Islam is a Way of Life

Assalamualaikum and Hey There.

     Sometimes people don't have time for complete explanations, so this might come as handy. IDK... Or maybe the people are among your age so you don't want to confuse them. Either way... 

1. "Why do you cover your head?" 

     "Because God asks me to do so."

     "But why aren't your friend wearing a veil?" 

     "Insya-Allah, she will, soon."

      "What did you say? Insy--" 

       "Insya-Allah?"

       "Yes. That one."

       "Insya-Allah means If Allah wills in Arabic. We need to say that everytime we want to make promises 'cause we won't know what will happen in the future. Plus, words are prayers. The more I hope for her to change, the more likely she will change."

   2.     "And why does she now not covering head when it's a must?"

        "Okay, let's take it this way. As a child, who do you love the most?"

        "My parents..?" 

        "Indeed, but then, when they ask us to do chores like do the dishes and clean your room, we don't always listen, right? It's a lie if you say you never said no."

        "Yeah..." 

         "Same goes to everyone, including Muslims. As a human being, we sometimes are too weak and reluctant to obey our own Creator." 

         

 3.   (another version) "Why do you cover your head?" 

       "You know, they say that even in fashion, showing less skin is more classy."

     "Yeah, but they never say about showing less hair or no hair at all." 

     "Oh that, I leave that all to your imagination. You need to work and enhance your imagination, before you're getting too old." 

4. "Why do you pray?"

     "To be closer to God."

      "What did you get for being closer to God?"

      "A lot. Like my smartness and pimple-free face. Okay maybe not that flawless."

      "Ohh, don't self-hate yourself. You're beautiful."

       "I'm sorry. Didn't you hear that I literally just bragging about my beauty and brain?"

       "Yeah right."

5.    "Don't you think you're wasting time by having to pray 5 times a day?"

        "No, I don't. 'Cause roughly a prayer would take about 5 minutes so that'd be 25 minutes a day. Only 25 minutes out of 1400 minutes for your God everyday? That's barely a long time. I mean, we take a way longer time for eating and sleeping."

6.    "Why can't you touch a guy?"

       "I do can. As long as I'm wearing my gloves."

       "What's the deal with skin-to-skin?"

       "Umm, let's just say I'm a germaphobes."

       "You are a germaphobes?"

       "Only with boys' germs."

       "Now you're acting immature."

       "Hey! I'm just trying to make it easy for you."

       "Seriously, Ayu, can't you be serious for like, 5 seconds?"

       "Right, I actually leave my bare skin totally touch-free from elligible guys so that my future husband can enjoy it. Jealous much?"

        "I might be your future husband."

         "Oh please, no, you won't."

7. "Are you still a virgin?"

      "Proudly yes."

      "OMG, how lame!""

       "Excuse me, which part of me being a virgin is lame?"

        "The part that you never had a sexual experience before?"

        "You know why I'm doing this? 'Cause I believe that a husband should   have the best from his wife and not something second-hand. And vice versa."

 8. "You're such a bragger. You think that you're holier and better than us and we're sick of you."

      "I'm sorry, in Islam, we're not saying that we're better than you guys, but we actually wanna show you a better way of life."

  9. "Why can't you eat pork?"

      "Ok, why some people don't eat seafood?"

      "Because... they are allergic to it?"

       "Yes. And the same goes to me."

        "Nobody's allergic to pork, you liar."

        "No, the same goes to me- it makes me sick."  



Ikhlas Daripada,
 

5 Sappy Songs That I Love

Assalamualaikum and hey there.

Music will always be my biggest guilty pleasure. And when all the songs on the radio match your feelings, you'd know that you're actually experiencing one common thing - heartbreak. So here's my playlist when I was heartbroken back then. Hahah.

1. The One That Got Away - Katy Perry

    One of the first Katy's songs that I heard, probably after Firework. The beat is simple. But her voice is the winning factor. I appreciate storytelling songs so I love the story behind the lyrics. And also, this song is an awesome go-to karaoke choice. ;P
Fav lyrics: It's time to face the music, I'm no longer your muse...
Fav musical moment: The stretched part of "the ooonnnneee.... the oooonnnneeee...."

