Sheikh Azri Rayyan - What's in the Name?

Like any expecting first-time parents, me and Ja were looking at several names for our first son. One thing for sure, it has to be Sheikh ............ bin Sheikh Faisal. It's not a must that it has to be a Sheikh but just to keep the family tradition alive, more so as this new boy is the first "Sheikh" in his generation of our own "Sheikh Ahmad" family tree... (actually we only realized this fact after he was born.. and after being notified by my late grandfather, the last surviving "Sheikh" of his generation in our family tree).

As far as I know..

Sheikh Hussin (my great great grandfather)
Sheikh Ali (my great grandfather)
Sheikh Ahmad (my grandfather)
Sheikh Mansor (my father)
Sheikh Faisal (me)

and of course, my son...

Sheikh Azri Rayyan

Why is there an "Azri" and a "Rayyan"?
When we found out as early as the 3rd month of the pregnancy that we were having a boy, we searched everywhere for the best names for him. We liked the name Ryan... and by chance, I found out that there was actually an Arabic meaning to the name Rayyan (pronounced rye-yahn) which was close enough to Ryan. The name came from a hadith, that goes...

Shal bin Sa'ad reported the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Paradise (Jannah) has a door called Rayyan (the quencher), which is preserved for those who observed fasting on the Day of Judgment. It will be announced, 'Where are those who observed fasting?' The door, Rayyan, will not be closed until the last one of them enters." (Bukhari and Muslim)

So, there we have it... Sheikh Rayyan.. but then, we didn't want the name to sound too Arabic as we are still Malays and we want a Malay-sounded name to be in as well... although we're not too keen on having a long name for him.

We found the name "Azri" that would fit nicely as the first-born child that means "kemewahanku" or "my wealth"/ "penyokongku" or "my support", literally translated.

We finally agreed to name our son Sheikh Azri Rayyan. Just call him Rayyan.

The name "Ryan" itself is an Irish and Gaelic origin that means "little king".

Sheikh Azri Rayyan - he is our wealth, our support, and he is also the king in the hearts of me and Ja, and hopefully to others as well...

When is the time for the next baby, you ask? Hmm... LATER!! This king is too much of a king right now... hahaha...

Baby Pics: Rayyan's First House

When Rayyan was born, we were staying at Pelangi Damansara Condo, a 900 sq ft of space that we rented from a lovely couple for RM800/month. We were at Pelangi condo for about a year and a half before moving to our own place at Kelana Mahkota condo. Lots of memories and Rayyan's firsts took place here, e.g. Rayyan's "cukur jambul", first meal, first bath at home, first dip in the swimming pool, first crawl, walk, and run, etc.

[Pic 1] Rayyan's first day at home.


[Pic 2] Rayyan's first try in his "buai" or cradle. This cradle has been around since I was born. I was the first user, then passed on to my brothers, cousins, sister, cousins, then back to me for my own son to use it. Of course, the cradle was dressed to fit the new boy in the house by me, hand-sewn laces and all...

[Pics 3 & 4] Rayyan's first bath at home... since none of the parents were up to it, Mak (Ja's sister's mother-in-law) whom we "borrowed" to stay with us for a couple of days was the first person to bathe Rayyan at home. Notice the HUGE plastic navel clip... detached 9 days after he was born.

[Pics 5 & 6] With Papa & Mama at home...

[Pics 7 & 8] This is what we call "tidur terbongkang"... like mother like son... hahaha...

Woit! Jangan ketawa lebih-lebih.. nanti Rayyan tumbuk kang!