Eid Mubarak Kullu 'aam wa antum bikhair. Selamat hari raya aidil fitri kepada sahabat-sahabat Kelas 72 dari saya dan keluarga di perantauan. Just got back to Riyadh from an early morning flight from Jeddah having spent 5 days in Madinah pre Eid and 5 days in Makkah Eid and post Eid, with family and father in law. Not many public holidays in Saudi but Eid is an annual 10 day public holiday. enjoyed by all. When Hasbullah, a 4th year student at Madinah Islamic University cum tourist guide for us offered a luxury hotel in Madinah for us to spend the last 5 days of Ramadhan, I politely declined in an attempt to capture the Madinah of old, bustling souqs and all. However nothing prepared me for the transformation that is Madinah today compared to what it was 10 years ago. Literally Masjid Nabawi is completely ambushed by luxury 5 star hotels. Room accomodation ranges from SR400 to SR1000 to SR10,000 per night. Hasbullah found us some decent accomodation in the vicinity of Ijabah Mosque but it is a daily life threatening experience to cross the King Faisal Highway to get to Masjid Nabawi. Submerging the proletariat in me I weakly resolved to stay on the right side of the Highway next time my family and I visit Madinah. Air conditioned souqs somehow lack some romantic notion of an Arab market place but hey I love my kids too much to risk their life and limb in crossing the Highway that separates the haves and the have nots in today's Madinah. I laud the modernisation of Madinah but somehow find it hard to reconcile that with the celebration of the poor that was the hallmark of the Prophet's s.a.w struggle.Quietly I hope somehow things will work out, the poor pilgrims will not be sidelined and the richer ones allowed to pay for accomodation they can afford.

Eid iin Makkah was a non event for us. Spending malam raya in Madinah airport departure hall, our 12.40am flight for Jeddah enroute to Makkah eventually left at 3 am. We missed Eid Prayers in Masjidil Haram as outgoing traffic prevented us from approaching the Mosque. However we have nowhere to go and nothing to chase so all was taken in good stride. At least the difficulty of reaching Haram makes us forget the rendang and the lemang and the ketupat which is inseparable with pagi raya. Distance makes the taste buds grow fonder or something like that.

Maaf zahir and batin from me and familiy.

Zahid

classof72] The Greatest Gathering of Humanity Ever‏ From: zahid aziz (zaziz@hotmail.com) Sent: Friday, January 05, 2007 5:47:39 PM Reply-to: classof72@yahoogroups.com To: classof72@yahoogroups.com Assalamu’Alaikum,                                   The bus left at 9.46pm on that chilly Riyadh night. It was the Wednesday night at the beginning of the week long Aidil Adha holidays. But for us and the pilgrims on the other bus it was not any holiday; we were answering Allah swt.’s call to fulfill the 5th Rukun of Islam. Filled with excitement and anxiety whether we will be able to complete our mission successfully, we earlier gathered at the appointed meeting point, Mutiara Restaurant, the sole Malaysian restaurant in Riyadh. We were a motley bunch indeed, we were the Jemaah Haji Malaysia Riyadh, traveling under the auspices of the Malaysian Embassy and led by Ustaz Hassan Patani and his two able assistants, Patani students from the local Imam Saud University, Ahmad and Asri. There were about a hundred of us Malaysian expatriates comprising amongst others telco engineers and technicians, university lecturers, Malaysian construction company personnel, a medical doctor, a diplomat, a hypermarket general manager, internal auditors, an Islamic banker and 70 or so nurses and matrons plus a number of spouses and 10 or so children. There were also an Indonesian including a family and couple and 2 Pakistani families invited by members of the delegation.                                      The 2 buses then headed to the district of Azizia to obtain the permit to leave Riyadh, a routine procedure in Haj season where no one can head for Makkah unless they carry a Haj permit. We set off on the 1000 km desert highway at just past 11pm. Ustaz Hassan have drilled the would be pilgrims pretty well over the last month or so and we more or less know what to do and what to expect. Some of us are seasoned Umrah experts whilst for a number this will be their first trip to the Holy City.  