2. One Last Time - Ariana Grande 

    I don't like the music video. It's so misleading that it totally destroys the loveliness of the song. I love this song after I watched the lyric video. After realising the beauty of the song's lyrics, I replayed the song again and again. And of course, Ariana's voice is the cherry on top.
Fav lyrics: I should've done you better, 'cause you don't want a liar...
Fav musical moments: The whole chorus, especially that one last time (pun intended) she sings the chorus. "One last time, I need to be,, the one,, who takes you home,, ohh." 

3. Stitches - Shawn Mendes 

Yahh... that magazine-model face of Mendes is ruined ;P I love the metaphors in this song. I mean it's on the Swift level okay, in my opinion. :P But it's a bummer that he's not the writer of the song. Some guys named Daniel and Teddy and Daniel wrote it. Go check Wikipedia if you don't believe me. The melody of this song is so depressing and gloomy and of course,  he sounded heartbroken. And the radio way overplayed this song that by the end of 2015, I've had it enough of this song that I wanted to throw up. Don't take me wrong. I love this song, but too many sadness can affect our mood :P
Fav Lyrics: Needle and the thread, gotta get you out of my head. Needle and the thread, gonna wind up dead. 
Fav musical moment: The whole pre-hook ("gotta feeling that I'm going under...") 

4. Half a Heart - One Direction 

  I love the sad melody of this song. And the lyrics are just breathtaking and charming. The metaphor of being incomplete without someone is very sweetly romantic, if you think about it again. And I love the arrangement of who-sings-which-part. Liam in the first verse, Zayn killing it in the 1st chorus, then Louis continues, and then Harry singing the 2nd chorus and then Niall sounding innocently heartbroken in the bridge. I love it. I just love it.
Fav lyrics: Though I tryna get you out of my head, the truth is I got lost without you...
Fav musical moments: The whole chorus ("only half a blue sky, kinda there but not quite...")

5. Amnesia - 5 Seconds of Summer

Okay, I lied.   :P  I must say, actually my biggest guilty pleasure is spending my time watching these people on YouTube until late at night. I know I suck. I don't even like this band. :P I mean, I was just about to fangirl this band but when I saw the She Looks So Perfect video, I just... hated it. Lucky them, they have Amnesia and I was hooked. They should thank those people who gave them this song 'cause if not, I'd still hate to love this band.  ;P IDK, this song just tugged my heartstring. And it's relatable to me. And I felt like, if  I were Taylor Swift, I'd wish that I was the one who wrote this song, 'cause the lyrics are very heartfelt. The melody arrangement is also wonderful. From its acoustic start to its loud heartfelt 2nd chorus. And this is my favourite song of them.
Fav lyrics: It's like WE never happened, was it just a lie? If what we had was real, how could you be fine? 'Cause I'm not fine at all...
Fav musical moments: The 2nd time of chorus when the melody starts to grow louder. 

You know what they said, sometimes you love a certain song 'cause it catches exactly how you feel right now/ then.  So that's it.



Ikhlas Daripada,
 

Favourite Taylor Swift's Song(s)

Assalamualaikum and hey there.

Actually, every time when people asked me my favourite T-Swizzy’s song, I just couldn’t state only one. ‘Cause all of them have different reasons why it tugs my heartstring. So, here’s my 13 favourite Taylor Swift’s songs (‘cause she likes number 13 :P ) .

1.       1..Mean

Usually, if they ask like, only one, one favourite song, I’d say Mean. ‘Cause the lyrics are motivational, the music video is very inspirational and wonderful (and is also my all-time favourite music video) and also because she won TWO Grammys for this song! I mean, this is definitely an award-winning song. Even the art cover is gorgeous and on point! ;P I belt out this song whenever I’m feeling down as the kids at my school make me feel invisible and stuff.

Album: Speak Now

Favourite lyric: Someday I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me.

Favourite musical moment: The bridge (“And a liar, and pathetic”)

2.       2. If This Was A Movie

It’s not really a popular song but I really love it!!! It was one of the bonus tracks but trust me, most of the times, bonus tracks are very good songs!  First time I heard it was on the radio and immediately fell in love with this song. When I looked up for the lyrics art, I just couldn’t look at the lyrics ‘cause it made me so sad! And the music really complements the lyrics, so it’s a beautiful song. And for this song, I could actually imagine the music video, if they ever decided to make one. I listen to this song when I just want to sing dramatically and pretend that I’m acting in the music video, and/or I’m living in a movie. Hahah.

