A Month To Reflect And Act

A Month To Reflect And Act

Alhamdulillah we have been given the nikmat to undergo another month of spiritual cleansing, character building and soul strengthening. Ramadhan is undoubtedly a virtual school where every muslims go for a month every year. For the whole month we train ourselves to guard our nafs from various vile habits that we may have picked up throught out the year. Eventhough the essential essence of Ramadhan is refraining ourselves from eating, drinking and copulating, it actually encompasses a more holistic exercise. Hunger softens the heart. It teaches us patience. Besides that we are not to indulge in ignoble activities like back-biting, slandering, arguing etc.
We are encouraged to escalate our supererogatory prayers/ ibadah and fill the hours with positive activities. Saying the zikrullah as much as we could. It is said that whatever good that is done in Ramadhan with sheer sincerity , rewards come in manifold. Thus by the end of Ramadhan we will graduate from the 'school', a stonger muslim and jemaah, insyallah!

In Ramadhan as hunger pangs plague us, we are being taught that this is the best moment to 'feel' for those who suffer due to poverty, those at war etc. Day in and out for the whole of Ramadhan it teaches you to empathise with the poor and needy. Thus in this sacred month we are being encouraged to give alms more than ever.

Do you notice how the atmosphere feels markedly different in Ramadhan? How it is more peaceful and balmy? It is usually hotter, no doubt as Ramadhan is known as a hot and dry month even back during prophet Muhammad's time.(saw). Ramadhan simply exudes goodnes in the air and this could be because all the doors of Jannah are opened throughout, whilst all the doors of Jahannam are closed and that satan and his accomplices are in shackles temporarily.

No words can really describe the pleasure we savor at the moment of iftar. Each morsel of food just brings sheer gratifying joy. As those glorious food touch your palate, you are reminded of how lucky you are to be able to taste food again after long hours of abstain. And to top up everything, it is said that it's mustajab to make dua duriang the time of breaking fast. Masyallah! Undoubtedly, Allah's blessings in Ramadhan are abundant!


I am touched by OrangKilang's (OK) Ramadhan Contemplation on how he hopes that this Ramadhan will see a change for the better in him. He said : I also pray that Allah gives me the strength to change for the better and become a better person. If there is any time in our lives that we have a chance to change, Ramadhan is the best chance. During this time we are free from the whispers of Syaitan who will be locked up during the entire month. Our motivations will be our own, our sins will be our own, our darkness will be our own. So if we need to cleanse and purify ourselves, this is the time. As always, OK has an interesting knack of quoting famous quotes especially lines from films. This time he had quoted: As Picard says in First Contact, "The line must be drawn heeyah (here)!


Sofi also has an interesting Ramadhan entry highlighting the perplexing situation of fasting in a foreign country with unpredictable weather. Here is a witty extract of her entry :

The jihad against an-nafs should not be taken lightly. They’re well-prepared, armed with strong dosage of immunity courtesy of their bosses before the latter went on hiatus. And chances are, you won’t even notice that it really is your nafs acting by proxy when you reach for those extra chicken drumsticks during iftar which you suspect will make you bloat like Shrek and monkey with your concentration all through tarawih later but you do it anyway.

Yes, no matter how much you drill into your brain during the day, telling yourself to cut on your gastronomical desires, somehow, on breaking fast, you'll find your hands making a pact with your mouth, helping you to gorge yourself and alas, bloat like a puffer fish! And of course, the impact of having drank gallons of water and glut on your food , you are left with a staggering gait and droopy eyes during tarawikh!

Two of our dearest kins, my son, Luqman and Salina, Boogey's wife, had to celebrate their birthdays whilst fasting this year. Happy birthday and may Allah swt bless both of them. What is most flabbergasting is Boogey's latest entry! Read it and you'll know what I mean! (to Boogey: you need a permanent sort of reminder engraved or framed somewhere within your daily view!!)

MBA has a beautiful checklist of obligatory and sunnat things to do for the whole of Ramadhan whilst Tawel had lined out the proper way to sleep, the Muslim way. Hope we can assimilate them into our daily lives.

As we already know, Ramadhan is a month filled with endless blessings from Allah swt., so much so that fasting is an ibadah that is exclusively being rewarded by Allah swt. Himself. Let us not let this opportunity slip away abysmally! May this Ramadhan see the better of us, in our ibadah especially! Take care!