All of us have decided to go on Haji Ifrad i.e. we will do the Haj only, without accompanying it with Umrah. The plan was simple enough, stop at the Miqat, the place we put on the Ihram and make the Niat and then head on to Makkah to do the Tawaf Qudum (opening Tawaf) followed by Sa’i which by special grace of Haj rules we are able to ‘save” for Haj i.e. we do not have to repeat for Haj. Leaving the night before the eve of Wukuf, it was a tall order that we can arrive on time to head for Makkah. Leaving the Miqat at just after 3pm the next day we got the message that the authorities have closed all roads leading to Makkah. This called for a change of plan and we headed straight for Mina instead, the Tent City where all pilgrims will spend the night before heading for Arafah after Subuh prayers. There was much change of plans when the Saudi Government announced the Wukuf will be on Friday when everybody was expecting it to be Saturday. So subsequent changes in plan were not unexpected. The announcement also had special significance as any Wukuf on a Friday is termed Haji Akbar which means extra Pahala as all Ibadah on a Friday carries more Pahala than any other day.                             It was already dark when we reached Mina. We saw a sea of white official Mina pilgrim tents and also mushrooms of scout and camping tents pitched every which way it can be pitched. First illusion dispelled, not all pilgrims come for Haj Tabung Haji style, and equal number came unorganized on their own. The Muassasah gave us two tents, each housing about 50 or so of us, now divided according to sex. The tents are fairly permanent structures and so, I’m glad to report, are the toilet cum showers. It’s no 5 star accommodation but you are quietly thankful to have a decent place to stay when you know this accommodating Tent City is also trying to house millions of other pilgrims. I chose a corner lot and felt pleased with myself that I purchased a sleeping bag a few days ago; mattresses, a blanket and a pillow each was provided but in the wee hours the cold can be chilling. The reminder by Ustaz echoed in my ears; do not cover your head with the sleeping bag as it will breach Ihram rules. We slept tired but happy knowing we have at least achieved one Sunnah i.e. Mabit or ensconced in Mina the night before Wukuf. Called home to find out how the wife and 3 kids were doing at home in Riyadh. At just over one year old Zahir is too young to take to Haj, so the family decision was Papa will do it alone first, this time. I was not too worried leaving them behind as my Malaysian friends occupied 5 out of 7 apartments in my apartment block in Riyadh. Wife said Zahir does not realize I was gone yet and my two preschool daughters were too busy watching Cinderella DVD’s, hmmm.                         Haj is Wukuf in Arafah, and there’s no better place to Doa than in Arafah.That were the two clear messages from Ustaz Hassan in the Kuliah Subuh before we headed for Arafah. Haj is divided into Rukun and Wajib Haji. If you a miss a Wajib Haji you have to pay Dam or penalty which will be a cupak of rice or a sheep to be slaughtered and donated to the poor depending on the severity of the breach. On the other hand if you miss a Rukun Haji then there’s no Haj for you, you go back empty handed. The key Rukun in Haj is Wukuf in Arafah i.e you must be present in the field of Arafah before the sun sets on the 9th of Zulhijjah. You will spent the day in zikrullah and making doa as the Prophet saw says there is no doa like doa in Arafah, Allah swt guarantees its deliverance. Arafah also have other significance, it is said this is where Nabi Adam Alaihissalam met his wife Hawa after a long, long separation in this strange place called Earth (Ardh in Arabic). We tasted our first experience of Haj traffic jam; well what else can we expect when millions of like minded pilgrims also left Mina that cool but bright morning to head for Arafah. After an hour or so standstill we left our buses to walk to our tent some kilometers away. Ahmad and Asri carried a Malaysian flag each, one leading the march, the other sweeps the rear. I half in jest kept reminding them to make sure the yellow crescent and star is clearly seen by one and all. I tell you in these times you live dangerously when your country’s national flag is almost a copy Amerikiya’s stars and stripes. We reached our tent eventually which we later shared with a group of Hindustani pilgrims. The day was spent much in worship, zikrullah, doa and solat. Nobody must leave Arafah before sunset or there will be no Haj for him or her. The significance of that is everybody will leave Arafah after sunset. The mission was simple enough, leave Arafah for Mina via Mudzalifah . The problem was 4 million pilgrims had the same intention and idea. Yes, the whispers say it was 4 million, although the official numbers say 3.5 million.   