Album: Speak Now (Deluxe)

Favourite Lyric: When time stood still and I had you.

Favourite musical moment: After the last chorus (“it’s that the kind of ending you wanna see now? Baby what about the ending? Oh ohhh…”)

3.       3.Girl at Home

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 I love the concept of this song. Taylor has always been in the point of view of “the girl who has been cheated by her boyfriend”. And it is intriguingly different in this song as she becomes “the nice girl who a guy wants to cheat on his girlfriend with her but Taylor firmly refuses.” That’s why I love this song. And I know this song is like a “lesson learned” for Taylor from all of her love experiences as she grows wiser.

Album: Red (Deluxe)

Fav lyric: It would be a fine preposition, if I hadn’t once been just like her…

Fav musical moment: the bridge (“call a cab, lose my number, you’re about to lose your girl”)

4.       4.I Knew You Were Trouble

Ohhh boy. I know people were shocked listening to this song as it’s wildly different from what Taylor used to sing but I loooved this song from the very first time I heard it!! It’s a T-Swizzy’s song that I love the most, musically. I love the dubstep and the mix of a little bit of country and pop in this song. The melody is just too awesome! I was hoping 1989’s songs would be way better than this but unfortunately no, 1989’s hits can’t beat this killer song. ;P

Album: Red

Fav lyric: A new notch in your belt, is all I ever be.

Fav musical moment: The beat of “Now I’m lying on a cold hard ground, OH! ,, OH! Trouble, trouble, trouble”

5.       5.Blank Space

This song is full of Insta-caption#winning-worthy lyrics!  (hey, you can’t deny this ;P) And I love the music video, especially the fashion and the sassiness. What can I say more? This song is definitely a winner.

Album: 1989

Fav lyric: Darling I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream. (C’mon, as cliche as this may sound, everyone loves these lyrics! Including me!)

Fav musical moment: The bridge (“boys only want love if it’s torture”)

6.       6.Should’ve Said No

This song is very emotional. I love the pop version of it more. I always feel like this song is actually the prequel of Girl at Home. I don’t have words for this song, simply breathtaking.

Album: Taylor Swift (country version) and Fearless (pop version)

Fav lyric: It was a moment of weakness and you said yes.

Fav. Musical moment: The melodies of “Do you honestly expect me to believe, we could ever be the same?”

7.       7.Brought Up That Way

This is a very heartfelt song! Only a heartless person would feel nothing! It will touch your heart deeply. Oh BTW, this is an unreleased song and I never really heard the original version of it. The only one that I could find on Youtube is a slightly pitched one, but it’s still amazing. Go listen to it!

Album: NO ALBUM. UNRELEASED.

Fav. Lyric: I didn’t bring her up, so they cut her down. I didn’t bring her here, so they can shut her out.

Fav. Musical moment: The part when “and through the tears she said, I couldn’t that to you… and he said..”

8.       8.The Other Side of The Door

Ain’t the art cover beautiful? Also, I like the title of this song. It’s one of country songs that I love. And it’s classic Taylor. And it’s also a perfect song to show how complicated girls are for always having a double meaning in everything we say. So relatable.

Album: Fearless (Platinum Edition)

Fav lyric: Baby you know everything, tell me why you couldn’t see, that when I left I wanted you to chase after me.

Fav musical moment: After final chorus (The whole damn of “With your face and your beautiful eyes, and the conversation with the little white lies” Yep, that one, which makes me asthma by the end of it)

9.       9.Ours

I just cannot not include this song. This song is enchanting. I was amused by this song, especially this one special lyric, which always be my go-to T-Swizzy’s love lyric.

Album: Speak Now (Deluxe) – see? The deluxe album tracks are always captivating!

Fav lyrics: Life makes love look hard…

Fav musical moment: The last chorus of “People throw rocks at things that shine but they can’t take what’s ours….. they can’t take what’s ours”

10.   I Almost Do

As I said before, I love sappy songs, and this is another one. This song is so sad, you can feel how heartbroken Taylor was when writing this song. And of course, a song would never be that meaningful to you if it’s not relatable with your life….

Album: Red

Fav lyric: I can’t say hello to you and risk another goodbye.

