essence of cape town - blog

It shouldn’t be served anywhere!

No Comments// Posted in Random by Nielfa Hanifa on 03.10.10.

This had to be posted.

What’s on my roll?

No Comments// Posted in Blogroll, Random by Nielfa Hanifa on 03.10.10.

My blogroll specifically…

I hope no one takes offence to this, I just found it funny

Since moving over to Wordpress, I didn’t bring along the blogroll I used to have on my side panel back at Blogger. Instead, I became smart and starting using Google Reader and decided to make like one of Giuseppe Ottaviani’s mixes and “Linking People” to some of the blogs I’ve been following for a while and some new blogs I’ve started reading recently.

They’re in no particular order, except that I’m breaking them into my reader’s categories.

DESIGN BLOGS THAT INSPIRE ME
Wren, Design is Mine, Skinny laMinx, Decor8, Desire to Inspire, Tarek Atrissi’s Blog, Smashing Magazine, Fuel Your Creativity, Fann 3arabi | Arabic Art

FASHION BLOGS
Hijab Style, Sea of Shoes, Atlantis Home, WhoWhatWear

FOOD BLOGS
Joy The Baker, Blog Chef, RaZMaTaZ

ISLAMIC AND SPIRITUAL BLOGS
Muslimah Media Watch, Interpreter’s Path, Seekers Guidance Blog, 40 days and 40 nights… in Yemen, altmuslimah

MOMMY BLOGS
Dooce, Girl’s Gone Child, Expensive Mistakes and Cheap Thrills.

PHOTO BLOGS
Cape Town Daily Photo, Zulkha’s

THE BLOGS I TRY TO READ OFTEN
(These are many so if I don’t mention your blog, it doesn’t mean I don’t read it.)

Shafinaaz, Being Brazen, Undiagnosed ADHD/The Organ Harvester, Glad to be a Girl, Saaleha, Wired to the Web, Elements of Curiosity/I Whisper Here, Concerning MJ, JustB[coz], Moments of Reflection, Mangoes and Mint/Oh My Golly, The Blogger, The Storytellers Web, KiLLa.Co.Za, khadijapatel.co.za

Ok, I can’t Cmd+C and Cmd+V anymore… I’ll share links as I go along in future. I apologise because I know I didn’t mention EVERY SINGLE blog I follow but there’s only so much “copy/pasting” links that I can do in one blog post.

It’s my sister’s baby shower on Saturday, so I’ll probably be too busy to post the rest of this week. I’m very excited and can’t wait to see her reaction to the theme. Look out for photos.

Me and online shopping…

No Comments// Posted in On- and offline Shopping by Nielfa Hanifa on 03.09.10.

I saw 31% off this Silk Route abaya from Islamic Design House and guess what? Yes, I bought it.

I got it this afternoon and it’s really pretty and rather comfortable. The fabric is not too thick so I think it’s suitable to wear in summer, but more so to keep me warm in winter… so my rationalisation for this buy is, that it’s winter shopping!

If you don’t know me by now…

1 Comment// Posted in About Me, Random by Nielfa Hanifa on 03.09.10.

I’ve seen a couple of blogger buddies do similar posts to this one that originally started over here at Hamish’s.

Seems like I’m having an “on month” with being a “regular blogger”, so I’m going to share a few of the things I reckon I should have told Zeen before we found ourselves in our wedded space… but I’m sure he’s figured them out by now.

1. When I don’t have the words, I cry!
2. I can’t sleep without an argument resolved.
3. As a (younger) kid I wasn’t really spoilt and didn’t always get what I want, but the way to my heart now sometimes are these shiny things called diamonds and my birthstone, tanzanite.
4. That said, I REALLY am low-maintenance.
5. I don’t really eat chocolate, unless I crave the occassional red wrapped Cote d’or or crumbly Flake.
6. I don’t like fighting, but if a confrontation is needed, I WILL get it over and done with as soon as I can.
7. Silent treatment = I’m upset.
8. It’s not that I’m selfish, I’m just very conscious of my cooking and baking so I don’t always willfully offer anyone what I’ve made to eat.
9. I get urges to speak like a two-year old - like you get urges to fart.
10. Housework has never been my forte.
11. Next to not being able to live without you - I can’t live without tea… and potatoes.

