Aqiqah for Kahfi

it was a day of celebration.

celebration of a new life.
celebration of a new home.
celebration of a new year.

doa selamat.
so that the new life, new home and new year - semuanya selamat.

khaleef enjoying the space

aqiqah for kahfi
we woke up that day excited to welcome guests to the *aqiqah of our second born, kahfi khairul. this makan-makan doubles up as a house-warming too since moving to dubai marina. early morning my mom-in-law, teh and mr khairul were ship-shaping the house with furnitures moved against the wall to make more space.

*aqiqah is defined as the animal that is slaughtered on the occasion of the birth of a baby.

This was reported in Abu Daud where the Prophet ( Peace be upon him ) said:

"A young boy is cleansed with his aqiqah. An animal is slaughtered for him on the seventh day, his name is given and his head shaved."

the purpose of aqiqah
there are many benefits in the performance of aqiqah:

• announcing the blessing of Allah with the birth of a baby. to show gratitude and joy to God for this great occasion, an animal is slaughtered and the meat shared amongst friends and relatives.
• khabarkan. to tell others that a baby has been born, to inform friends and relatives about the new member in the family.
• promoting kinship and friendship by giving meat to family, friends and neighbours.

where's kahfi?
remember the buaian besi thingy that we got from a malaysian chinese family living in our old apartment? my mom-in-law put some ribbons and hang the sarong and voila! we got a buaian ala-ala cukur jambul ceremony. just for fun. i korek-korek and managed to find some ribbons used (guess when!) during my engagement to mr khairul! punya lah lama! the theme color back then was red and white - which conveniently matches the sarong used as the hammock for kahfi.

anyone recognize the *sarong* by the way? sigh. some people just can't leave his school boy days...

what happened?

• at 230pm the al-tawasol dude sent our anticipated mandy rice.
• a minute later we were gobbling up the mandy rice - hunger - plus it's easier to focus on the guests later on!
• guests started arriving half an hour later and piling by the minute.
• about 10 families came (singles, couples with kids) to me, fair enough crowd - just nice for the food and space
• my mom-in-law opened with some warm welcoming words
• reciting of the surah Yaasin
• jemput makan! guests ate our yummy mandy rice
• mr khairul took some guests to the pool side to enjoy the view of the palm island and the marina
• lepak-lepak sipping tea

the men - reciting doa after reciting Yaasin

guests enjoying the food

thank you for bringing warmth to our new home, and teh for babysitting kahfi during the event

presents galore - thanks for the presents, and a yummy coffee cake

post-mortem
it was a relief and joy to see guests taking 2nd, 3rd helping of food served. seeing the ladies walking up and down to the kitchen, already making themselves at ease, at home. hearing the giggles of the girls and playful wrestling matches of the boys in the next room.

i love being a host!


mr. khairul and i would like to thank all who came to color our home that day with hues of bright yellow, exciting red and calming blue, with a little splash of pure white and fresh green. it means a lot to us that you guys came to meriahkan our boy's aqiqah.

we apologize if we left some people out. with pak lah coming and the oman trip, we assumed some of our friends are tied up with the prep and such. no fret! there's always so many other times you can and visit. raya, perhaps?

jemput datang ye!