It is already the 11th day of Ramadan. Soon, we will see people rushing to do their Raya shopping although shopping complexes have been putting shoppers in a festive mood since the start of the fasting month. Huge (and to a certain extent, ugly) decorations are hung from the high ceilings; the banners and bunting are on the walls and Raya songs are aired.
Yes, there are still many things to be done before Syawal arrives. The Hari Raya cards need to be mailed; hopefully, it will reach the recipients on time. Despite the advent of technology, there are still people who mail greeting cards to friends and family members. Those with email addresses will be sent e-Hari Raya cards, of course.
On top of that, text messages will be sent on the eve of Syawal, which will see the telecommunication companies earning millions of ringgit. Have we ever gotten a text message greeting from the companies? What we do get is a reminder to spend more through their special Syawal promotions.
There are cookies and cakes to be baked (or bought) and the menu for the first of Syawal to be planned ahead.
Travel plans are made to ensure that more houses are visited when we balik kampung. These could easily be done earlier as we would already know the date for the first day of Syawal. We need no longer wait for the announcement by the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal, who appears on television twice a year (the first to announce the first day of Ramadan and then the date for the first day of Syawal). The announcements are made after the sighting of the new moon. Now that the mode of calculating or rukyah is used to determine the two dates, the sighting of the moon has become a formality. In fact, the announcement now does not say whether or not the new moon is sighted.
But we wouldn’t want to miss the adrenaline rush of doing things the last minute, do we?
In our excitement to prepare for Syawal, we tend to forget it is the last 10 days of Ramadan that are very important. They are actually considered the Nights of Power. It was a practice of the Prophet to spend the last 10 days and nights of Ramadan in the mosque.
I know of some Malaysians who would undertake the umrah on these last 10 days to enable them to be in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah; never mind that the umrah packages are most expensive during this period.
Lailatul Qadr, one of the holiest and most blessed nights where the reward of worship is better than the worship of a thousand months or equivalent to a person’s lifetime, falls on one of these 10 nights.
Some say it is in the last 10 days while there are those who say it is in the final seven. The Sunnis generally consider Lailatul Qadr to fall on either the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th day of Ramadan, while the Shias consider it to be either the 19th, 21st or 23rd.
However, due to the uncertainty of the exact date, we are recommended to observe all the nights.
Each of us differs in what Ramadan means. Growing up, I looked forward to Ramadan; not because of the abundance of food on the table but the fact that everyone in the family would sit together at the dining table. Either my mother would cook all the food or my father would go to our usual makcik selling kuih to get whatever the children want.
The concept of Bazaar Ramadan or RM100++ Ramadan buffets was unheard of back then. Then, we would perform the Maghrib prayers. After dinner, my father would then leave for the surau for terawih. And terawih prayers can be the most humbling experience.
We may all hold senior positions in our respective companies but standing in a congregation at the mosque, our titles serve no purpose in God's house of worship. We are “brothers” and “sisters”, irrespective of colour and creed. Fasting, in general, is intended to bring the faithful closer to God and to remind us of the suffering of those less fortunate.
Let’s not lose sight of this.
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