One of the main reason to be happy about after finishing exams is to go for jaulah queenstown!!! =D queenstown is located at the south island of new zealand and is famous for its beautiful and lovely nature which is also the place for filming the Lord of the Rings..so there was me, aida, aliaa, wani from wellington, azie from Christchurch, kak tiqah@naqibah, kak fareha, and tasha..
on 21st june we flew to queenstown at 10 am and reached there at 12.15pm. it happened that the rest besides me,aida and aliaa were all in Christchurch so they drove down from there to queenstown airport to meet us. So while waiting for them at the airport we were given the task to memorise Surah as-Syams and Hadis 8 an-Nawawi. The weather in queenstown was very chilly (it’s winter) and it’s very beautiful to see the rocky mountains surrounding the airport has snow blanketing the peaks… Subhanallah…=D
They arrived at the airport at around 2.30pm. the feeling of meeting them in queenstown was just amazing . Everyone was looking so happy and vibrant. Alhamdulillah.. so we travelled in two cars, which we named Huzaifah and as-Syams and with the help of TomTom, our GPS for directions. =D
Aida was driving as-Syams and kak fareha was driving Huzaifah. We went straight to Wanaka, which is at the north of queenstown. The roads were a little icy and it gets colder when it gets darker. But Alhamdulillah, we had a safe journey, although kak tiqah felt a little headache. We reached the accommodation place, Purple Cow XD after dark and that was when the cold was getting unbearable. But the stars were bright and there were many of them. So we could observe for the direction of the qiblat…Alhamdulillah… =D
That night after Isha prayers and dinner, we had a sharing session together. we discussed about surah at-Taubah and Perang Tabuk, and how is it that these relates to us and how Allah had tested the people of Madinah on their Iman and faith in Him. =)
The next day, we were planning to go to Lake Ohao, and have our picnic there. Lake Ohao is a lake where you could see beautiful views of the mountains, close around it . But it was clearly just us at the lake, it seemed people don’t go there for picnics. But still it was a wonderful place, we prayed in front of the lake with the mountains ‘accompanying’ us, touching our hearts with His Greatness and Prominence…Ya Allah, We felt really small…
It was late, we were quite behind schedule. We actually planned to go to Mount Cook, which is 1.5 hours away from Lake Ohao, and then we had to go down to queenstown city, 2 hours away, where our accommodation is. But everyone was determined to go to Mount Cook to play snow =p so we just go there anyway. The journey to Mount Cook, I have no word to describe it….it’s like watching a beautiful painted picture in front of you. As we drove by the mountains, it was like the mountains are never ending and it feels like they are surrounding you!
Surah at Naml (verse 88);
Thou seest the mountains and thinkest them firmly fixed: but they shall pass away as the clouds pass away: (such is) the artistry of Allah, who disposes of all things in perfect order: for he is well acquainted with all that ye do.
This verse revealed that the mountains were actually moving, when we see them fixed to their positions. It confirms the fact that the Earth is actually moving, (rotating on its axis) but of course we do not realize it. Allah constructed His creations in such a way that made us think and ponder. Subhanallah…=)
we finally reached at the foot of mount cook and it seemed there were very little snow. But we took pictures anyway. But really, the highlight was the journey going there, that really made us think of how small and worthless we are if compared to the vastness of His creations. =)
after that we went back to queenstown, and we were rushing because we were quite late for the accommodation check in (they close at 8) We also got lost for directions to go to the accommodation because TomTom was not helping..huhu..it couldn’t detect the place. But we found our way, Alhamdulillah… right at 8 pm..
It was terribly cold that morning, I had to put on two layers of thermal pants and 4 layers of shirts. But the most exciting thing was, it’s snowing! Tiny flakes of snow greeted our first morning in queenstown.
Surah an-nur (verse 43):
Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap? - then wilt thou see rain issue forth from their midst. And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail: He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases, the vivid flash of His lightning well-nigh blinds the sight.
Kak tiqah was really thrilled and so are others. We played with snow outside our cabins and took some pictures. That morning kak tiqah and tasha were supposed to leave for Auckland at 10 am. They have final tests a couple of days ahead =p
so it was sad sending them at the airport, because there were only 6 of us now. After that, we went to coronet peak, a ski field. We could see other mountains from there but they weren’t as thickly covered with snow as this place, because the snow here are being produced (artificial snow) in addition to the natural snow. We did not ski, but just took some photos and fool around with snow. And later we performed Zuhr prayers on the snow…Subhanallah, what an experience!! After that, we all huddled together to listen to the story of Ummu Sulaim, by wani. Ummu Sulaim is the mother of Anas bin Malik, a very prominent narrator of Hadith.
We were about to leave after that, and then suddenly Huzaifah could not be started. It was out of battery because kak fareha forgot to turn off the front lights =p but Allah helped us! Shortly , the person who parked in front of us came to his car and offered to help us! so he had these cables out and connected the battery of his car with ours. And walla! Huzaifah roared again!! Alhamdulillah….=D
And then we went to the supermarket to buy some stuff for cooking that night. We were planning to make chicken rendang! And we had some instant ketupat with us! XD it’s like celebrating raya in queenstown! Funny..haha…
That night after cooking we ate our hearty dinner and it was delicious! There were a couple of people there who were quite curious seeing our ‘tiny rice bags’ XD and one of them actually commented that our cooking smells nice. We offered her and her family some and they loved it.
The next day we hang around indoors and had sharing session for the whole day. We had to memorise Hadith 13 an-Nawawi.
On the authority of Anas bin Malik, the servant of the messenger of Allah, that the prophet said :
"None of you [truely] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself."
related by Bukhari and Muslim
This hadith tells of how ukhuwah is one of the most important pillar of Iman. It shows that loving your friends and sisters in Islam completes us as a Muslim. They are the ones who care for us and would advise and tell us if we did anything wrong. That’s love. You care and you love your friends because of Allah. Be patient with them and understand them because of Allah. This trip had taught me a lot about ukhuwah. There were times when we have different opinions, but that is not important. Islam taught us tolerance and acceptance is the utmost priority above all.
The next day was the last day of us in queenstown. Me, aida and alia had to catch flight at 10 am, kak fareha, azie and wani were going back to Christchurch. We said our final goodbyes and hopefully we’ll see each other again, insyaAllah. We may be apart at the moment but our hearts are always connected through Iman. I am very sure all of us left queenstown having something very memorable and meaningful in our hearts.
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