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Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Here comes the light

The light of Ramadhan illuminates the windows of our lives once again- praise be to Allah for this precious gift of hopes and opportunities. The month lavished with barakah; the time for self-reproach and renewed fortifications of our iman. Are we all up for it, then?

When you're volleying from one building to another for classes in a barmy weather (the sun's won the fight for the time being, as it appears) whilst suffering from occasional sore throat/cough fueled grandly by either the automobiles or the much less tolerable smoke reeking from those cancer sticks (smokers, I loathe thee), you're prone to overlooking the finer details of the befitting observation of this holy month. Meaning you get all hot and impatient, even if sometimes you do manage to keep it at the brim of your bursting ego. And now that you don’t have the devils around to blame your sick thoughts upon, it really makes things more difficult, as paradoxical as it may seem.

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. This is but one of the many examples to demonstrate the discreet work of our soul's inner demon. This parasitic form of the syaitans are way cunning, and if you don’t upgrade your fortress right away, you’ll find yourself amongst the comeback presents of fallen comrades for the ultimate hell-dwellers currently-being-‘subdued’-as-we-speak.

It is easy to forget, that Ramadhan comes only once a year, and we may not live so long as to observe it next time around. Let's barricade our iman with due prayers, rising for tahajjud, reading the Quran, zikr, sadaqah- the possibilities are endless. What’s most important however, is our intentions, as good deeds must be coupled with good intentions. If we work on these, conquering our nafs might just be one step easier.

Alhamdulillah we’ve completed three tarawihs already as a jamaah, with a tazkirah afterwards. Life’s been peachy, though a couple of classes leave much to be desired (in terms of which I’d rather not discuss). Nothing that these sturdy hands of mine can’t handle :)

6 comments:

dith said...

you’ll find yourself amongst the comeback presents of fallen comrades for the ultimate hell-dwellers
<===a strong phrase that is deadly serious but makes you smile the same time.

*drroza tries to figure what sort of class is so undesirable but can be overcome by sturdy hands*

Wait! But you've got butter fingers! :p

Ikelah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ikelah said...

There is one class in Ramadhan that cannot to be forgotten, the QUranic class. As it was mentioned in Sierah AnNabawiyah, it was during Ramadhan that The Jibrail will come and recite together with The Great Prophet the versus that had already been bestowed to mankind in the arrangement that we have today.

As a Malay Muslim who lacks knowledge in Arabic, the least we could do is to read and understand the reminders in the Quran either in Malay or in English. It is not perfect but with proper discussion group the message will be clearer.

The words in the AL Quran is to be abided and follow, practice as a way of life and not vice versa. Nowadays many of us read and search for the selected verses in AlQuran just to ensure what he had already done at least be considered not against Islam.

AL Quran is to be read and followed as it mixes well with the open heart longing to be guided. This was what had happened 1400+ years ago to the sahabahs making them Ansarullah who were sensitive to thr religeous issues and did not retreat even a single step in defending Islam. When The Prophet's pbuh letter was torn and thrown away(after Hudaibiyah), the sahabahs were angry and ready to be in arms eventhough they knew that the Roman Empire was far too strong.

That is why i always remind you to read including the translation as it will guide you.

ayumi said...

Salaam..

Selamat menyambut Ramadhan di Rusia.. thanks for the wonderful (and beautifully-phrased) reminder.

ifos said...

Mak- Ade laa... not that big a problem pn ;)

Ikelah- Thanks for the reminder =)

Ayumi-Selamat menyambut Ramadhan di India to u.. =) May we all reap the endlesss benefits offered in this special month.

pycnogenol said...

I really like this entry. I really do. You write beautifully...talent must've surely been inherited from Tabibah.

Selamat berpuasa Sofi.