It’s a boy, the sequel!

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحد لله, on Friday, the 11th of Shaʿbān, 1431 (23rd of July, 2010), at 12:40 AM local Columbus time, Allāh blessed us with a healthy, 6 lbs, 14 oz blessing that we’ve named عبد الله (ʿAbdullāh), which, in Arabic, means, “slave of Allāh” (Allāh being the proper name of God).  For…

Getting back on track

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem Alhamdulillaah, nothing can take away from the blessing & joy of being a father, but one of the obvious side effects of having an infant is the drastic change in priorities.  So, naturally, most of my projects have fallen on the wayside.  Even work has suffered.  But, alhamdulillaah, this just means I…

It’s a boy!

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem Alḥamdulillāh, on Monday, the 19th of Rabīʿ ulʾawwa, 1430 (16th of March, 2009) at 5:38 PM Malaysia local time, Allāh blessed us with a 2.3 kg (~5 lb.) blessing we named ʿAbdurraḥmān (عبد الرحمن), which, in Arabic, means “slave of the Most Merciful”, which is one of the beautiful names of Allāh…

En route to Malaysia

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem Alhamdulillaah, my wife & I are en route to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where we’ll be staying one night with her brother & his family before continuing on our way to home in Kuala Terengganu, in shaaʾ Allaah.  Right now we’re in the Kuwait International Airport, and, alhamdulillaah, they have free wifi throughout…

Alexandria one month in

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem Alhamdulillaah, we’ve had some good times this past month here in Alexandria.  The weather has been outstanding – the only other times I’ve been here I remember the weather being far warmer on the border of being uncomfortable.  This time we’ve hardly had a day that didn’t feel cool and fresh, alhamdulillaah.

From the South China to the Mediterranean Sea

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem Alhamdulillaah, my wife & I arrived safely in Alexandria, Egypt this past Friday to the welcoming arms of my parents, whom I haven’t seen since I left the US back in June.  If you’ll recall, I originally departed on this journey because I could not bring my wife to the US yet,…

Back home in Kuala Terengganu

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem Alhamdulillaah, I’ve returned “home” to Kuala Terengganu (KT), which is my wife’s hometown, and I’ve taken it to be my home-away-from home.  It’s a beautiful place, especially because we actually live in a kampung, or village, not to far away from the main part of KT.  Additionally, compared to Kuala Lumpur (KL),…

Back in Malaysia

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem Alhamdulillaah, I am back in Malaysia, which means I am also back with my wife.  Words cannot express how much joy the two of us are experiencing being together once again.  More than six months have passed since we’d been together the last time.  In case it is not obvious, the reason…

Family blog

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem Last week my wife & I have decided to start our own family blog to track family’s Islamic development.  As a result, I will most-likely be posting my personal- and family-related musings over there rather than here, allowing HidayahTech to remain more tech-oriented.  That doesn’t mean there will be a complete dearth…

(Belated) Marriage Announcement

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem Putting aside for now the minor detail that it actually happened over six months ago, I just wanted to announce as far-and-wide as possible that Allaah has blessed me, Basil Mohamed Gohar, with marriage to Nor Sallsabil binti (daughter of) Abdul Razak.  Our marriage took place after `Ishaa’ (evening prayer) on May…