We deferred our departure until 10.30 pm trying to avoid the Ba’da (after) Maghrib crowd. As it turned out it meant we were able to travel by bus a few kilometers further than had we left immediately after Maghrib, but abandon the bus we had to do, a kilometer or so before Mudzalifah. Again the buses and traffic came to a complete standstill. Ustaz and a number of the single traveling men stayed behind  with the female pilgrims and the families in the buses, the rest opt to trek the 3 or so kilometers to Mina. It turned out to be a good decision as the next morning we learnt the buses only arrived around Subuh. Our feet was blistered no doubt but at least we had a good night’s sleep in our tents.   Woke up the morning happy we had completed the major Rukun of Haj i.e  Wukuf in Arafah. The next task and Rukun is to throw seven pebbles at Jamratul Aqabah, the major Jamrat of all 3 Jamrats. The Jamrats are three stone pillars set 50 or meters away from each other in a straight line and to which all pilgrims must throw pebbles at. However on the day after Wukuf the pilgrim must only throw pebbles at one Jamrat i.e. the Jamratul Aqabah, the major Jamarat. In the other Mazhabs this is the last of the Rukuns of Haj, the Tawaf Ifadhah and Sa’i being considered mere Wajib Haji. However for the Shafie Mazhab, this Rukun is last but two, Tawaf Ifadhah and Sa'i also being Rukuns of Haj. Much diversity of interpretation is associated with this throwing of pebbles at the pillars. The popular belief is that it is symbolic of throwing stones at satan.; other Qauls especially the Saudis disagree with this belief.   We did not proceed to the Jamrat until late afternoon. There was no point in taking the buses as they will not be able to move so we decided to march the 3.5 km to the Jamrat. Lining up three in a row, we placed the females who wanted to follow in the middle and started the march. Jamhari, a Malaysian working for Nokia whose site office oversees the Jamrat volunteered to lead the group there. A jovial type full of tips and wisecracks he happily accepted the nickname Ustaz Jamrat. The march to the Jamrat with flags of all colours leading groups and battalions of pilgrims was not unlike the foot soldiers war scenes of old. Like the journey to Arafah, the cries of LabbaikAllah Humma Labaik verberated through the atmosphere. Roughly translated it means, I’m here my Lord, I heed your call, I’m here my Lord, I heed your call, repetitiously, not without tears in some pilgrims’ eyes.  As we approach the objective we saw a sea of humanity covering the Jamrat structure. Thanks to the Ben Laden group the semi complete new Jamrat structure is a 4 tier ocean liner shape structure. You can either chose to throw your pebbles at the Jamrat pillars from the ground level or the first floor level, the 2nd and 3rd levels are not ready yet.. Pilgrims traffic flow have also been made one way all the way a major improvement over the past where pilgrims can go any which way they prefer. Other welcome new rulings are no pitching of tents or resting and squatting on the Jamrat, no gas stoves anywhere in Mina and no luggage to be taken with you to the Jamrat. The Saudi authorities have indeed learnt many lessons from past tragedies. Upon reaching the Jamratul Aqabah we paused to wait for an ease in human traffic before heading for the stone pillar. In a well executed exercise the first Malaysian flag carried by Jamhari headed for the pillar whilst the other flag carried by Ahmad moved away to a point designated for reunion after throwing of the pebbles. In the sea of pilgrims all around you, the sight of Ahmad’s Malaysian flag in the distance is a source of much comfort to our group. The launching of Jamratul Aqabah completed we move away from the Jamrat to do the Tahallul Awal i.e. the ritual snipping of hair marking the point where we may disrobed the Ihram and be released from all Ihram rules other than sleeping with the wife. The complete Tahallul ( or getting into the halal state) will only happen after the Sa'i Haji.   