang berlaku keatas Masyitah dan keluarganya maka kita merasakan iman dan keyakinan kita begitu kerdil, berbanding pengorbanan tinggi Masyitah, walaupun hanya seorang penyikat rambut anak perempuan Firaun, tetapi tetap mempertahankan keimanannya. Inilah konsep ketaatan yang sebenar bahawa taat kepada pimpinan selama mana mereka taat kepada Allah dan RasulNya.
Mikrajnya nabi SAW telah membawa sejuta pengertian dan warisan yang ditinggalkan untuk kita sebagai penganut islam dengan dianugerahkan solat lima waktu sebagai symbol pengabdian diri kita kepada Allah SWT.
Justeru wajib bagi umat islam mempertahankan kewajipan yang didatangkan terus dari Allah kepada nabi kita untuk umatnya. Kita bimbang telah banyak gejala pengabaian solat, ia didirikan hanya sebagai pilihan sekiranya sempat sahaja bahkan yang paling buruk ialah sekiranya tidak sempat langsung tidak didirikannya.
Inilah fenomena yang mula melanda umat islam apabila tidak mengambil berat tentang agama, maka hal-hal yang bersangkutan akidah, akhlak dan syariat seperti solat, menutup aurat, puasa, zakat dan lain-lain kurang diambil perhatian.
Setiap kali ketibaan isra' dan mikraj apa yang paling penting bagi kita ialah mengambil pengajaran daripada peristiwa tersebut:
1. Setiap perjuangan pasti akan berhadapan dengan ujian dan halangan yang menguji keimanan serta ketakwaan.
2. Menyedari bahawa musuh-musuh islam sentiasa berusaha untuk menutup cahaya Allah justeru istiqamah dan berjuang tanpa mengenal penet leleh hendaklah diteruskan.
3. Kita mestilah mengambil iktibar dan merujuk tentang kisah-kisah yang berlaku sepanjang isra' dan mikraj, agar bertambah keimanan, kesedaran dan keinsafan.
4. Solat mestilah dibudayakan kepada umat islam, program-program kesedaran solat hendaklah dilaksanakan agar generasi remaja faham kewajipan solat, dan
5. Jihad mempertahankan islam mestilah dipergiatkan sampai sebati dalm diri setiap umat islam.
Maksudnya:
"Demikianlah (ajaran Allah); dan sesiapa yang menghormati syiar-syiar agama Allah maka (dia lah orang yang bertaqwa) kerana sesungguhnya perbuatan itu satu kesan dari sifat-sifat taqwa hati orang mukmin." (Al-Hajj ayat 32)

Friday, June 19, 2009

Fat or Thin?

Health experts have long warned of the risk of obesity, but a new Japanese study warns that being very skinny is even more dangerous, and that slightly chubby people live longer.

People who are a little overweight at age 40 live six to seven years longer than very thin people, whose average life expectancy was shorter by some five years than that of obese people, the study found.

"We found skinny people run the highest risk," said Shinichi Kuriyama, an associate professor at Tohoku University's Graduate School of Medicine who worked on the long-term study of middle-aged and elderly people.

The study was conducted by a health ministry team led by Tohoku University professor Ichiro Tsuji and covered 50,000 people between the ages of 40 and 79 over 12 years in the northern Japanese prefecture of Miyagi.

"There had been an argument that thin people's lives are short because many of them are sick or smoke. But the difference was almost unchanged even when we eliminated these factors," Kuriyama said.

Main reasons for the shorter lifespans of skinny people were believed to include their heightened vulnerability to diseases such as pneumonia and the fragility of their blood vessels, he said.

But Kuriyama warned he was not recommending people eat as much as they want.

"It's better that thin people try to gain normal weight, but we doubt it's good for people of normal physique to put on more fat," he said.

The study divided people into four weight classes at age 40 according to their body mass index, or BMI, calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by their squared height in metres.
The normal range is 18.5 to 25, with thinness defined as under 18.5. A BMI of 25 to 30 was classed as slightly overweight and an index above 30 as obese.


p/s: need to start thinking about the future...40 - 26= 14

10 Ways to Wake Up Beautiful

ok..in the midst of global warming..low and behold guys..80% of aging is attributable to sun..so these are the least we can do to save ourselves..kudos to yahoo..


1. Get an Early Start. Make a habit of washing your face a few hours before bed. If you wait until you're tired, you're more likely to blow it off -- allowing "toxins and dirt to stay on there all night," says dermatologist Laurie Polis of N.Y.C. Another consequence? You miss the best time to treat your skin. "At night there's more blood flow to the skin's surface, and there's nothing else on your face to interfere with absorption,".

Try: Neutrogena Deep Clean Relaxing nightly cleanser, $7; at drugstores.

2. Sleep on Your Back.Note to Audrey Hepburn fans: Lying on your stomach is bad for "beauty sleep." The average head weighs 7 to 8 pounds -- a lot of pressure to be putting on your face every night. In fact, many dermatologists say they can tell what side of the face people sleep on by the number of wrinkles there.

3. Get a Lift. Sleep with your head elevated on two pillows, or put the headrest area of your bed on 2- to 4-inch pieces of wood. Gravity helps lymph and blood flow so fluid won't accumulate.

4. Save Money, Not Wrinkles. At night you don't need to worry about eye treatments smearing your makeup, so slather on the richest formula you can. Polis swears by Aquaphor: "It conditions lashes and hydrates the delicate eye skin really well."

