Allahu Akbar. the takbir begins. so ramadan has come to an end. & how we will miss blessed ramadan. whatever has a beginning, they say, must have an end. except of course, the Almighty himself. for He is the beginning, without start date, & He is the end, without expiry date. may we have witnessed lailatul qadr during this ramadan & may we have found the strength to forgive others & be forgiven. with sadness, we say goodbye to ramadan. it leaves us with tears in our eyes, a wound within our hearts, a goodbye that gives us pain. our hopes, & dreams, is to live through this holy month once again next year. ramadan is like a best friend youre tearfully saying goodbye to at the airport. you never know if youll ever see them again. & now we welcome special syawal. we have emerged victorious in our jihad & now is the time to usher in the festivities. but while we are happily celebrating syawal, there are also groups of people with no family & friends wishing them. they are looking at people celebrating syawal outside of their world. we always spend too much money on luxury. we keep telling ourselves to just spend a few more dollars, no big deal... just pay a little bit more & we may get better enjoyment. enjoy life, we keep reminding ourselves about that. however, we always forget that the rezki we earned is also being commanded by God to be given out a portion to those who really need it. i have been poor, & i have been rich, but i have always found someone poorer than me. traveling has enabled me to understand this. traveling into the poorest parts in some of the poorest places became my exposure to the poor of the world outside my own. & it was there & then that i realized how rich & fortunate i am. you witness how tough life is for the poor & the less fortunate. how cruel fate treats them. how unfair was the world towards them & yet they never, even for a second, ever bat an eyelid. in fact, they will smile at you & share with you whatever little they have. then you make friends with these folks. these friends, though not always muslims, were often my lifeline. they were great friends. the one thing that set them apart was that they understood what poverty was. most people have no clue unless they have been there. one has to experience poverty or God has to show them the need to have a desire to help. it takes compassion, to help the poor, not judgement. all the time thinking i was poor, i found that in truth i am actually rich. i have a small but comfortable dwelling to live in, i have food on my table, & i am grateful to have a job; though not a high-paying one, but one which pays enough for me to clear my bills. we as humans, muslims or not, have been so mesmerized by our wealth & our materialism that we forgot. forgetting the less fortunate is the very worst thing we can do. & lest we forget, nothing that we have or own is because of luck or chance. its all due to Gods grace & favour. we can lose everything in an instant. so now that we have bade farewell to ramadan, let the generosity continue flowing during syawal, & well into the foreseeable future. let there be people who sees the good values of a muslim helping & giving a hand to the needy; & not just feasting & donning new clothes, & choking every social media site with your awesome & glamorous food shots, & ellen-inspired selfies, & murad-osman-take-me-to poses during the course of eid. if only we can add a tinge of thoughtfulness into our everyday actions. remember, there are always others who are less privileged than us. i thank God for my family & friends who have been there to lend me a hand when i needed it most. perhaps, you know someone today that you have been overlooking that needs help. perhaps, there is someone you know who has a need. perhaps, there is someone you have judged when it wasnt your right to judge but it was your call to help. i say it again - remember the less fortunate. & in this special month too i seek forgiveness from all of you. forgive me. forgive me for being a nuisance in your life. forgive me for being a pain your ass. forgive me for my gift of the gab that have caused you much anger & pain. forgive me for all my wrongdoings, whether intentional or not. forgive my weaknesses & point them out to me in order that i may learn from them. forgive me. & God knows best. eid mubarak to you. life is beautiful. take care & God bless...
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 14:07:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015