We have quite a big family, us Azluls. There are 7 of us siblings, 4 are married and at the moment, the total grandchildren of the Zaghlol clan stands at 12. Add to that my dad's side - 11 siblings, 8 are married with 33 kids between them and 16 grandchildren. Last Saturday night , 43 were at Pondok Azlul, my parents' abode in Puchong.
The normal agenda was planned - jemaah Maghrib, jemaah Isya', a little talk, Yaasin, tahlil and then the big makan.
It may seem weird for some of you as it was a little weird for my husband when he first married me, as we have this type of things almost every month. But to me, it is already biasa. It is part of our own special tradition, how we grew up. :) Truthfully, it could get a little troublesome too, as we might already have other plans. I sometimes feel burdened by it. For my dad though, (who happens to be the eldest living sibling in his family) this type of gathering is a must and the show has got to go on. No matter, sapa yang boleh datang, sapa yang tak boleh datang, maybe next time then.
Personally, when I was younger, (wah, dah older ke?) I thought nothing much of it. It's just an avenue for good food and great company. Us cousins would be chit-chatting away - in between prayers and all. :) Aunties and uncles reconnect with their nephews and nieces. Exchanging stories , jokes, sad news and the like. I remember very well our late nenek saudara who loved telling stories to us kids. She was such a beautiful lady with a unique ability to mesmerize you with her stories.
Anyways, my point is, I didn't know it then, but my dad had carried on his father's legacy on having this type of gatherings to create a loving environment for us to grow in. A support system unlike no other - a close-knitted family bond. I do appreciate his persistance now. Now that I have kids of my own, I want them to be secured. I want them to know that these are the people that they could depend on. That everyone is there for them. :)
The other thing about it is that my dad does not get upset that the little ones won't get in line to sembahyang. He'd just let them roam when we were reciting the Yaasin. :) For him, it's just as important for the little ones to be around this type of gatherings, so that they would want to join in when they are older. So that they would know who their families are. So that they will not forget their religious duties as well as wanting to be succeessful in the studies and careers. These are hard lessons to teach my kids and I really don't want to shove them down their throat. My dad has taught through his actions that we need to balance the pursuit of akhirat and the current life we're living. That it is both equally important.
So, yeah. We try to make an effort to come to these gatherings. After all, who can resist the authentic home-cooked Temerloh mari patin tempoyak, eh? Yummy..
The normal agenda was planned - jemaah Maghrib, jemaah Isya', a little talk, Yaasin, tahlil and then the big makan.
It may seem weird for some of you as it was a little weird for my husband when he first married me, as we have this type of things almost every month. But to me, it is already biasa. It is part of our own special tradition, how we grew up. :) Truthfully, it could get a little troublesome too, as we might already have other plans. I sometimes feel burdened by it. For my dad though, (who happens to be the eldest living sibling in his family) this type of gathering is a must and the show has got to go on. No matter, sapa yang boleh datang, sapa yang tak boleh datang, maybe next time then.Personally, when I was younger, (wah, dah older ke?) I thought nothing much of it. It's just an avenue for good food and great company. Us cousins would be chit-chatting away - in between prayers and all. :) Aunties and uncles reconnect with their nephews and nieces. Exchanging stories , jokes, sad news and the like. I remember very well our late nenek saudara who loved telling stories to us kids. She was such a beautiful lady with a unique ability to mesmerize you with her stories.
Anyways, my point is, I didn't know it then, but my dad had carried on his father's legacy on having this type of gatherings to create a loving environment for us to grow in. A support system unlike no other - a close-knitted family bond. I do appreciate his persistance now. Now that I have kids of my own, I want them to be secured. I want them to know that these are the people that they could depend on. That everyone is there for them. :)
The other thing about it is that my dad does not get upset that the little ones won't get in line to sembahyang. He'd just let them roam when we were reciting the Yaasin. :) For him, it's just as important for the little ones to be around this type of gatherings, so that they would want to join in when they are older. So that they would know who their families are. So that they will not forget their religious duties as well as wanting to be succeessful in the studies and careers. These are hard lessons to teach my kids and I really don't want to shove them down their throat. My dad has taught through his actions that we need to balance the pursuit of akhirat and the current life we're living. That it is both equally important.
So, yeah. We try to make an effort to come to these gatherings. After all, who can resist the authentic home-cooked Temerloh mari patin tempoyak, eh? Yummy..
-dillz blogging out-
12 comments:
Lapang rasa dada tengok babe. U have such big family!
Amy,
tu yang nak kena ketuk dinding rumah tu... hihihihihihi
:)
tempoyakk!!!!
did i tell you i met your mom at a friend's tahlil for her arwah mom? yupp, i did. i could recognize her from her face and avantgarde accessories hehehhe...
tegur la dia. she remembered 'noresh ye... yg panggil kyra dtg buat face painting tuh!'.
personally, i think it's important to have this kind of family meet intertwined with some ilmu akhirat especially for our kids in this kind of age where social activities are becoming a wee bit out of norm.
paling best, of course the makan part la kan! terliur siut tengok ikan patin masak tempoyak tuh!! slurrrpppp!!!
KaOru,
yes bro it is!!! :)
noresh,
i hear you. tak tahu cara mana lagi nak instill kan? can not paksa, can not this , can not that- nanti dia lari pulak.. it has to be coupled with something fun and yang dia rasa as biasa - something you grow up with.. so , yes. I am all for it. Even more so since I am now a mom. :)
my mom sure senyum2, kan? she is hard to not notice. hihihihihihi
This is more on my hubby's side. My MIL ada 14 adik beradik!! So you can imagine, especially since majority of them live in Melaka and like 20 minutes from each other. It took me a while to get used to things...hmm, yeah, was a bit rimas...but when it comes to the kids, they love it. So all in all, a good thing.
along,
hihihihihihi
i feel ya, sista! :)
i think its a wonderful legacy to be trained upon the kids.
k dilla,
bagusla this tradition: utk kesejahteraan dunia n akhirat. make sure u guys continue with this even when your parents are no more around.
kita pun nk ambik cth sikit2 fr this :)
very good tradition dilla...agak2nya when shall it start at your place pulak?
adzue,
yeah. tapi nak mengorganize tu adalah satu cabaran... perlu banyak kesabaran and persistence!
hihihihihi
kay,
that's the plan, dear. :)
sue,
ingat nak start kecik2 je dulu.. anak beranak, solat jemaah and yaasin on saturdays. insya Allah.. :)
LOOOVE this! ;)
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