3rd July 2011

3rd July: Haul Habib Syeikh bin Salim Al-Attas

We were woken up by the cries of "Haiya ala shalah" ("Come on, lets pray!") by students of the Pesantren. 

After subuh prayer, Habib Zein bin Ibrahim bin Semait gave a short talk, followed by breakfast. 

Hj Ismail with Habib Abdur Rahman.

After breakfast, we went back to our rooms to rest, as majlis starts at 9 a.m. However, Habib Abdur Rahman told all Singaporean guests to gather at 8.30 a.m. to meet Habib Zein in private. 

Habib Zein, Habib Abdur Rahman and majority of the Singaporean guests.

The crowd... much more than last night.

Habib Abdur Rahman

Habib Zein

In Indonesia and even in Singapore, there are quite a number of gatherings where the book of hadith - "Sahih Bukhari" is read.

Habib Abdullah reading "Sahih Bukhari".

and the rest of them took turns...

Habib Zein giving a talk.

Habib Ali bin Muhammad Al-Haddad, currently staying in Condet, Jakarta. We met him before in Singapore. He recognised us and invited us over for lunch at his house on the next day.

Habib Umar bin AbdurRahman Al-Attas from Haudramaut, Yemen, was delighted to know that we are Singaporeans. He asked us if we know his student, Ustaz Leyaket Ali, which we did. Ustaz Leyaket is currently doing his Phd (under MUIS schloarship) at a university in Jogjakarta.

After the event, we head straight to Cibubur for the opening ceremony of the Musholla Al-Barakah. Although it usually takes about 2 hours, the traffic in Indonesia can be very unpredictable.

(Refer to the blog on Musholla Al-Barakah for more info on its opening ceremony.)

At the opening ceremony, one of the guest speakers, Dr Wajihuddin, invited us over to his Orphanage. Although we were very tired by then, we accepted it and head down to his place.

Dr Wajihuddin is a former Indonesian civil servant. He was given good salary, a car and a house - all paid by the Indonesian goverment. His job required him to move around Indonesia and when he saw the poor children being left unattended, he told his wife that they must do something to help them. Hence, he gave up his job and all the perks that came with it. He took in (at first) 12 orphans and they all lived in a bamboo house. Alhamdulillah, now he has more than 300 children under his care and has moved to a more comfortable house. The bamboo house is still there as a remembrance and is currently being used as an admin office for the Orphanage.

Dr Wajihuddin giving his speech at the opening ceremony of Musholla Al-Barakah.

This is where it all started... the bamboo house which Dr Wajihuddin stayed with his family and 12 orphans.

We visited Dr Wajihuddin after the event. We reached here at about 12.30 a.m.!