My Introduction to Ramadhan

May peace be unto you,

This writings is inspired by Kak Emma who mentioned to me on how is she going to introduce Ramadhan to her two heroes,Nabil and Nasar.I'm sure by the time they are ready to take in what Ramadhan,kak Emma would have figured out a way best for her two beautiful kids. As we were finishing our KIAM Hari Raya dedication for 2010, I reminisced back how Ibu and Ayah had introduce Ramadhan to me.

I don't remember the exact day I fast but I do remember the feeling of having to wake up(or being waken) by my parents for Sahur(the early morning meal).Ayah and Ibu offered RM1 per day as a reward for fasting the whole day.I was told that to complete 30 days of fasting will get me an extra RM30 on top of the "duit raya" given my aunties and uncles.Being offered that,it kept me motivated although being a 4 year old, money was not of great importance,but I think the notion of not eating and drinking and being rewarded for that is some kinf of achievement.

As I grow older,my other siblings(at the time there were 3 of us,Me,Salleh,Othman) started trying to fast too with the same offer,I got, but additional benefit where half a day fasting willget them 50 cent. For me this rule does not apply because,"Ina dah besar" as my Ayah and Ibu always say. Its a way to make me bahave and show good example.

Fasting has been easier in primary school where most of my school mates fasts.The RM30 at the end of Ramadhan still awaits me and on top of that Atuk Aji(my father's dad) would topup the reward with another RM30 making it RM60. We would usually spend a few it at the nearby sundry shop owned by "Uncle", as we would called the old uncle.
Ramadhan this time would usually be spent sleeping,and if I get a bit "rajin" I would flip through my "Qiraati" (equivalent to Muqaddam),May Allah take it as an effort to be better in Reading the Quran.

In high school,fasting in Ramadhan is no longer about the RM30 at the end of month. Ustazah in school would be reminding us on Fiqh of Saum(Fasting Guidelines) as we were pretty much good in refraining from eating and drinking in the day. The same goes during the university days but is added with how to increase good deeds during the holy month. At times I would fine myself giving excuses of not doing Tadarus (Quran recitation) with the busy schedule as a student.

Well,this time around,it has to be different from the past years. Not just "menjaga perkara membatalkan puasa" but also "menjaga perkara membetalkan PAHALA puasa".The first criteria Alhamdulillah most of us can say as easy to fulfill but the second part is actually the real test. It determines whether as I come out of Ramadhan, am I still the quick-tempered person as I was before or have I act upon the "akhlak" of a Muslim as thought by The Prophet (peace be upon him).

Most importantly is to feel sad when Ramadhan is closing upon you, and you might never know if you will meet the next Ramadhan or not. It is very much important if we can enrich the different segments of our lives be it emotionally, physically and spiritually. Feel the upgrade within you as you mature in the month of Ramadhan insyaAllah.

I would wonder how I would introduce Ramadhan to my kids (in future,May Allah grant me the understanding) but it would be another gradual process of learning too. InsyaAllah, may we find peace within ourselves and strive for greater achievements.This is my reflection on my introduction to Ramadhan some 22 years ago. Still more to learn and more to pass on insyaAllah. Happy Ramadhan al-Mubarak.

Jemputan walimah abg Long kami=)

Salam,

Jemputan ke walimah y diterima 2 hari lepas drpd abg Long kami sangat menggembirakan hati.
Akhirnye abg Long akan menamatkan zaman bujangnye yg pada masa itu beliau kami(rakan2 mantan MPP. UTeM) panggil dgn gelaran "Abg Bujang". Beliau merupakan y paling senior menurut tingkatan umur jadi molek benar kami panggil "Abg Long".

Abg Long y ku kenal amat "supportive".Boleh dikatakan keterlibatan beliau amat aktif dan kalau tak jadi orang2 kuat (AJK) dalam satu-satu program,beliau tetap hadir bagi kami sokongan dan nasihat.

Daripada beliau juga aku belajar utk tetap murah senyuman walaupun memikul tanggungjawab sbg student dan wakil pelajar. Boleh dikatakan beliau xkenal erti penat,ada shj yang nak diusahakan supaya satu-satu inisiatif y diputuskan membawa kejayaan.

sempena memasuki fasa kehidupan berumahtangga,aku doakan abg Long dan kak Long nnt hidup aman damai dan bijaksana dalam melayari bahtera kehidupan di samping dihiasi dengan cahaya mata penyejuk hati yang soleh dan solehah.begitu juga buat sahabat2 di dalam kabinet MPP y pernh bekerja bersama2 tidak kira yang sudah berkahwin (Zack,Zu) yang bertunang,yang berkeluarga, semoga dalam perlindungan Allah selalu.Mgkn tidak sempat aku kirimkan sms bertny khabar,boleh jadi sms ku terkandas di tgh jalan,tapi ku harap kalian selalu bahagia,dengan doa dari jauh ini..

Amiin..

