Fasting During Ramadhan

iA, post yg sgt santai utk light reading... about the holy Month of Ramadhan


Pernah tak tengok filem that you really, really enjoyed?... kat cinema ke, laptop ke...
Then you'll know just how difficult it is to tell your friends about the film in a way that'll make it sound exciting... Citer la camana pun, lakonkan balik babak dia macamana pun, citer la pasal special effects dia, actor dia yg cun2 dan kacak2, lakonan yg 'terbaik... masih tak dapat membuat si pendengar 'experience' filem tadi sepertimana kita tgk tadi...

Talking about Ramadhan is a bit like this. To the casual observer, it is a month which Muslims give up food and drinks during the daylight hours. 'It must be awful' they think... how wrong they are..

No words can adequately convey the joy a muslim feels in Ramadhan... It is the month that they have look forward to all year round...

Cuba bayangkan,
Anda dah ada rumah sendiri, berkeluarga mungkin... dan your Mother da setahun tak tinggal bersama awak... Imagine the last time she came to stay, she managed to make a few quiet remarks about the cleanliness of your home, so that even though it was really very clean, it made you feel as though you were living in a shameful place...
So, kali ini, anda bersungguh2 making the house look good, lantai divacum dan dimop, tingkap dicuci, langsir dicuci, tandas digosok. Not just a spring clean, but a thorough renewal of the house to prepare for your mother's arrival.


Here, the comparison ends, for Ramadhan is about preparing oneself not just for the visit of a family member, dearly loved and cherished as she might be, but for standing clean and upright in the presence of God, Himself. In Ramadhan, the Muslim tries to put his spiritual house in order tightening up all those things he had promised to do last year, making extra efforts to be a good Muslim. Let us remind ourselves that Islam means living everyday in the presence of ALLAH. so Ramadhan helps the Muslim to get back to how he would like to be, not to mention how he should be. They very desire to be better, which Ramadhan encourages, helps the Muslim to be better. His fasting focuses his mind throughout the day on why he is fasting. The months fast is not to lose weight nor to punish himself, but is done for the sake of Allah, and Allah alone. Allah has commanded the fast. And the Muslim responds promptly to the command.

berkait dengan comparison di atas tentang rumah tadi, pasti kita berasa bangga, gembira apabila Ibu kita comment tentang kebersihan rumah kita dan ketiadaan sebarang cacat cela... Far greater is the joy of a Muslim, knowing that the promise of a Ramadhan well kept is the forgiveness of one's sins, and Salvation from the Hellfire

coming to think of it, Indahnya Islam ini... Ramadhan diberikan setahun sekali, utk kita mendekatkan diri kepada Allah, muhasabah kembali hakikat kejadian kita, dan mengabdikan diri kepadanya... but actually Allah ada je beri sesuatu seumpana Ramadhan kepada kita mingguan dan Harian.... namely solat Jumaat weekly, dan Solat Fardhu daily...
so?... my intelligent readers, bolehla fikirkan hikmah di sebaliknya... anyone care to share a thought or two in the comments?

Lastly, Kalendar Hijrah, juga dikenali dengan kalendar Qamariyah (moon) adalah berdasarkan cycles of the moon dan bukannya movements of the sun... Meaning that, jumlah hari dalam kalendar hijriyah kurang beberapa hari daripada Gregorian calendar... Tahunnya slightly shorter.... Jadi?....
Jadi, kalo katakan Ramadhan tahun ini jatuh pada late December, the next year, akan jatuh pada mid-December and the following year in late November and so on... Cantik kan?... Maksudnya, that over the years, Ramadhan will be distributed fairly across the world, spreading the fast over the seasons of the diferent hemispheres.
Example, Ramadhan may one year be in the blistering August heat od Saudi Arabia, when the daylight hours stretch from early in the morning to late at night, Australia, Antartica, Sahara or Alaska will experience Ramadhan in their summer or winter according to when Ramadhan falls that year. Allah does not place an extra burden on believers because of where they happen to live. The severity or relative ease of the fast is distributed fairly across the globe. And this is only right, say muslims. Islam is the natural religion of mankind, Agama Fitrah. it knows no boundaries of time or place. Allah's Mercy is availabe to all who seek it

based on the chapter 'Fasting during Ramadhan'
Gardens of Delight - Idris Tawfiq