@Halal Sept/Oct 2019 | Page 32

04 @Glam.Halal sept-oct. 2019 Personality SHIFTING FOCUS: Mizz Nina now worry less about what the public thinks of her hijrah and instead works on improving herself to be a better Muslim. A path of patience and determination The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step C By Syed Zaid hange can be a scary thing. The journey to be the best version of ourselves can be hard, as we leave our comfort zone and start anew. It’s a vital aspect for us to progress as a human being making it an inevitable process in our lives. It is undoubtedly something we need to work on before becoming the person we aspire to be. And it’s a different story for everyone. A lot can be said about the transformation of Mizz Nina. Born in the year 1980, Shazrina binti Ahmad was formerly known as the “sexy girl from Kuala~lala Lumpur”, with her songs being played in clubs and festivals around the world. No longer can be found on the dance floor, the ex-songstress has been seen appearing in different talk shows to share her pilgrimage experience from the speakers of Zouk to Islamic television talk shows. “A lot of people thought changes can happen overnight – but in actual fact, it doesn’t,” says Nina. She claims that there were times that she was struggling to change, having to let go of the things, the lifestyle that she knew and were so familiar with. “I’ve lived with the ‘YOLO’ (You Only Live Once) attitude for so long – spending a lot of time in the clubs, smoking and partying all night long. I’ve realised now that I surrounded myself with a lot of negativity around me,” she claims. Positive and negative influences According to the former popstar, her journey took a lot of patience and determination. “My main hijrah started – maybe around mid-2000. I did a lot of things in my past. I started moving away from the toxicity that I was surrounding myself with. Some bridges were burnt and I said goodbye to my vices and worked through some of my addiction. Alhamdulillah, Allah has helped me with my struggles and I feel so blessed to be have found my way,” she says with a smile. Needless to say her journey Around the World has taken her home, where she belongs. She says that her marriage with Noh leads to the next big change in her life. “Noh is a big influence for me. He has always been the person who can recite the Quran and he was diligent with his Solat. Slowly but surely, I got used to the habit. He really is my Imam.” It