THEY WILL ASK thee as to what they should spend on others. Say: "Whatever of your wealth you spend shall [first] be for your parents, and for the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer; and whatever good you do, verily, God has full knowledge thereof." - Al-Baqarah (2:215)
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Wednesday 12 September 2007

A time to reflect...

Ramadhan is here again...

Even before Ramadhan there are already cooking programmes on TV specifically for Hari Raya. There are also lots of promos from hotels and restaurants for special Berbuka Puasa deals. Not forgetting the Bazaar Ramadhan everywhere. I thought we are supposed to eat less in Ramadhan… but somehow it appears as though every year, Ramadhan is the “food fest” month. Funny isn’t it?

And soon, trust me, we’ll be seeing the various promos for Raya entertainment programmes. Amongst them would include promos of movies and more movies which have no significance whatsoever to the month of Syawal – Malay movies, English movies, Hindustan movies… just name them…

For those who intend to balik kampong for the coming Raya using public transportation, I bet the rush to book tickets is already on (and with problems involving bus drivers and all, it will be crazy). Ah, and not forgetting, there’d be some people who are now desperately looking for tailors who are still willing to take their orders for baju raya.

Anyway, no matter what you intend to eat for sahur or berbuka puasa, no matter what your plans are for this year’s Raya, let’s spare some thought for the unfortunate ones.

Spare a thought for... the orphans. No parents to spend their Ramadhan or Syawal with. No kampong to go back to.

Spare a thought for... the poor. They hardly earn enough to get one decent meal daily. Unlike us, even though we can't eat during the daytime in Ramadhan, we still get to eat what we want at night.

Spare a thought for... the homeless people. While we sleep in the comfort of our own beds and mattresses, there are people out there who sleep on the pavements... no mattresses, just old newspapers.

Spare a thought for... those in war torn countries. While we here are taking life for granted, the people in the war torn countries are lucky if they have a safe shelter to stay under. We only have to bear with the sounds of firecrackers and home-made meriam buluh (ban or no ban, we’d still hear lots of those putus jari stories!), there are people out there who live in fear of deadly gunshots and bombings.

Spare a thought for... the Palestine refugees. Some of them may be staying in safe refugee camps in neighbouring countries, but how nice can their Eid be when they are uncertain of when they'll be able to return to a land they can call home.

Spare a thought for... the elderly people staying in old folks homes. When other old folks wait in excitement for their children to come home, imagine the loneliness of the old folks who have to spend their Hari Raya without the presence of children and grandchildren.

Spare a thought for… the HIV infected or affected families who are being marginalized… they need love and compassion, yet they get stigma and discrimination…

Yes, spare some thoughts for them and reflect on ourselves...

Are we grateful for the family and friends that we have? Or are we bitter over certain things that certain people have done?

Are we grateful for all that we have achieved? Or are we unhappy over the things that we failed to achieve?

Are we grateful for the chance to try and try again if we fail? Or do we feel hopeless every time we fail?

Are we grateful for all the love that we can share? Or are we the unloving kind of people who couldn't care less what happens to others?

You cannot be grateful and bitter.
You cannot be grateful and unhappy.
You cannot be grateful and without hope.
You cannot be grateful and unloving.

SO JUST BE GRATEFUL.

Yes, let’s just be grateful. Let’s be grateful by using this blessed month to spread love and good deeds to fellow beings. And let’s continue the love and good deeds even after Ramadhan is over.

To all Muslim readers of this blog, may you have a meaningful Ramadhan. To all the rest, we can all spread love and good deeds, can’t we? Every day, every month, throughout the year, throughout our lives…

19 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Pi,

Wishing you a meaningful Ramadhan. Lovely post. Touching. Tu lah dia, just be grateful. Salam.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

beautiful Pi.

have a blessed Ramadhan....

Take care! :D

Anonymous said...