5. Sneak a Glow.Mix a drop of self-tanner into your night cream or use a cream that contains a bit of tan-producing DHA.

6. Avoid Carb Face. To wake with defined cheekbones, eat a high-protein, low-sugar dinner (try salmon and asparagus, a natural diuretic). Skip the rice, pasta and potatoes. "When our diet's high in glycemic carbohydrates, our features take on a soft, doughy appearance," says Connecticut dermatologist Nicholas Perricone.

7. Wrap It UpTo minimize. A.M. frizz, sleep on a satin pillowcase or put your hair in a silk scarf. "Those fabrics are much softer than cotton, so there's less friction," says Harry Josh, a John Frieda stylist.

8. Find Your Inner Ballerina. Pile hair into a twist on the top of your head (use a scrunchie to avoid crimping). "In the morning you'll have major volume and beautiful waves," Josh says.

9. Turn on the Hair Conditioning. Sleep with a moisturizing treatment in damp hair overnight. We like Philip B. Katira Hair Masque, but any rich conditioner will do. Rinse in the morning.

10. Pop a Rooster Pill. Trust us, we were skeptical. But after swallowing two Wake Up on Time pills at 11 P.M., we found it much easier to get out of bed seven hours later. Created by a sleep-deprived single mother, the pills contain an energizing blend of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins B6 and B12 and guarana-seed extract. It's formulated with a coating that releases ingredients into your bloodstream toward the end of your last sleep cycle, so you wake up feeling clear-headed, not fuzzy.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

KITA BERTANYA : "KENAPA AKU DIUJI?"

QURAN MENJAWAB: "Apakah manusia itu mengira bahawa mereka dibiarkan saja mengatakan; "Kami telah beriman," ("I am full of faith to Allah") sedangkan mereka tidak diuji? Dan sesungguhnya Kami telah menguji org2 yg sebelum mereka, maka sesungguhnya Allah mengetahui org2 yg benar dan, sesungguhnya Dia mengetahui org2 yg dusta."
-Surah Al-Ankabut ayat 2-3

KITA BERTANYA : "KENAPA AKU TAK DAPAT APA YG AKU IDAM-IDAMKAN?"

QURAN MENJAWAB: "Boleh jadi kamu membenci sesua tu padahal ia amat baik bagimu, dan boleh jadi pula kamu menyukai sesuatu, padahal ia amat buruk bagimu, Allah mengetahui sedang kamu tidak mengetahui." - Surah Al-Baqarah ayat 216

KITA BERTANYA : "KENAPA UJIAN SEBERAT INI?"

QURAN MENJAWAB: "Allah tidak membebani seseorang itu melainkan sesuai dengan kesanggupannya." - Surah Al-Baqarah ayat 286

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Old Story..but been circulating around endlessly

yep..its an old story..got it again from a gudfren....well i guess the story can be the other way round too..enjoy..

As I sat there in english class, I stared at thegirl next to me.
She was my so called 'best friend'.
I stared at herlong, silky hair, and wished she was mine.
But she didn't notice me like that,and I knew it.
After class, she walked up to me and asked me forthe notes she had missed the day before.I handed them to her. She said thanks' andgave me a kiss on the cheek.
I want to tell her, I want her to know that I dontwant to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy,and I dont know why.

**************** 11th grade ****************

The phone rang. On the other end, it was her.
She was in tears, mumbling on and on about how herlove had broke her heart.
She asked me to comeover because she didn't want to be alone,so I did.
As I sat next to her on the sofa,I stared at her soft eyes, wishing she was mine.
After 2 hours, one Drew Barrymore movie,and three bags of chips, she decided to go to sleep.She looked at me, said 'thanks'. I love her but I'mjust too shy, and I dont know why.

**************** Senior year ****************

The day before prom she walked to my locker. "Mydate is sick" she said, he's not gonna go" well,I didn't have a date, and in 7th grade,we made a promise that if neither of us had dates,we would go together-just as 'best friends'.
So we did.Prom night, after everything was over, I was standing at her front door step. I stared at her asshe smiled at me and stared at me with hercrystal eyes.
Then she said- "I had the best time,thanks!" and gave me a kiss on the cheek.I want to tell her, I want her to know that I dontwant to be just friends but I'm just too shy.
A day passed, then a week, then a month. Before Icould blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated like an angle up onstage to get her diploma.Before everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and cried as i hugged her.
Then she lifted her head from my shoulderand said-'you're my best friend, thanks' andgave me a kiss on the cheek.

Now I sit in the pews of the church. That girl isgetting married.
That girl is getting married now.I watched her say'i do' and drive off to her new life,married to another man. I wanted her to be mine,but she didn't see me like that,and I knew it.
But before she drove away,she came to me and said 'you came!'.
She said 'thanks' and kissed me on the cheek.

Years passed, I looked down at the coffin of a girl who used to be my 'best friend'. At the service,they read diary entry she had wrote in her high school years.
This is what it read: I stare at him wishing he wasmine; but he doesn't notice me like that, and I know it.I want to tell him, I want him to know that I don't wantto be just friends, I love him but I'm just too shy,and I don't know why. I wish he would tell me heloved me!'I wish I did too...' I thought to my self, and i cried.

p/s: no film has ever made this type of storyline..

Though none go with me, i'll still walk..