In context of baby showers…

No Comments// Posted in Random by Nielfa Hanifa on 03.08.10.

I bought the latest edition of The Big Issue and even though it has been making the rounds already, it was the first time I saw this Zapiro cartoon.

Accompanying the cartoon was “An Ode to the President’s Penis” written by Lauren Beukes. I can’t find the ode on her site and not sure if I can retype the article from the magazine itself, but it’s awfully apt, funny and I personally think, a great piece to go with the cartoon.

So if you haven’t already, I’d suggest getting yourself a copy of The Big Issue, it’s only R14 and for a good cause and you’ll definitely have a great laugh when reading the poem on page 11.

They say…

No Comments// Posted in Random by Nielfa Hanifa on 03.07.10.

It’s never too late to change.

I say… sometimes, it’s never too early.

Posting on the go…

No Comments// Posted in Random by Nielfa Hanifa on 03.06.10.

I’m doing a bit of work over the weekend and sitting in Kauai with WiFi available… and figured, since I haven’t ever done a blog post from my laptop yet, I’ll do one now :D

So… hello world from my MacBook Pro!

Something to share…

No Comments// Posted in Random by Nielfa Hanifa on 03.05.10.

My husband and I are total junkies for Shafiq Morton’s writing… so when he recently emailed this write up on the esteemed Habib Umar, there was no way I wasn’t going to share it.

A STATION OF LIGHT
Habib Umar ibn Hafidh’s historic visit to Cape Town

By Shafiq Morton

Media interviews can be predictable things. People who are famous for being famous can hardly utter a sentence. Those who are well-known might be worth a few sound bytes; and those who are really famous might, if you’re lucky, reveal something profound.

But interviewing people such as Habib Umar ibn Hafidh, a 39th generation descendent of the Prophet Muhammad (s), is another matter
entirely. There is no need for what we in the journalistic trade call “hooks”.

Spiritual master, co-founder of Dar ul-Mustafa University, orator, philanthropist and traveller, the 47 year-old Habib Umar is impossible
to distil into the columns, or the time-frames, of your standard media interview.

Those who so inspire other human beings, especially through the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (s) like the Habib, can never do justice to the 20-minute face-to-face encounter. You will get an opinion or two, yes, but you will only capture less than fleeting shadows of the real
person.

Perhaps what I’m trying to say is best encapsulated by the Prophetic exemplar himself, Muhammad (s). This was when he commented that he was a “city of knowledge” and that his cousin, our master ‘Ali (ra), was its “gate”.

Habib Umar - one of the illustrious sons of the ancient city of Tarim in the Hadramaut - is a hereditary gatekeeper to this Prophetic “city
of knowledge” through the line of Ali’s son, Hussain (ra).

And to understand something of the Habib, you have to go on a guided tour of the enchanting Prophetic city he represents; an enchanting
city resplendent with its stations of the heart, its foundation stones built from pure faith and its actions based on sincere and consistent
worship.

Indeed, if Rome wasn’t built in a day, how could its streets be navigated by the following sunrise? The journey of the heart towards
its Creator takes a lifetime. Its paths cannot be understood via the internet, and nor can its truths be purchased in a chain store.

When I first encountered Habib Umar at his host’s house in Sea Point, I could immediately see that he was the centre of the room. “A station of light” was the only way I could describe it. Sitting on the floor (there was a comfortable settee behind him) he was consulting an electronic notebook.

For a man who’d been on the go from tahajjud (well before dawn) until midnight for several days, he was remarkably unruffled. His white
thawb (under which he wore a lungi) was uncreased, and his white turban (folded in Hadramaut style) was immaculate.

If he was tired, he certainly wasn’t showing it. If anything, he seemed to be a part of the cooling Atlantic sea-breeze on that
stiflingly hot Cape Town February evening.

Over the next few days I drifted in and out of his spiritual “city”. I remember him one morning discussing the effects of sound, a discussion
derived from his recollection of a pious man even talking to, and honouring, his food plate.

“A stone laughs when it’s built in a place of divine remembrance. It weeps when it’s put in a place of wrongdoing,” he said, mentioning that David of the Psalms - Nabi Dawud (as) - had such a musical voice birds stopped in the air, and rivers ceased to flow just to listen to him.