Fav musical moment: The exact same part when she sings that. It’s just too devastating.

111.Red

I love the metaphors in this song. When I first heard this song, I was diligently trying to figure out the meaning of the chorus – blue (sad, melancholic), dark grey (dull boring life), trying to know somebody you never met (difficult, near to impossible), red. But I have troubles deciding the one true meaning of red because they were so many that I found. But then I realised, it was all of them- passion, jealousy, anger, danger, infatuation, love. And due to all those smart lyrics, it became my favourite.

Album: Red

Fav. Lyrics: Remembering him comes in flashbacks, and echoes. Tell myself it’s time now, gotta let go.

Fav. Musical moment: The whole bridge

1    12. New Romantics

The lyrics are so inspiring! And motivational! And my favourites are “I could build a castle, out of all the bricks they threw at me”. I think the lyrics are just downright genius! With double meaning. First, it shows how positive Taylor is as she could take negative things (bricks) and turn it into positive things (castle). Second, it just shows how many critics she received over the years. I mean, there’re so many ‘bricks’ that she could actually make a ‘castle’ from it! Get it? It’s just genius. One of my all-time fav lyrics of her songs.

Album: 1989 (Deluxe)

Fav. lyric: I could build a castle, out of all the bricks they threw at me.

Fav. Musical moment: The chorus

1      13. Style

Okay, I admit it, One of the reasons why I love this song is because of the fact that it’s (presumably) for Harry Styles! This is the first 1989 song that when I first heard it, I immediately loved it. (I heard it from the Target commercial) (and BTW, Shake It Off and Out Of The Woods and Welcome to New York failed to do that to me ;P) So, it’s wonderful :D And not even a diss song, so yeah ;P

Album: 1989

Fav lyric: When we go crashing down, we come back every time.

Fav musical moment: The 2^nd time she sings the 2^nd chorus (“you got that long hair slicked back…”)

Actually, all of T-Swizzy’s songs are amazing. I also love Sparks Fly, Enchanted, Mine, I Know Places, Wonderland, Haunted, You Belong With Me, Love Story, I HEART ?, Picture To Burn and more. Yes. All of them.

Ikhlas Daripada,
 

Malay Pronouns

Multitude ways to call yourself,,,- and others.

      Assalamualaikum and hey there.

      Just like English, we have numerous kinds of accents. There are Northern, Southern, Sarawakian, Sabahan, Nogori, Kelate and much more. Unfortunately, growing up in KL, (even though I was born in Negeri Sembilan) I don't have any accent. So, poor me. huhuhu~~~ 

       Anyway, the Malay language has copious translations for "You" and "I", which can lead to a lot of unnecessary confusions. If English only use "I" to represent yourself and mostly "You" (and maybe "Your Highness" too,, whatsoever) to call other people, we have "Saya", "aku", "kita" "kamek" and several more as the equivalent of "I". Whereas as for "You", we have "awak", "kau", "anda", "mu", "hang", "kitak" and some more as its translation. 

       Basically, it depends on who you're talking to. In our culture, we have a much higher respect for the elders that we simply can't call them the same way we call our friends. If we are talking to older people- teachers for example, we call ourselves "saya" and address them as "Cikgu", which by the way means "teacher" in Malay. When talking to someone older than you but not like Mom-Dad old, you address them as "Kak" for females and "Bang" for males. As for parents, they also have their own calling names - for Moms - Mama, Mak, Ibu, Umi, Mami, Bonda. As for Dads - Papa, Ayah, Abah, Abi, Papi. This depends on how our parents call themselves when we were little. Mama and Ayah are quite commonly used.  And we call ourselves by our nickname in the family- Kakak, Kaklong, Kakngah, Kaklang, Angah (depends on what number is you in your siblings - the firstborn, the second, the third.)  See? We are so complicated. :P Sometimes we just call ourselves by our first name, like - Mom: I Mama want to go buy groceries, Want anything? You: Yes, I Luke wants some Nyam Nyam.  Gee, now writing it as English looks/sounds sooo weird. But it works in Malay. It is very rare to call ourselves as "saya" when talking to our parents because it will sound too formal.  "Anda" is used as a general way to say "you", like when in advertisements and TV commercials. (Eg: Drive Carefully. You Anda can make a change.)

