‘Noor The Backpacker’ Series- Introduction

The Light of ‘Noor’ – An Inspiration in My Life
-credit to Sakkal Design (sakkal.com)

Following the ‘Traveling Tips for Muslimah’ series, I decided to revise the name to reflect my travel style better, which consequently influence the tips and advices, and to emphasise on my aim to show to the world (that is what I hope) how liberating being a ‘Noor’ is (as one of typical name of Muslim women), not only physically, but also mentally and spiritually. 

…..my aim to show to the world how liberating being a ‘Noor’ is, not only physically, but also mentally and spiritually.

I was just a typical ‘Noor’ (generalization!) before I went for studying in New Zealand. I was just living for my own self, with a very clear target for my academic and future career, but nothing much for my personal development and contribution to the people (and ummah). Until the defining moment in 2006 and the whole period in Auckland, I started to learn that life is more than that. Life is a continuous struggle in striving to please the Almighty Allah, hoping for His Bless in the Hereafter. This requires developing myself in all aspects of life and consequently one shall be beneficial to the people around, especially one’s family and friends, as demonstrated by our beloved Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him).

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me (Al-Quran 51:56)

And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds. (Al-Quran 21:107)

Alhamdulillah, throughout my 3.5 years in New Zealand, 1.0 year in Australia, 4.5 years and counting in Miri, I spent a part of my life to develop myself (tarbiah) and to fulfill my duty (da’wa) to the best that I can. With my passion in travelling, I always strive to make it as part of my tarbiah and da’wa (not that I succeeded every time). I still remember vividly how determined I was to travel alone* to Japan during my first trip there to show that a Muslimah (Muslim woman) can be as independent as their fellow women of different faiths (or with none) but still take care of herself, her modesty and exercise the teaching of Islam to her best effort. I travelled (most of the time) alone with my tripod (it was 2007 and monopod/GoPro yet existed) and my target was to give awareness to the existence of people wearing something to cover their head even it was in the piping hot summer and tusyu (rainy) season in Japan. During my stay in New Zealand, we often made trips to many places around the beautiful countries as part of our tarbiah and we practiced ourselves to do da’wa by performing our prayers in public places e.g. parks and beaches (not that we have much choice, and who would not do so with the beautiful greens of New Zealand).

At the age of 28, I was still single (unmarried) and among the last among my work colleagues of similar age and final 10-percentile among my high school friends (heh, I did my math!). I am not complaining but no women would not think about this matter at certain points of their life. But I know that I still can play my part to contribute to the society and ummah. And I stumbled into this great piece by Sheikh Suhaib Webb on ‘Wifehood and Motherhood are Not the Only Ways to Paradise’.Undeniably, I salute and respect mothers (especially my Umi) for their sacrifice and dedication, more so after looking at my friends who changed almost 180 after being a Mother. But, with the condition that Allah has made me (and other single Muslimah) right now, I shall do my part to my utmost effort. I decided to pursue my education in a totally new area of International Relations (IR) with hope to prepare myself to go into the society and again to show that Islam encourages women to pursue knowledge and to play their parts in the society (beside the so-called traditional role of bringing up their families- which is still a major role).

At the top of Kings Canyon in Central Australia (2014)

After more than 8 years of the defining moment, the struggle still goes on. There have been too many ups and downs, and I am currently writing this to lift me back upward, to remind me of my purpose of life, to convince myself I can do this, no matter how late it is, I just have to restart. I will do my best to share tips and advice based on my own experience to make one’s trip easier, more enjoyable and more importantly, sharia-compliant (to my best effort).

Pray for my continuous self development and hope we can leave a great legacy to the next generations!

*disclaimer: I usually decide to travel alone only if it is deemed safe to do so and given permission by my parents. I also use common sense when traveling to avoid unsafe situations. I am aware and understand the fiqh on having mahram when traveling, which is also open for many interpretations (keluasan fiqh). I learned from some scholars and is holding my belief based on my understanding (so far). I am not here to claim all-knowing and I am open to learning/re-learning/un-learning. Allahu A’lam