I'm happy for them

Salam to all.

This is not a political posting or anything like that.
This is just about a family far away in Sacramento California.
A family that my whole family misses so much.
The family of my sister Nizah and her hubby Muhammad Yusuf Collins who several years ago made a hijrah from Dekalb in Illinois to Sacramento California.

The reason for the hijrah, Dekalb was not a good place to raise a Muslim family during that time.
So Yusufmade several trips to the West Coast to look for a more conducive place and one day he and his Egyptian friends stop at the Sacramento Islamic Centre for solat and there was this guy in the Islamic Centre. A guy with ikhlas in his face and his gait. Yusuf Islam!

Somehow my bro in-law knew Sacramento is the place for him and his family.
And finally Yusuf ,Nizah and Sabrina and Jaida made the hijrah across the continent

Yusuf started a store selling used/ 2nd hand sports equipment.Alhamdulillah as the years passed he is doing fine and will be opening his 2nd outlet soon( its ready just waiting for approval by the city council).

Since moving to California, they had came back to visit mak and us twice during their summer breaks. My nieces sabrina and Jaida always enjoyed the trip to Malaysia to see their Tok, Pak Long, Pak Lang, Pak Njang,Pak Tam, Pak Ndak ,Pak Uda and Maksu. And their cousins Hafiz, Haikal,Farah,Noy,Ismail,Anis,Alia and Adam.

And last year Alhamdulillah, a good Muslim person suddenly came to my sister at the Islamic Centre(my sister is active at the centre) and offered to sponsor my sister,Yusuf and their 2 daughters for Hajj! MasyaALLAH and Subhanallah. This guy(Arab descent) said he had a nazar to send someone for Hajj and when he knew my sister's volunteer works in Sacramento Islamic Centre he just knew he had to send Nizah for Hajj( before this Nizah's attempt for Hajj failed twice for immigrational procedures and ntah apa-apa lagi).What was suppossed to be a husband and wife Hajj turned out to be a family Hajj.

Ah...we miss them so much. Insya ALLAH will be reunited again.

Few days ago I received an e-mail from my sister in California.Apparently my bro-in-law's sports' equipment shop was Save With Dave website TV channel in USA.

Sabrina and Jaida

Sabrina Azmi: kakak and the penyabar

Jaida: adik so manja and overdramatic

Save With Dave: Fitness Equipment Savings

Reporting (full page here)
Dave Bender

There are all kinds of new exercise gadgets and gizmos hitting the market these days. But if you do a little research, you could end up buying them at half price.

Getting in shape can be expensive but if you shop carefully it doesn't have to be.
Businesses that sell used exercise equipment make working out easy on your wallet.

Play It Again Sports sells all kinds of weights and workout gear. And over at Fitness For Less, owner Steve Collins(Muhammad Yusuf Collins) says buying used saves you about 50 to 75 percent.

"A home model treadmill that is quite new might be $1000. We might sell it for $500," said Steve.

Or, check this out, a weight set selling for about $25,000 new here is $850. Steve says they buy, sell and trade secondhand workout equipment. Anything you can think of to get a better body. From dumbells and jump ropes to stair climbers with a cool TV screen.

Most of the equipment is either from local gyms or people who didn't quite keep their new years resolution.

"And a lot of the stuff we get in is like new; it's hardly been used," said Steve.

Some stores offer a money back guarantee. So make sure you check the return policy before you buy.

Those popular elliptical machines sell for about $5,000 new. You'll pay about $1,800 used, a savings of more than $3,000.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)