There was a compulsory course every student must undergo at least once during their studies at the university (International Univ.of Africa Sudan). I decided to follow eventhough I was only an intensive student.The other Malaysian sisters have already taken the course, so I was left alone, the only asian in the group. But I insisted to go, coz I know my Sudanese and Somalian friends are going as well. The kept me in good company.Well, this time the mu'askar (camping) was at Chandie, somewhere in north Sudan. Duration: 3 weeks..
It was good, the journey was so long..I saw deserts around me, hardly any tree. Occasionally we passed by some greeny patches of land with fresh fragrant of the grass.At times, we observed people living in small huts made of mud..we were so happy.Throughout the journey, my friends and I sung Sudanese patriotic songs ( I have forgotten most of it by now)...we sung to our lungs!
I can still remember when the bus suddenly stopped in the middle of the desert, I was wondering, only to know that everybody went off the bus, reaching the sand and performed tayammum..masha allah...how practical islam is...then one of them (Sofia Somali) determined the qiblah and there we went, prayed zuhur and asar - jamakqasar prayer. I learnt a lot from Sudan. Islam itself encourage muslims to go and walk on Allah's earth to discover the greatness of Allah..true, I cant help praising Him..the more I learn, the smaller I become.
Our main task in the mu'askar is to preach (dakwah) from village to village.We were devided into small groups. I was seperated from Halimo, but luckily managed to be one group with Chmadt Somali and Rahma Kenya.Everybody had to deliver something. They talked about topics like the duties of women as mothers, wife etc..big things, but when it came to me, guess what? I talked about the 'ethics of eating..' . Friends helped me to prepare the topic. ( I was only 3 months old in Sudan, but I gave it a good try). Friends told me that it doesnt matter if I got the grammars wrong, the audience only wanted to hear me speak..true, we had fun. I discovered that Malaysia has a very good reputation, many really wanted to go Malaysia. And they asked me what Malaysia is like and they adored my flowery baju kurung. I noticed one thing, the spirit of knowledge is very strong in Sudan. They like halaqah, speeches, forums, talks...not like in Malaysia where it is always difficult to find audience. And just wait until the Q&A session, it was always very hot.
Being the only Asian, I had to give a speech in one ceremony in Arabic...kung kang jugakla aku...tapi takpe, I didnt feel ashame at all, everybody was so supportive!
The Sudanese are so friendly. They slaughtered a kharoof just for the four of us! imagine that! Alhamdulillah I am able to adapt to the food..in the morning we normally have 'fuul' or 'adas' with fresh sheep milk...yum,yum...especially if you put na'na'(peppermint)..hmmm..very refreshing..then lunch and dinenr, we eat bread or rice (cooked with some oil), meat, or fish, salatah(fresh salad) and I really like the desert part..fruit salad and sometimes custard...yum,yum..feeling a little bit hungry already. In the picture, we were waiting for food. Eating time is always exciting to me..kuat makan. They will always say...ukli,ukli...ukli kuweiss, anti ma akalti katheer, leh?? and after that they will say: urgudi kuweeisss..hehe (slang).
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