Those were only a few of the inspiring aphorisms that flowed off his refined tongue. But for me, the finest moment of his brief tour was his lecture on mawlud, the celebration of the Prophet’s (s) birth.

Saying that we had been brought together through faith and love, he added that the person who held the banner of these gatherings was (his grand-father) the Prophet Muhammad (s). Circles of dhikr (remembrance) were like the meadows of heaven. And those endowed with noble qualities on the Final Day would be the people who had grazed in such meadows.

Habib Umar went on to talk about nur, or divine light. One of the honorific titles of Muhammad (s) was “seraj munira”, a shining lamp. His cousin Ibn ‘Abbas had commented that when the Prophet (s) was born the entire horizon had lit up.

“It is under this Prophetic light that we tread,” he had commented, much to the delight of the Prophet (s). Habib Umar then said that Muhammad (s) had reported three things about himself: “I am the result of Abraham’s prayer (for Mercy); I am the glad tidings of ‘Isa, or Jesus, who predicted my coming; and I am the vision which my mother saw on her birth.”

This vision, a light that illuminated the distant castles of Syria from Mecca, was a sign of his mother Aminah’s high station, said Habib Umar. He posed the question: if scholars agreed that Muhammad’s (s) burial place in Medina was the most sacred spot on earth, what about the sanctity of his mother’s womb?

“Fill your hearing, your speech, your sight, your flesh, your hair with this Prophetic light,” he said, “no-one is better for you than the Prophet (s).”

Companions had described the Prophet (s) like the “full-moon”. The Prophetic light of mercy was a force that could not be veiled, or extinguished. So full of light was the Prophet (s) that he did not even have a shadow. And when the planetary lights would glimmer and fade, as foretold in the Qur’an, the lamp of Muhammad (s) would still shine forth.

The source of this light, said Habib Umar, was the faithful heart. Gatherings remembering the Prophet were a consequence of this light. It was passed down from generation to generation, and consequently (as Muslims) we had to pray for all human hearts to be illuminated.

In a world of distinctly shaped characters…

1 Comment// Posted in About Me, My Thoughts, Random by Nielfa Hanifa on 03.04.10.

Yesterday I stumbled upon this poster. I liked it so much, I impulsively bought a print and thought it would be apt to put up in the office, since I DO work with type on a daily basis.

I spontaneously thought of sharing the link and really didn’t expect the response it got. In South Africa, typographers are a hidden minority that put together libraries of information, in an appealing form to read yet not many people know they exist. Recently, I finished typesetting my first dictionary and when I sat in Exclusive Books marveling at lines and lines of black and white; and seemingly ordinary words, I felt so proud, because I knew of the hard work that went into getting it to look like an ACTUAL dictionary…so I learnt that compiling a book isn’t simply just typing it all and printing it out.

At primary school, I always put in a tremendous amount of effort to present my assignments prettily. In retrospect, typed out in a way too fancy font and the most silliest of formatting, but thinking back, I realise I already had the love for typography then, just lacked the vast amounts of knowledge thereof.

After finishing high (home-)school, I wasn’t particularly sure what career path I’d take but I knew I wanted to do something in design or DTP. I didn’t have the opportunity to go study because at that time, my parents could afford it. I grew up with a computer in our household, so thankfully, I had the resources and aptitude to teach myself how to use the current design software using trial versions. Then I found a job and I worked here and there and everywhere, I learnt many valuable life and employable skills, made many friends and contacts, and until I could afford to, I went to City Varsity to do a course in Graphic Design. My love for typography came to light so brightly, that I couldn’t ignore it.