       As for with friends, we commonly use "saya" to call ourselves and "awak" to address them when first met with someone new, for the sake of being polite. Then, when we get quite comfortable with each other's company, we'd change the "I-You"  to "aku" and "kau". And this is when things get much more complicated. Because sometimes, they are people who are comfortable to use "saya-awak" even after knowing someone for ages. Some people even use "kita" or,, yeah, their own first name, to call themselves. (Gee, can you imagine English people addressing themselves as their first name instead of "I"? Like, "where are you going?" "I  Lucy am going to the bank." SO WEIRD.) And some even use other words, depending on their accents. As for Sarawakians, they change "I-You" to "Kamek-Kitak" (But yeah, if they are close to the person, they'd also use the usual "aku-kau"  ). As for Kelantanese, they use "aku-mu". As for Northern people, they use "aku-hang". As for people of Negeri Sembilan,  they use "eden-ekau" . As for Perakians, they use "teman-kamu". As for ravers people (hahaha), they use "wa-lu" just for the effect of fake savageness. 

    OMG, look how complicated we are that I could actually make a whole entry about "you" and "I"!! This whole thing is so confusing that some of us fed up and just use "I-You" instead.  Yes, we mix the languages. "I nak pergi makan ni, you nak ikut?" "Of courselah I nak ikut. Jom!" Yes, that happens. Usually, couples would use this, other than those fed-up people. 

     So yaa, that's my language. It's confusing but I find it very unique. ;) 

      

Ikhlas Daripada,

Islam is the one

Assalamualaikum and hey there.

1. What makes you think Islam is the true religion?

Because Islam is the only religion that have and use Al-Quran. Al-Quran is a magical miracle. It's beautifully written, rhythmic even when you read the translation version, you'll feel the beauty. There's so many science inside it, from the creation of humans to the presence of day and night. There's al so so many good stories in it.

2. And what makes you think Al-Quran is God's creation and not human's?

If you have a very old Al-Quran, let's say dated 100 years old belongs to your great-great grandfather, I can guarantee you the content is 100% the same as Today's Al-Quran. It's very pure. Very original. It's forbidden for Muslims to change it even 1 alphabet. And I know it's not human's creation because prophet Muhammad pbuh, the chosen one who was given the Al-Quran, cannot read and write.This shows that it is straight from Allah, nothing added. I mean, it's like when you don't know Chinese characters and someone asks you to give a letter of it to someone. If you even add some Chinese characters you know, it won't be beautifully written any more, right?


#Doin'Da'wa


Ikhlas Daripada,
 

Ad-din

Assalamualaikum and hey there.

So, as well as I know, Islam is the most religion with believer and is also, the most misunderstood religion, for which the media has labelled us from terrorists to extremists.

I might be young. Wait no, I am young. But I know things about my religion, and I wish to clear things up. So, here are the FAQs.

1. What/Who do you actually worship?

Allah is my god, your god and everybody's god. Since Allah is God, Allah doesn't look like a human. So, Allah has no gender. The only reason why we use 'he' is because 'he' shows greater power than 'she'. And Allah is one, so we don't use 'they'. Since Allah doesn't LOOK like a human, we don't know how Allah looks like and we CAN'T assume it. Imagine this, you're going to meet Taylor. You never met Taylor, never talked to Taylor, never chatted with Taylor, just a mutual friend told you about Taylor going to meet you. You don't even know if Taylor is a guy or a girl. It could be Taylor Swift, or Taylor Lautner. It could be Taylor Kitsch, oh there's so many Taylor! But the point is, you never knew how Taylor looks like. Fair, tan, black, blonde, brunette, fat, thin, etc. So, how can you even assume??

2.What's the prove that Allah exists when you can't see Allah?

How do you know wind exists? Because your hair blows at the beach, the trees sway occasionally, right? Same goes to Allah. The effects show you the cause. Even the amazing bulb has its inventor, how could a wonderful sun doesn't have one? Even the Eiffel Tower has its creator, how could the Everest doesn't have one??

