Halaqah

I was surfing the net earlier and found this website called halaqah.net. The title on top of the page says Halaqah - Islam Untuk Semua. I don't know about others, but I do feel that some of the questions posted on the site were pretty...well...weird. This is an example of one...

"Apakah hukum menggunakan trolley di pasaraya kerana ianya mungkin telah digunakan untuk produk non-halal?"

This is what one of them answered...

"Sebab itulah orang yg benar-benar warak akan mengeluarkan duit dari dompet ketika ingin sembahyang. Malahan ada yg mengeluarkan dompet, dikhuatiri duit tersebut dipegang oleh penjual barang non-halal".

Errr...

Oh oh but this is my favorite question: "Macam mana ye kalau di pasar basah yg menjual babi, apa jadi sekiranya lalat yg hinggap di daging babi hinggap pula di daging lembu yg dijual oleh orang melayu? "

Islam says everything is pure until proven impure. What's with the paranoia surrounding our community?

The day Chloe came home

Chloe came home on January 11, 2011. Shannon gave us her bed, her toy bone and a box of her food for us to take home to ensure that she has something with her smell on it. She was a good baby. Although she refused to stay in her bed, she sat and slept next to me during the ride home. She did not poop nor pee, and was in her best behavior. I did not think she was scared back then, but now that I think about it, I think she did coz she was so quite all the way, which is so unlike her.

Once we arrived, I carried her inside and placed her bed next to our back door so she'll have easy access to the yard. I took out some of her food from the box and placed it in a bowl. Hubby and I were laughing when I took out another small bowl to fill with water - we had to ensure that the bowl was only big enough to fit her face and not her ears. King Charles has quite long ears - with a bigger bowl, she'll be wetting her ears before she even has a sip of her drink and we didn't want that!

The first thing that we wanted to do was to potty train her. We took a piece of newspaper and placed it outside. We encouraged her to go on the newspaper (tough work I tell ya!) and praised her every time she did. But being a 14 weeks old puppy, accidents do happen. In general, puppies are only able to control its bladder when they are at least 20 weeks old. Since Chloe is just a baby, when she has to go, she has to go. After 2 accidents in the house, we decided to puppy proof the house - we took out all the carpets and tried many means such as mopping the floor with vinegar, spraying dog repellent spray on the tile etc. Finally, after approximately a month of staying, Chloe is potty trained! Yeay!

From day 1 itself, we tried to set our rules right. Chloe was not allowed to go upstairs, and has to go to bed at 8.30 p.m. every night. It broke my heart to left her all alone downstairs, after all, she's just a baby. Hubby says I shouldn't feel that way as we need to train her to be independent. The first night at home, Chloe whimpered like a baby coz she was afraid to be alone. The next day, we figured that we should get her some toys as a mean of distraction. We came back from the pet shop with Buddy and Blue and placed them in her bed. We saw her walking to her bed, went inside, laid next to her Buddy and hugged him. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. That night, she slept better, hugging her precious friend.

Chloe hugged Buddy as she laid next to him. Maybe it reminded her of her litter mates :(

See how tiny she is?

Chloe taking an afternoon nap with Blue on our backyard

The day Chloe came into our lives

We adopted Chloe when she was 14 weeks old. Chloe comes from a family of 7. Her mom, Brandy and dad, Snap are pure breed blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Both mom and dad are spoilt rotten - they sleep in the bedroom, stays up on the sofa and has access to all areas of the house. I had the shock of my life when I arrived at Shannon's place - she has a door that separates her living room and the front door, and that door was shaking like crazy. I was imagining a toddler banging on the door wanting to go out and see who has arrived but to my surprise, it was Brandy and Snap! Ha ha. As soon as I entered the living room, I saw a tiny baby walking away from the room, her bum moving left and right and my heart skipped a bit.

