I Crave That Glass of Water

Two things I dread most when approaching  the end of Ramadhan;
-the end of Ramadhan,
-the massive spring Eid cleaning ( it ain't Spring!)

All the blessings, all the extra credit we were given in this month, all will be withdrawn. And it's those things-- blessings, that we take for granted only to know that it's gone. Next year Ramadhan might still come again, but will we still be there to greet it?

Fret not! Though Ramadhan have ended, we have not. We don't live for Ramadhan, we live for Allah, right? So for our days to come, improve ourselves, and hopefully-- our relationship with everything, mostly with Allah. So stay cool, let today be a good day (carpe diem!), and tomorrow a better one!

Speaking of the massive war against the dust bunnies, and cobwebs and all the nasty housemates (not the people or cats in the house), I ain't complaining. It's, healthy living. We clean the house once a year. Ahaha but one thing came to mind when chopping down trees, and breathing in the flying debris that I've given a big whooping, is that it's tiring. Do this, do that, huff and puff. "what time is it? should be 2pm by my guess," checked my watch, barely noon. Fun.

Okay that's not the thing. If this is tiring, imagine the Badar war, 17th Ramadhan 624, between the muslims and quraisy during the early years of Islam under the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Spring cleaning-- war. Sweeping the floor -- swinging swords! It was a war, need I say more?

An imaam, was giving a talk once at one of the local mosque. Ramadhan be his topic. So midway his talk, he asked "why are we to observe fasting in Ramadhan?"
-When we were kids, or at least, when I was one, I was taught to observe fasting to put ourselves in the shoes of the famished, to be thankful to have food on the table three times a day, if not more.
"If that is so, then Allah would not have made the people in Africa to fast, the starving muslims in Palestine, Syria to fast."
-so then, because it is as Allah has ordered?
"But why fasting? dawn to dusk? It's hard, no one likes to starve themselves for a full day. It's boring, and we eat when we're bored"
Umm..I don't know?
"It is to test our faith in Allah, how far would we go. Allah mentioned that every ibadah observed by man is for himself, but fasting, to which it is for Him."

ps. This should be posted on the eve of Ramadhan, not the eve of 'Eid. *sigh* I am known for my 'LAMPI'ness.

Hafidz Iddin