Assalammualaikum sisters, alhamdulillah we have started shipping out most of the orders of Telekung Sofia this week. I hope you will receive them soon, and that you tag us when you do! If you missed the pre-order, they are now available to be purchased here. (ready stocks!)
Ladies, did you know that we first launched Sofia back in 2015? So that's like 5 years ago. We named it Sofia based on this girl here, who was one of our earliest fans back then. She's a lady pilot! - the kinda girl Sofia was made for - for the busy on-the-go Muslimah! Do read on to find out more about her!
1. First of all, tell us about yourself. What do u do, are you married? with kids?
Assalamualaikum. My name is Sofia Sani, I was born from a mixed parentage - my father is Chinese and my mother is Malay. Me and my 5 other siblings grew up in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. We come from a pretty big family. My parents have 20 grandchildren - 2 of which are mine.
I am currently a Captain with Malindo Air and have been flying commercially for 12 years. Started off flying the ATR72 with Firefly and then now, the Boeing 737.
2. How did you first find out about Zaahara, and about Telekung Sofia.
About 5 years back, my dear friend Sabrina tagged me on Zaahara's IG post, a contest to name a travelling telekung.
3. Telekung Sofia is named after you. What’s the story here? Care to share?
The instagram post by Zaahara was a contest to name a travelling telekung. I thought since it was a travelling telekung and well, I am one traveller who is looking for a good travelling telekung anyway, why not just name it Sofia.
I remember everyone who posted suggestions had meanings behind the names they gave and all I could think of was 'Sofia' in Dan Brown's Da Vincci Code means 'Wisdom'.
And I thought it would be perfect. Having a travelling telekung is a wise decision. Pre Covid, everybody travels - holidays, office, shopping malls - having a travelling telekung is beyond wise.
So, I literally commented, 'Sofia je lah senang'.
Alhamdulillah! 'Sofia' was picked as the winner and I clearly remembered winning my first travelling telekung and I picked purple. I took it everywhere with me - work, travel, and yes shopping malls!
4. How many Telekung Sofia do you have? And how has it evolved from the first batch of Sofia?
Personally I have 2, the purple one that I won and a black Sofia 2.0. I've also bought quite a few as presents, a good travelling telekung is not easy to find. I have not tried Sofia 3.0 as my Sofia 2.0 is still in great condition.
I love the upgrade. The material is thicker, the size is slightly bigger, the stitching is better and the fit is perfect.
I love that even though it's bigger, it fits in my flight bag nicely.
5. Tell us 3 things you like about Telekung Sofia
- The material is light but it is not see throughand the coverage is great.
- It is easy to fold. I know this may sound unnecessary, but I love how I can just hold it up, and just fold it perfectly while sitting down in the cramp flight deck. I like to keep my telekung Sofia folded properly so that it can fit nicely in my flight bag. Everything has to be properly organized in the bag, so when I'm on duty, I do not have to be looking for things - I just unzip my bag and without looking, grab the items. Oh and I like to see my telekung crease free - just fold lines and this telekung does a really good job at that.
- I just have a feeling that this travelling telekung has been thought through and through. The upgrades are actually necessary upgrades, not just to make it prettier, but it makes it more practical. And, subhanAllah, I think it was really meant to help make salah easy for me during my travels (and everyone, I'm sure). At the time it was first launched, I just started to learn more about Islam and I wanted to make sure I did not miss my prayers especially during work and there it is.
6. When do you usually wear Telekung Sofia?
I wear my Telekung Sofia alot! At work, while travelling, even when I'm out, I will make sure I have it in my bag. At home I use Telekung Maryam or the Telekung Mini.
7. If Telekung Sofia is a person, what kind of person she should be ideally?
If Telekung Sofia is a person, she should be versatile and brave.
In fact, there were times when I was worried if I could make time for salah, and subhanAllah as we reached the office, the officer told us that the aircraft was going to be late. As much as I prefer to be on time on everything, sometimes a change of time is a blessing from Allah. I get to pray my Subuh without worrying, Alhamdulillah.
In the matter of solat places, I pray anywhere we are allowed to pray. If I am in the flight deck, I pray while sitting down. Because there will always be two of use in the flight deck, the other person will take over with the flying duties.
Being in a Muslim country, our previous pilots have come up with so many guidelines for prayers and salah timing. So it is much easier for us to pray inflight. We just need to ask how things are done, insyaAllah there will be someone to guide you.
9. How is it like being a woman in a male-dominated industry?
Usually a day before the flight, I will look for windows when I can perform my prayers. For example, if I have to be in the Operations Office at 6.30am, I will plan to be earlier for salah or if departure is at 12.30pm, I will make my wudhu on ground and salah in flight. There are also flights where we fly overnight and land at about 6.30am, so we take turns to perform our Subuh inflight to avoid being late.
When things get tough, you have to go back to teaching of Islam. I stick to the fact that your life has been written for you more than 1400 years ago. Once you have done your best, you live it up to Allah to decide. Life is so much easier that way.
11. What is your favourite hadith or ayat or dua that is close to your heart?
Too many! But my favourite one has to be - Verily, with every hardship comes ease.
It's a very simple one, but it is the one that always keeps me going.
Salaam,
Erin
@erinazahara
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