Sebak..Zakat Fitrah 2010

Salam,

Tahun ketiga melunaskan zakat fitrah,kali ni, terasa sebak..entah kenapa (tak dapat dikenalpasti ketika kejadian).

Bila cuba dilihat kembali,mungkin ada beberapa sebab:
1)Angka satu gantang bersamaan 2.75kg bersamaan rm7 itu tidak signifikan bagi diri yang mampu menghabiskan jumlah yang sama hanya dgn sekali makan hidangan tengahari.

2)Doa yang Amil zakat baca, menusuk ke hati,mengingatkan tentang usaha kebajikan yang dirancang bersama2 rakan harus strategik supaya aliran bantuan tidak putus,dan saudara2 ku tidak putus bantuan.

3) Terasa sungguh bila meletakkan diri mengharap belas ihsan orang lain,di mana kadangkala, terasa diri seolah "lupa" untuk merendah diri..hmm..nak menangis pula..

Tapi tahan la air mata dari jatuh, mungkin segan dgn Amil,(tambahan pula,tiada bekalan tisu yang dibawa)..

Insaf, bila kita kenang pada saudara kita y memerlukan..mekanisma zakat dalam Islam dipercayai turun temurun mengisi kelompongan pada jurang ekonomi kini..Allah lebih tahu apa yang terbaik untuk hambaNya..May Allah grant us the understanding and obedience to follow His syariah..Amiin

Transformasi Ramadhan by Ustaz Hasrizal Abdul Jamil

Salam,

We were very fortunate to have Ustaz Hasrizal Abdul Jamil for Kulia Zohor KIAM at Menara Mesiniaga yesterday, he also brought along his new book entitled "Transformasi Ramadhan".

It did not stop me from scavenging the pages,presented with fresh ideas and perspective without leaving the basics from traditional sources of the Quran.

A must read to upgrade Ramadhan this 2010.

Empati

EMPATI merupakan kemampuan dan keinginan untuk merasakan apa yang orang lain rasakan. Berempati memungkinkan sikap kita sebagai manusia bermanfaat buat yang lainnya.

Bukankah orang yang paling mulia itu adalah orang yang paling bermanfaat buat yang lainnya? Sungguh tiada berguna orang yang justru merugikan orang lainnya. Keberuntungan kita bukanlah diukur dari apa yang kita dapatkan, melainkan dari nilai manfaat yang ada dari kehadiran kita.

Dari sinilah bermula rasa suka dan sayang orang terhadap diri kita karena kehadiran kita bisa menyejukkan, menolong, dan memberikan solusi-solusi yang berguna. Munculnya kesejukkan, sifat menolong, dan kejernihan pikiran mencari solusi karena kita bisa merasakan apa yang orang lain rasakan.

Jika kita merasa dihina dan dimaki itu bisa menyebabkan hancurnya hati, sebaiknya kita pun tidak menghina dan memaki orang lain. Jika kita merasa senyum itu indah dan membuat hati kita senang melihatnya, berikanlah senyum kepada orang lain. Jika kita merasakan sakit perut dan tersiksa karena kurang makan, berikanlah makanan kepada orang-orang yang lapar.

Insya Allah kita menjadi orang yang peka hati dan perasaannya sehingga menjadi harapan bagi banyak orang.

K I n S => Keep Istiqamah n Smile ^_^

Salam Santun
~Imam~

Celebrating 3 years of Ramadhan in corporate world

Salam,

This time around Ramadhan is very much awaited.Why? It has always been the time where
Me and my friends team up in concerted effort to welcome Ramadhan with
Its many meanings to different individuals.

Ramadhan:The Month to spur knowledge
I was exposed to the concept of attending Kuliah Zohor
When I first celebrate Ramadhan as a Software Engineer(the title I carry on
my name card). Being who I was back then in University,I thought Ramadhan
Challenging as a student,as we were far away from family.They say that
distance is not the issue now since I am back in Subang jaya but that is not the case
either.

Ramadhan:Testing the "anger" thermostat
It is very easy to blame it on Syaitan whenever I sense my patience wearing off
throughout my daily encounters with different individual.As much as I try to put into
practise to zerorize my thoughts to not make way for my ego,experience,and qualification
to take over the good intentions that will follow..sometime I do fail.
When the same thing happen exactly in the beginning of Ramadhan,honestly it really
put me off to celebrate Ramadhan on a clean bill where we were suppose to forgive
ourself and seek others for forgiveness.
I told quietly to myself,if I'm going to drag this attitude throughout the whole
Ramadhan, I would lose it all..and don't blame it on Syaitan laknatullah,because
he is not here.
I am glad I did the right thing the next morning,which made my journey into Ramadhan
back to its smooth nature, more excited,more looking forward since the offers for ibadah
is huge!!

Entering the 2nd third of Ramadhan must be more challenging as expectations are raised
to another level..am excited to undergo it so I can meet the final third of Ramadhan
InsyaAllah.