It is almost more than a year since I last posted in this blog (what a LONG TIME). I will try my best to continue my writing, insyaAllah..
Alhamdulillah, with Allah's blessing, He gave us another opportunity to live and experience another Ramadhan this year. My teachers and friends always call this month "Madrasah Ramadhan" (the school of Ramadhan). Why? Well, Ramadhan is a month prepared by Allah especially for us as a place to train and teach ourselves (tarbiya) to become closer to Him. With all the activities, programs and incentive Allah is offering us, what better way is there for us to attain His pleasure?
Okay, now for the actual post. This is actually my last year's journal (written for my writing class) about Ramadhan. My lecturer is not a Muslim so the journal is quite simple. May it benefits us all..
Assalamualaikum… Hi again!! Looks like I just remembered
that I have to submit a journal this week. Well, after pondering on what to
write, since this is Ramadhan, I think I’ll write a little about it. Well,
Ramadhan is the month when Muslims fast. Actually, Ramadhan is not only limited
to fasting; it is the month of worship or, as our Prophet put it “Everything
has its seasons, and the season of worship is Ramadhan”. Ramadhan is the month when we Muslims train
ourselves to worship God; there are many “programs” to train us during this
month, some which are compulsory, such as fasting, and others such as the night
prayers- “tarawih”, the prayers in the middle of the night or “qiyamullail”,
and the recital of the Quran is highly encouraged.
The month of Ramadhan is quite significant in my life because there is always a
different “feeling” to it; it always feels more peaceful and joyous, and I
always feel closer to God.
Let’s talk about the main part of Ramadhan – the fasting. We
fast from dawn until dusk, a little bit more than 12 hours per day during
Ramadhan. That means no eating or drinking for a whole 12 hours!! Is it tiring?
Well, it can be quite tiring at first, but after a while, we don’t notice it
much… Do you know that we have to abstain more than only foods and drinks
during Ramadhan? The Prophet once said “There are people who fast in Ramadhan
but got nothing from it except hunger and thirst”. Hmm, so what else do we need
to abstain from? Well, we need to abstain from speaking bad things or using bad
words, looking at things we are not supposed to look at, and hearing things we
are not supposed to hear. This is part
of the training to make us better Muslims when we come out of Ramadhan.
Well, usually the best part of Ramadhan is during the time
when we break our fast. We usually break
our fast with friends and family, at our home, the mosque, or a restaurant. Why
do you think breaking fast feels so special? I mean, it’s just like other
meals, right? Nope, that’s wrong… Okay, imagine yourself not drinking or eating
for a whole day, and then you see a freshly cooked meal, accompanied by juicy
drinks in front of you. The smell is irresistible and your mouth is watering…
Well, that is why breaking fast feels so special. This is the time we actually
value the food God gave us. For me, breaking
fast also affects us socially. People
seem friendlier and talkative at that time, and even strangers feel like
friends. It is a chance to know our friends and family better. Best of all, when we break fast, we can feel
the hunger and thirst that poor people feel, and it helps us to understand
them. It also makes us thankful for the
food that God had given us. This is why charity is greatly encouraged during
Ramadhan. Consequently, (wow, it’s an
academic conjunction!!) many free meals are offered all around the world during
Ramadhan.
What about the rest of our day? Well, after isya’, (isya’
time is when the red in the sky that appears after dusk disappear) a tarawih
prayer will be held. What is a tarawih prayer anyway? Well, actually, it is a long
recommended prayer (which is not compulsory) only done during Ramadhan. When I say long, I mean LONG… The number of raka’ah (number of cycle between
standing to sitting) ranges from eight to twenty. It usually takes between half an hour to two
hours to complete. The prayer can be
quite tedious, and after eating such a lot of food before that, quite soporific
too. But for me, this prayer actually
increases the spirit of Ramadhan. I mean, the different “feeling” Ramadhan has
will be incomplete without it. Well, as I stated earlier, this is actually the
part that “trains” us Muslims to worship and become closer to God.
Actually, the most exciting thing about Ramadhan is the
celebration we have at the end of it.
The Hari Raya or ‘Eid Fitr is a celebration we have for successfully
finishing Ramadhan. It’s like when we graduate from college after successfully
finishing many tests. Our whole family will gather in our hometown and visit
one another. There will be countless
number of food and dishes. Well, I think I’ll stop the topic of Hari Raya
abruptly here. It’ll spoil my chance of writing it for the next journal.
That is all for this post.. Have a great time increasing 'ibadah!! May we always stay strong throughout Ramadhan and become among its successful graduates , insya Allah..
“Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven .” (Bukhari)