Hi Pi,

Selamat berpuasa...selamat...selamat semuanya

Salt N Turmeric said...

Selamat Berpuasa Pi Bani!

I agree w u. Be very grateful with whtever god has given us. To me thts the key to happiness. :)

Daphne Ling said...

Hi Kak Pi,
That was a lovely post!
I hear you on all about being grateful, and giving whether it's Ramadhan or not, and regardless of what you believe in...Happy Ramadhan, Happy Fasting! And Happy Early Raya!

Btw, I am tagging you! Please visit ahem, Amnesia-Dyspepsia for more details...;)

Pi Bani said...

K.Ruby,
Same to you. I am grateful... :)

K.Ena,
Thank you. You take care too.

Elviza,
Ya, ya... selamat semuanya... hingga ke anak cucu... hehehe...

Pi Bani said...

Princessjournals,
Selamat berpuasa to you too. True, when we are grateful, we feel happy...

Daphne,
Wah, day one of puasa not even over yet, you already wishing me for Raya ka?! And duh... another tag? I haven't even done the earlier tags I got... aiyo...

Anonymous said...

Salam Ramadan:)

J.T. said...

Hi Pi

Wishing you a blessed Ramadhan. I love this post. We have so much to be grateful for, don't we?

And I agree with you ... we can all spread love and good deeds every day, every month, throughout the year, throughout our lives - not just during time when we are supposed to show it.

P.S. I do find it funny that Ramadhan turns into a food fest month. I'm not complaining though because last year when I was back on holiday during Ramadhan, I enjoyed eating almost everything that I missed.

Pi Bani said...

Hazia,
Thanks and the same wishes to you.

JT,
Yep, my non-Muslim friends here seem to love Ramadhan too because of the existence of Pasar Ramadhan everywhere. It's the time of the year when they can get all sorts of Malay delicacies at one place!

winniethepooh said...

Pi Bani, selamat berpuasa and Im still learning to be grateful everyday for whatever life throws at me and trying to do good whenever I can :)

have a great week Pi Bani!

Pi Bani said...

Winnie,
Thanks for your kind wishes.

Yes, we all are still learning from life. But sometimes we tend to forget to be grateful (myself included!) and need to be reminded. So this posting is also a reminder to myself laa...

Nightwing said...

Hello Pi Bani,

Lovely post. Thank you for reminding us that we should be grateful with what we have.

Would like to wish u and your love ones a Happy Blessed Ramadan.

Mat Salo said...

Setuju Pi,

Hopefully the more blessed we are, the more charitable we become...

Selamat Berpuasa.

Pi Bani said...

Nightwing,
Thank you. Now I'd better start doing the tags I seem to be getting... yours, Daphne's... aargh! Yeah, yeah... I need to be grateful that I got tagged because it just shows that I've got my blogger friends thinking of me... ;)


Mat Salo,
Yes, hopefully we all will be blessed enough this Ramadhan so we'd become more charitable.
Selamat berpuasa to you too.

Pak Idrus said...

Pi bani, what you are doing is already a blessing. Not many would do what you are doing, so you are among the few that been blessed to contribute to society where the society need most. Keep going and believe me the time would come when you would see the reward of giving. The beauty of life itself. Have a nice day and take care.

Pi Bani said...

Pak Idrus,
Thank you for your kind words. I am already seeing the beauty of life, Pak Idrus. Since I got myself involved in voluntary work, I have learnt to be calmer, more patient and not worry too much over things. It's a blessing indeed.

May you have a blessed Ramadhan, Pak Idrus.

Lightnur said...

Assalamualaikum Pi

Thanks for the great post. I am so grateful for a person like you Pi. Keep on touching people. Just remember what our prophet sallallahu alaihi wasalam said that, "He who does not thank people does not thank Allah".

Wishing you a blessed Ramadan and keep on good work.

Pi Bani said...

Lightnur,
Thank you. Wishing you a blessed Ramadhan too.