A protracted discussion then took place on whether to moved straight on to Makkah 3.5 km away to do the Tawaf Ifadhah and Sa'i on that day itself. Eventually a group decision to return to Mina was made as a number of us volunteered to locate Pak Awang’s mother, a Tabung Haji pilgrim who was in a  poor state of health somewhere in the tent city of Mina. Pak Awang is an employee of Ahmad Zaki Resources  Bhd which provided easily the largest contingent in our group. Little did we know that Ustaz Hassan and his busful of nurses headed straight for Makkah on that day after their launching of the stones at the Jamratul Aqabah. Women have certain deadlines which Ustaz obligingly understood. As it turned out it was another long night for this group, the snarling traffic allowing them to return to Mina only after Subuh. Our group spent the night shaving each other’s heads. Dr Jaafar Ali the specialist from King Fahd Medical City brought his own head shaver which he happily shared with the others in the tent. Learnt some valuable health tips from this good doctor. Use your own shaver, avoid unhygienic public barbers for fear of catching hepatitis C and Aids through open cuts on your heads. Wear the face mask as much as possible, apart from filtering dust and smoke it also protects you from bacteria in the air. I was quite proud that my closely cropped head was shaved none other than by a medical specialist. Shaari the hypermarket ex Giant expat then completed the finishing touch as he used the instrument often to crop his sons.Thus went an eventful Aidil Adha for this group of pilgrims, remembered  for all things other than our usual events associated with Aidil Adha   Back in Mina the morning after it was like mid way though the final exams, happy the major papers are done but not entitled to celebrate yet until the full exam is completed. We still have the launching of pebbles on the Tasyrik days plus Tawaf Ifadhah and Sa'i to do. The final curtain will be Tawaf Wida' or Farewell Tawaf just before heading home from Makkah. The Tasyrik days are the 11, 12 and 13 of Zulhijjah where the pilgrims must throw 7 stones each at the three Jamrat 3 days in a row. However our priority now is Tawaf Ifadhah and Sa'i, two final Rukuns of the Shafie Mazhab. Promptly after breakfast we boarded the yellow schoolbus specially rented to take us to Makkah for Tawaf Ifadhah and Sa’i. Our Riyadh bus had some gear problems which needed to be fixed. Arriving near Masjidil Haram around 11 am we set to meet at the same place opposite King Khalid Gate at 3pm. With 3 Umrahs completed before this, nothing prepared me for the mass of humanity that surrounded Kaabah, virtually every inch of space was occupied by circumambulating pilgrims. With a quiet Bismillah I joined my brethrens in the command of Allah. There were some harrowing moments especially after Hijr Ismail but Alhamdulillah I knew He was there to protect his Guests. As a note to future pilgrims with families or with the aged ones to take care, choose to Tawaf on the upper floors or if possible choose a later Tasyrik day to do the Tawaf Ifadhah. Heed this advice I sincerely plead. The Tawaf which on Umrah will normally take no more than half an hour took 2 hours to complete the 7 rounds. In the early rounds it was probably easier to choose the slightly inner circles as the outer circles mean you have to meet head on with pilgrims leaving the Tawaf to do the Sa’i especially near the green light.   Sa’i was also a jammed packed affair, probably 3 to 4  times more so than Tawaf because of the relatively smaller and more confined space. Many families decided to defer Sa’i to the later Tasyrik days which in my opinion is not an option but a must. Every turn around Bukit Safa especially at the ground level was a life threatening experience. Pilgrims arriving from Bukit Marwah had to contend with new pilgrims joining the Sa’i and the meeting point is a slope down Bukit Safa. He was definitely there to protect us that day. If one is able to get to the upper levels of  Sa’i that is also much recommended but I was informed getting up the stairs is also easier said than done. Aged pilgrims and families with children must defer their Sa’i to the later Tasyrik days in the pursuit of safety. I am reminded we had  4 million pilgrims this time, probably the highest number ever. We reached Mina tired but happy that first Tasyrik day, 11th of  ZulHijjah.The Rukuns of Haj all completed we only had the launch of stones on Tasyrik days to complete. The second Tasyrik day 12th of Zulhijjah the families who were not able to do Sa’i left by bus early in the morning together with Ustaz and a few other single traveling men to help out. Pak Hassanul, the Indonesian telco expat led the team to conduct Korban dan make Dam payment as necessary. Later in the afternoon as we rest in the tent at Mina news flowed back the Jamrat is temporarily