We sat on the sofa while Shannon went and grabbed Chloe from the room. What can I say, the moment I laid my eyes on her, it was love at first sight. I remember my heart melting when Shannon placed Chloe in my arms, she was just so beautiful and tiny and oh so sweet. While holding Chloe, I saw another baby walking past me - it was her little brother! Shannon said Chloe's brother is unwell, he was the last one that came out and was born with a big head and she was going to 'get rid of him'. My heart sank at her words, and I just wish we have the means to adopt both. He was so beautiful but I know that we would not be able to do justice being new parents ourselves. I hope you are doing well little baby, and I hope you found someone who loves you as much as we love your sister :(

Chloe was born to 5 litter mates. One was adopted by a family from Auckland, while two were bought by a pet shop. To our surprise, we bumped into Chloe's brother in a pet shop in Takapuna a month after we brought Chloe home. We were so sure he was Chloe's brother as he has the same birth date and that tiny pink marking on his nose, just like little Chloe. My heart sank looking at him - there he was, 20 weeks old, sitting in a glass crate for the world to see, waiting for a kind soul to take him home and to love him. I asked the sales girl if he came with another litter mate, just to be sure. She said he did, but the sister has been bought by someone. He's got urine stain all over his feet, and he looked so sad it broke my heart. A puppy his age should not be locked up. Instead, he should be walking and running on parks and beaches and snuggling with someone who loves him. I left the shop, wondering how Chloe would react if she were to see him. Would she have recognized that it was her brother?

Dogs in Islam part 2

I've been wanting to write about dogs in Islam for so long but failed to do so for many occasions.

Well, in case you guys are wondering - yes, I did study the Quran and Hadith for many months before I adopted Chloe.

My stake on it?

Well, to be honest, the more I studied, the more convinced I am that most Hadith that talked negatively about dogs were fabricated.

Why do I say that?

Firstly, the Quran mentioned dogs many times, and all were in good lights. Al-Ma'idah spoke about using trained dogs for hunting:

"Lawful unto you are things good and pure, and what you have taught your trained hunting animals to catch in the manner directed to you by God. Eat what they catch for you, but pronounce the name of God over it"

Al-Kahf spoke about a dog who accompanied the people of the cave who were true believers:

"...And We turned them on their right and on their left sides, and their dog stretching forth his two forelegs at the entrance..."

"(Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them; (others) say they were five, the dog being the sixth, guessing at the unseen; (yet others) say they were seven, the dog being the eigth"

Secondly, most Hadiths that spoke negatively about dogs are not in line with the teachings of our great prophet, Muhammad s.a.w. Muhammad was very affectionate towards animals, and was against animal cruelty be it physically, or mentally. Once upon a time, one of his companion took two baby chicks away from the mother. When Muhammad s.a.w saw the mother bird hovering on top of them with grief, he straightaway ordered his companion to return the chicks to the mother for it has hurt her feelings. Would the same person ordered the killings of dogs, as stated in some Hadiths?

Thirdly, in my opinion, the most convincing Hadith about the cleansing ritual of dogs is the one narrated by Imam Muslim:

"When a dog has licked a bowl of yours, clean it seven times, first time with earth, the other six with water"

Why do I say this is the most convincing? Well, a scientific research done by a PhD student who studied dogs' saliva found out that harmful virus(es) can only be found when dogs are eating/drinking. At other times, a dog's saliva is free of virus(es). In my opinion, this clearly explains the reason why Muslims are allowed to eat what trained dogs hunt/bite for their master, but are required to wash the container that has been licked by a dog if we were to use it for our own.

Islam is science.

So, how do you keep it simple and hygienic? Easy-peasy, just separate your container from your dog's container!

It is worth mentioning that the first Hadith collections were written 250 years after the death of our great prophet. Stories were circulated by word of mouth for 8 generations before it was written down. Would it be possible that some of the information received were delivered incorrectly? Furthermore, is there a possibility that some Hadiths were biased towards some cultures and beliefs?

Allah knows best.

Meet baby Chloe

Ain't she a sweetheart?

:D