I want to share one of the simpler assignments I had to do, but honestly enjoyed the most. We had to choose four words and visually define it’s meaning by using the word only, tracing the type as we went along. It’s very amateur and knowing what I know now, I probably would’ve done a lot differently, but here goes…

A little way down the path of life, I kind of lost my job (that I blogged myself through, so you can read all about it in my archives,) and even though I was despondent about finding a new job, I was blessed to get into contact with a highly acclaimed book designer, mentored by a German typographer, who had some of the largest publishers in SA as her clients… and she wanted to interview me. We met at her house, she made me tea, I showed her my portfolio and we spoke. After she told me about the position she was offering, she asked me why I wanted the job and my response was honest and unfrilled… that I had no logical reason, but I felt it was right for me, in my heart. I guess it was a good enough answer, because I got the job :)

I’ve learnt so much and am constantly learning even more, every single day. I’ve come to the point where my skill has improved from the simple assignment to where I’m able to provide my own personal touch that became apparent to me personally, when I designed the book, cover and poster for Shafinaaz’s anthology, Memoirs for Kimya.

Needless to say, my love for typography has grown immensely and after reading the response to the link I shared, I reflected on where I am now. So this morning I just felt the urgent need to buy my boss a bouquet of flowers and make her a card to say thank you.

I can’t count my blessings enough!

I’m no public speaker…

No Comments// Posted in Random by Nielfa Hanifa on 03.03.10.

I have an very close aunty friend (that I may have mentioned here before) whose only daughter got married on Sunday. Back when the initial wedding plans started, she asked Zeen to do the opening qiraa’at and that I give a speech. Both of us declined, but were forced into it in a way only a mother could get you to do something.

Thankfully, my job was limited to rewriting key things she wanted to share in a message as the mother of the bride and to read it at the second reception of the day.

The following is what I wrote, but aunty friend edited it a bit because I used too many big words, so much for my dictionary and thesaurus. When I did finally read it, I was so nervous, I misread almost everything and had to improvise anyway. I was also very emotional, because this wedding was amidst our visits with the esteemed Habib Umar from Tarim.

Here is the message though:

To Thurayah and Shukri:

Today you have received a gift from Allah (SWT) the sacred act of matrimony. By entering into marriage, you have now completed half of your faith. Masha’Allah.

Now open the doors with these key words; Allah, Allah, Allah… We know that Islam is based on five pillars; and your marriage should primarily be based on them, along with building your own marital pillars.

But first, you need to lay a foundation of protection, respect and trust.

PROTECT yourselves and one another from anything that could harm you or your relationship.
RESPECT each other for who you are as unique individuals; and
TRUST one another, as you would expect to be trusted.

This will create a bond and solid foundation for pillars of compassion, loyalty and love.

COMPASSION: In marriage, everything should be dealt with kindness and tolerance.
LOYALTY: Always act with dedication to your spouse.
LOVE: Love each other like the first time you met; and just to spice things up a bit,
Keep the PASSION alive, because it jump starts anything!

With these support structures in place, your marriage will be an open platform for HAPPINESS, UNDERSTANDING and COMPROMISE.

—

I want to share a few key things for you to always remember

That marriage is not an OWNERSHIP! You will never OWN your partner, but rather remember that you OWE one another the fundamental pledge of always protecting, respecting and trusting each other.

Don’t try to change one another! You are bound to learn of little, (and big) idiosyncrasies and nuances about each other. A big challenge will be learning to accept them, but accept them you must. Trying to change your partner will only lead to confusion and bitterness. In the end you’ll be with someone you no longer know; and finally,

Don’t ever allow anyone, including yourselves to destroy your foundation and pillars, ruining your platform!

—

(Because I was so moved and touched by the few gatherings with Habib Umar that I had attended, I spontaneously added this piece of advice:)

I’d like to pass on a piece of advice that I’ve heard in passing and find to be an important aspect to remember as well. That as husband and wife, if you strive in the path of Allah ta’aala and increase your love for our beloved Nabi Muhammad (SAW), your marriage will be filled with love multiplied in excess of what you feel today.

—

I want to conclude with a dua from your mother, myself and everyone at this beautiful wedding: May Allah (SWT)’s richest blessings always shine upon your marriage and may He one day grant you pious children who will be the coolness of your eyes, Insha’Allah.

… and then I ran off to hide because my heart was a lump in my throat.

The whole experience was nerve wrecking because there was no podium and when I unfolded the message to read it, my hands shook uncontrollably. I then placed the page on the bridal table, held the mic with both my hands and spoke, looking directly at the bride and groom.

Three days later, I’m still nervous… so I definitely don’t have any public speaking ambitions in my future, thank you very much!