closed until 2 pm as some stampede deaths has occurred on the Jamrat. Day 2 Tasyrik is especially busy on the Jamrat as many pilgrims especially the local ones seek to do Nafar Awal or Nafar Sani to reach home earlier. Nafar Awal or Nafar Sani is a special dispensation of the rules where you may leave for home on the 2nd day of Tasyrik if you are able to launch stones for day 2 and day 3 Tasyrik on day 2  itself and leave Mina before Maghrib. In pursuit of this special dispensation the Jamrat was jammed pack on that day and ignoring the rules set by the authorities some pilgrims brought luggage to the Jamrat to save time going home. As most people know by now, it only takes one luggage to drop, one pilgrim to trip over it, for a stampede to occur. We found out that’s what happened that day but at 15 deaths the number was relatively small compared to previous tragedies. The Saudi military quickly moved in and confiscated all bags that are being taken to the Jamrat.   On the 13th of  Zulhijjah the 3rd day of Tasyrik, Alhamdulillah we have completed all Rukun and Wajib Haji. All that’s left is to do Tawaf Wida' before heading home as a new Haj or Hajjah. This we managed to do Alhamdulillah without much obstruction. At 4 am Wednesday 14th Zulhijjah 1427, 4th January 2007, Jemaah Haji Riyadh Malaysia left for home. I was too happy to make the return journey, my doa to do Haj answered, I felt a happy and complete man. Wife said Zahir was searching every room for Papa and Adlin and Adila have abandoned the DVD player seeking Papa on the live telecast of Haj relayed daily by Saudi TV. Hmm, they missed me after all, and Papa was just too thankful to Allah swt to be a miniscule, but personally deeply meaningful, part of the biggest gathering of humanity ever.   Salam syukur to all.   Haji Muhammad Zahid Abdul Aziz   classof72] Of exchange rates and vacations home‏ From: classof72@yahoogroups.com on behalf of zahid aziz (zaziz@hotmail.com) Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2007 9:47:36 AM Reply-to: classof72@yahoogroups.com To: classof72@yahoogroups.com Assalamu ‘Alaikum,                                   Exchange rates have never really grabbed my attention. It’s the sort of information the TV throws at you, without making much impact on your concentration. However lately the strength of the Ringgit has been the focus of much banter and chay driven conversations here among Malaysian expats in Riyadh. We sent money home occasionally for savings and for a myriad of reasons. Never have such an innocuous activity troubled our minds so much in terms of harbouring traitorous wishes in our minds. Suddenly we find huge slippage in the funds we send home. Ringgit and Riyal is no longer par to par, Ringgit’s continued strength and Saudi Riyal obstinate peg to the Dollar means much financial pain in home transfer transactions. Hours and hours of Economics lecture at Varsity days does not drive home the intricacies of exchange rate movements as crystal clear as when it starts pinching your pockets. But hey what’s a few thousand Riyals lost here and there compared to the brimming patriotic pride that a strengthening national currency gives you. You don’t buy that huh?  Neither do I. But then that’s the price of working overseas. Without wishing harm on the Malaysian currency, the expats dream of dreams may just come true; Riyal may depeg from dollar and fly. We wish.   That’s just one of the preoccupation of Malaysian expats working here. The other constant on the mind is vacation at home. Malaysia really is a bitter sweet love story to most of us. Don’t mind leaving to chart new waters and seek our fortunes but we need to recharge our batteries with doses of home vacations occasionally, or often for some. After September 11 2001, not referring to my marriage of course, European destinations are no longer pulling. Nothing beats the joy of relatives and friends as you touch home shores, even for the shortest of trips. All scenes in Malaysia are seen in new light. You smile inwards gloriously as the plane touched down at KLIA. The airport itself is a source of much quiet pride. The Aunties that wait to feed you the Malaysian goodies you have been deprived of for so long; the renewed taste of Durian, if its in season, the trip to Giant hypermarket with your family, shopping as if you have never left home; and the mandatory trip back to your wife’s kampong, are precious moments you savour slowly.   