3. Then why are you worshipping the Kaabah?

Kaabah is a huge cube located in Masjidil Haram (Al-Haram Mosque), Mecca. Kaabah is not Allah and we're not worshipping it. It's just a symbolic. It symbolises our unity. Imagine there's no Kaabah, we'd pray at any direction we want. There would be no agreement. Kaabah shows that Islam is an organized religion. Let me tell you, to prove that Kaabah is just a symbol, not the God, before Kaabah, we pray facing the Al-Aqsa Mosque. But when Allah ordered us to pray facing Kaabah, we changed it and followed it. And even if Kaabah somehow would be destroyed, we'd still be facing the actual base of it. Because it doesn't matter, what Allah ordered is the matter most.

4. Why Muslims are terrorists?

Somehow, only Muslims are the only terrorists who are related to their religion. What, you never saw any white people as terrorists before? Look, the thing is, not all Muslims follow Islam fully. The same thing goes to any other religions. Does Christian women cover their heads like nuns? Do you guys avoid sex before marriage? Well, most of you don't. Same as Muslims. You don't expect us to follow our religion fully when you don't. And terrorism has never been permitted in our religion. In fact, Islam forbids terrorism. So, long story short, Muslims involve in terrorism are the ones who offend Islam, and offend Allah.

5. Why do you have to pray so often?

You know what, everything that happen is a blessing.Count them. The air, your eyes, your hands, your feet, your five senses, your wealth, your health, food and drinks, everything. Praying shows that you are grateful with your blessings. So, how could you just say thank you every week or every Easter Day when you have so many blessings? That's why we pray five times a day . Actually, it's not even a burden. You only need 5 minutes to pray. So, in total 25 minutes a day. So, can you still complaining when you only spend less half an hour a day for your creator?

6.  Why do you fast? It looks like you're torturing yourself for not even eating or drinking. Should you be that extreme?

Actually, we're not. Badar War was held on the daylight of Ramadan month, the fasting month. And we won it. Even with empty stomach. Fasting doesn't mean we don't even eat the whole day. It's just we don't eat or drink during the daylight. Early in the morning, we eat and then at dusk, we eat again. See? two times a day. Fasting is scientifically proven to be good for your health. It gives your exhausted stomach to rest from digesting food. It also makes us feel thankful with food that we eat, since now we know how it feels to be starving like those poor people in some place with no food.

7. Why does Muslim women covered their heads?

Actually, we're not just covering our heads. Our hijab should also cover our hair, ears, neck and chest. In Islam, women are very precious. Women are the world's prettiest jewellery. So, do you put your jewellery on the dirty street? I believe you're not that stupid. Same goes to Muslim women. We hide our beauty so that people won't kidnap us, harass us nor rape us. We keep our beauty so that our husbands can feel the first experience of it. We believe that husbands should have the best because we're going to be with that guy for the rest of our lives. That's why. You know what, bonus, hijab or veil can also hide your bad hair day.


I hope this is helpful.

Stay faithful.


Ikhlas Daripada,
 

What's Hot Right Now

Assalamualaikum and hello there!


1) Typo

ok, I admit it that their notebooks are attractively cute, well, yess, they're cute. But the price.... um,, ok, Typo's pens are probably the most expensive ball pen I've ever bought. RM 7 per. I can buy about 4 Papermate with this. But hey, maybe the prices are actually typo! (pun intended)

2) Boycut

OMG, this trend really makes me look people twice to make sure that they are girls. It's annoying, fella. But perhaps that's the best for boarding school's girls. Shorter hair is easier to take care of. Hey, even celebrities are rocking it! But if I ever come to school with hair that only reach my neck, my friends will definitely freak out.

3) Colourful Telekung

Gone the time when you can see the saf with only white telekungs. I'm sorry people, but even myself is wearing a brown. White is so sheer I don't know why. Darker colour is easier to handle. But what's important the most is that the telekung is covering our aurat fully and we're comfortable in in so that we can pray in peace.

4) John Green's Books

Everywhere I go, I must see 'The Fault in Our Stars' on people's hand or 'Looking for Alaska' on the desks. Well, it's popular now. And I just know that they're love stories actually. That's why you can't judge a book by its cover!

5) FIXI Books

Well, this is more viral. Every form read it. Everyone reads it. well,, except for me. I'm not a fan of mystery, thriller, etc. But you know, what I can see in FIXI is that every book of it only have one title - like 'Gantung', 'Sumbat' etc. And the covers are almost the same. Now that's uniformity.

Well, out of 5, I only follow two. Hahah. Not a trendy either.

Til then.

Ikhlas Daripada,