Like they say you never missed a place until you’ve left it. Try it. It’s a good feeling. Malaysians are a new breed of expats here in KSA. The Pakistanis and the Indians have done it a long time ago. Malaysian professionals are beginning to chart new waters in droves now. Dubai, Riyadh, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar are beginning to see them in increasing numbers now. If leaving creates a chain of upward movements availing job vacancies for our fresh graduates, that can’t be so bad a reason to leave.   Those are my jottings on a quiet Thursday, weekend morning here in Riyadh. Coming home for a 2 weeks vacation in April insyaAllah. My best of thoughts and doa to friends wherever they might be.   Wassalam, Zahid [classof72] Learning Arabic from a non-English speaker‏ From: zahid aziz (zaziz@hotmail.com) Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 5:12:50 PM Reply-to: classof72@yahoogroups.com To: classof72@yahoogroups.com Assalamu 'Alaikum, It was Saiful, the Mobily expat who started the initiative. We got wind he was going to register for Arabic evening classes at the local Imam Mohammad Saud University. Awakening the latent desire in most Muslim expats in Saudi Arabia we rushed to join him to register ourselves for the twice a week ba’da maghrib classes at the local Muttawwa University. What’s Mutawwa? Well it’s the local reference to the indisputably enlightened but much maligned amar maaruf nahi mungkar section of the ummah which is probably the subject of a future piece from this scribe. The Classes are every Saturday and Monday evening roughly between 7pm and 9pm and we’re not sacrificing any weekends either, Saturday being the first day of the working week. Not familiar with Jamiah Imam campus we parked what seemed 25 km away on that cool February night. But somehow we radar’d our way to the Ma'ahad Kulliah Loghatul ‘Arabia keen to register and  learn the language of the Prophets, and what any salt of the earth Makkah  taxi driver will tell you, language of Jannah. The registration itself was quite an experience. The normally quiet Faculty corridor at that time of day was bustling with expats from most corners of the world. We obtained a registration form each and were relieved to find it was simple and very important at this point, in English! Then it was rushed to the next room to make payment and collect some Kitab. Everybody made it to class except for Azhar and me. The classes are full Ustaz Ahmed said woefully. Come back next week I’ll fixed it with the Mudir he said. However Azhar and I did not have to loiter long, soon after, the class teacher took pity on us and invited us in, he’ll solve the overcrowding next week. Azhar by the way is one of my Malaysian colleagues at work.   I have never attended a language class before apart from Miss Vimala Devi’s Standard One English class many, many, and many more moons ago. Now somehow I sort of assumed the teacher will help out by explaining things in English. Wrong, the Mudarris not only does not speak English, whatever English he knows he makes a solemn oath not to utter to us. I have never focused so much attention on what the teacher is saying as what I did for my Arabic Class teacher. He probably started by welcoming and laying down some ground rules but it sounded to me like Arabic high poetry. It was not unlike starting Elementary Arithmetic with complex Algebra. I looked around the room and felt much pity for Kim, the sole Korean representative in our class. The two Mat Sallehs, Chris and the other guy displayed their best British upper lip face and took it in the jaw like a man. But sooner or later with body language and all from the teacher and full concentration from yours truly, the coins began to drop. Grace be to Allah I began to understand what he’s saying and what he wants the class to do. I quietly hoped Kim and company will follow suit next class.  The next week they split the class into two. As the owner of the vehicle we came in Wan  Ghazni was transferred to Class B, in true Musketeer spirit we all walked up and requested the Mudarris to join him. Now this new Mudarris was like a breathe of fresh air compared  to the previous one. His English was probably not much better, but he had no qualms using it whenever he sees any of us drowning. We were fortunate this time to have Fawaz in our class. Of Syrian descent Fawaz is an American teenager whose parents sent him to class to learn, in his words, classical Arabic. The Mudarris leant on him a lot to give the class meanings of words or phrases in English whenever the entire class is stumped. Fawaz was absent one evening and it was a true exhibition of body language by the Mudarris to explain to us the meaning of the Arabic word for mist. In class this time were also four Pinoys who eventually turned out to be the top students in our class. Not only were they already speaking unhesitant Arabic, they were also helping Fawaz to explain the English meaning of words to the poor Malaysians, Pakistanis, Indians and Turks.  Everybody knows Arabic is complex, many knows it has masculine and feminine words but how many knows each Arabic word have 14 permutations of nahu or grammar. A word can be either muannath (female) or muzakkar (male). Haqibah or bag is muannath, Kursiyyun or chair is muzakkar, I won’t explain why, you wouldn’t understand. If in English you will say this is a bag or this is a chair, in Arabic because they are of different sex you say hazihi haqibah and haza kursiyyun. However that is if the bag or chair is near, if you are unfortunate enough for the bag or chair to be far away, be sure to use huna haqibah and hunaka kurssiyun. In English a friend is a friend male or female ; in Arabic your buddy Ahmed is a Sadiq but your colleague Fatimah is a Sadiqah. And if Ahmed and Hussein arrives they are your Sadiqqin but if they came with Kassim and more they are your Asdiqah. Just to confuse you further, Fatimah and Aisyah would be Sadiqqatin but Fatimah, Aishah and Ruqayah would also be Asdiqah.  If you think that’s confusing you don’t know the half of it. Want to learn about lam syamsiah and lam kamariah? Or harafal jarr and kalimatul maadzi? Come to Riyadh and learn Arabic cold turkey. Joking aside Arabic is a beautiful, beautiful language, you don’t know beautiful until you begin to learn Arabic. If you are entranced by the Arabic speaker spinning sentences like beautiful laces in embroidered fabric you will be enthralled by the beauty of the Quranic sentence. No wonder God says (mafhum) gather all men and jinns for they can’t craft one sentence like in the Quran. This  week its Ihtibarr or exam time! One thing I tell you about Arabic exams is that the answers are easy; it’s the questions most students have problems with. In other words understanding what the questions wants you to do. Once you’ve figured that out the answers should be plain sailing, if your vocabulary is up to the mark that is. Masmuka by now should no longer be answered, no thank you I don’t smoke. The correct answer is Ismi Muhammad Zahid Abdulaziz. And majinnsiatuka is no longer a referral to a jeans sale, the correct answer is Ana min Malayzie. And mamihnatuka is no referral to a female Malaysian factory worker, the correct answer is ana mustasyar au thobib au mudarris.  Actually the exams are not over yet. After Muhaddis and Kitabat last week, tomorrow is Qara’ah. I’m so lucky to have a UIA graduate for a personal tutor; at other times she’s of course my wife. Ilaliqo. Maassalamah. Biltawfiq MinnAllah Zahid      [classof72] Of KG Jitters, Ramadhan and Aqiqah in Riyadh‏ From: zahid aziz (zaziz@hotmail.com) Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 7:45:09 AM Reply-to: classof72@yahoogroups.com To: classof72@yahoogroups.com Assalamu ‘Alaikum,   Life goes on in the expat city of Riyadh. September is just about the month when things start to cool down in the temperate climates but in Riyadh it is still nice and warm at a midday temperature of 37C. Talk is it’s still hot compared to last year. Mind you there is no real autumn here to ease you into the cold season. Cool season arrives in November and by mid December you start searching for the winter woolies.   Went to an Aqiqah gathering at a mini compound housing Malay expats last night. The house of Azman Syukri the Telco expat, to be exact Compounds are a sort of gated community housing expats mainly westerners here in Riyadh. Many Malaysians who are given housing allowances by their employers prefer to live in apartment blocks especially where they take up the entire or majority of apartments. This means they are able to pocket much of the housing allowance meant for them to live in compounds and use it for frequent trips back home or just add to their savings. This compound housed 7-8 Malay telco expats attached to Saudi Telecom, Nokia and the like. It seems our community is getting bigger and bigger, many arrivals in 2006 and also many this year. It also seems the season for arrival of Malaysian Riyadh babies, 3 or 4 this month alone and many more in the waiting list.Of particular mentioned is baby son to MACOBA junior, Nik Ameer of SABIC.  Perhaps something to do with the meat diet of  lahm baqr(beef kebab) or roast dujaj (chicken) which seems to be to be the staple diet here in the Saudi lunch cuisine. Although Tongkat Ali and certain Malaysian lady equivalent drinks are not unfamiliar on the shelves of some hypermarkets in Riyadh.   Much talk is about sending kids to schools or kindergartens. School terms start in September and mom and dads start comparing notes as to which school to send their kids to. Expats cannot enroll their children in National Schools so they are confined to international schools. Many of these schools are run by other non-Saudi Arabs who also have to send their kids to international schools. Joined the school going crowd this year enrolling daughters Nur Adlin in KG2 and Nur Adila in KG1 at an International School run by Lebanese. KG2 or Kindergarten 2 is for 5 year olds and KG1 is for 4 year olds. So far so good the two daughters are primed and ready to start school this Saturday, only mom and dad are worried and nervous, the two princesses never having parted from Mama and Papa all their lives. Two year old Zahir is also excited, demanding to have every bag, every pencil and every sharpener bought for the two elder sisters. So far the Spiderman pull bag has quieten him down a little, all set to enroll at AlMama International School at home. Just as well as Tuition fees are not cheap here, wife says the KG fees per child here are at least twice her University fees in Malaysia. So happy to hear 2 other Malaysian families are enrolling their kids in the same school, Nur Adila at least will have a Malay friend in KG1 the son of Azmil, another telco expat. If there are any enterprising educationist businessmen in Malaysia interested, time is about right to start a Malaysian International School here in Riyadh. Pak Duta, Dato’ Ismail Ibrahim who was also present at the Aqiqah has promised to help anyone interested.   Ramadhan is also just round the corner, one week to be exact. Things get happily topsy turvy here in Ramadhan, school hours are shorter by half hour each morning and noon whilst dad’s working hours are 10 to 4. Breaking of fast starts at 6 pm in early Ramadhan coming down to 5.30 pm just before Syawal. Fajr starts at 4am extending to 4.30am end of month. Talking about Syawal many families are already excited at the thought of going home for Eid Holidays. As usual Eid is a 10 day public holiday for whole of KSA. Adding a few days leave before and a week after plus weekends n all adds up to quite a substantial time at home for many Malaysian expat families. Those that just arrived this year are looking forward to experience first Eid away from home, spending a few days in Madinah and the rest of Eid holidays in Makkah. Reminds me of last year when we spent Eid holidays in KSA, last 5 days of Ramadhan in Madinah and first 5 days of Syawal in Makkah. Was in Masjid Nabi when they made the Eid Announcement ; when I heard the congregation cheering happily I duly went back to the hotel and reported to the wife that Eid is tomorrow. Later that night we were surprised to hear Saudi TV announce that Eid will be day after tomorrow. Only then I realized I made the typical true blue Malaysian mistake. I assumed the congregation’s cheers were for Eid when it was for another day of Ramadhan in Masjid Nabi! Well what do I know, back home we all cheer when its Raya tomorrow, right? It was then I  resolved to enroll soon for Arabic classes.   So pleased to hear that one family who just arrived this year was also from Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam, sort of orang sekampong. Taught Rosman about Google planet search if he really misses and wants to see satellite pictures of his home in BJ. Cautioned him of not making the same mistake of assuming the pictures are live. Only after the white car in the middle of the road near my office in Jalan Yap Kwan Seng did not moved for 3 weeks that I realized the satellite pictures are still pictures and not live. Live ones apparently are available with payment. There are so far about 47 of us who have  registered in Melayu Riyadh email group. It is sort of Classof72 email group but for Malay expats in Riyadh. Many good tips about easing the expat life in Riyadh; where to find tauhu and tempe in Batha, the Chow kit of Riyadh, and suchlikes. Many more new arrivals are expected soon so we expect this email group to get bigger and bigger each month.   Selamat menyambut Ramadhan dari Zahid dan famili diperantauan. May each Ramadhan be a better one for us than the last.   Wassalam, Hj Muhammad Zahid