The Eid that took us by surprise

I hope that you all had a fulfilling and blessed month of Ramadhaan (May Allah Almighty accept all our efforts). And I also hope that you had a beautiful day of Eid. Let me tell you a little about my Eid.

We were really all expecting to fast for thirty days instead of twenty nine this year. Many people including the experts were adamant that the new moon would be too young and we would not be able to site it in South Africa. We were so convinced that Eid would be on Tuesday that when the announcement was made that the moon was sited briefly and thus Eid will be on Monday, many of us were taken completely off guard. Not only had we not bid a final farewell to the month of Ramadhaan, we also had Eid preparations that we were still planning on doing. What resulted was a bit of a scuffle as many women hurried to complete their Eid preparation in time for the unexpected day of Eid.

Alhamdulillah, Eid came and went and I am sure that it was a joyous day for everyone, despite the previous evening’s hurriedness. As we tried to see what to do first on the night before Eid, my mother pointed out something crucial which was so relevant. She said, you see, just like that, at the end of our lives, we will wish that we had one more day.

And this statement is so profound when you actually think about it. Just like we hurried to do whatever we could at the last minute before Eid, so too will we hurriedly try to do what we can before we meet our Lord. Just like we were not ready to bid Ramadhaan farewell, so too will we be reluctant to bid farewell to this world when our time comes. Just like we felt that the Eid announcement was unexpected, so too will the announcement of our death be unexpected. If this isn’t a perfect reminder to us then I don’t know what is.

But here’s the important difference- the day of Eid was still a success, even if we hadn’t managed to prepare all the foods we wanted, or to get all the Eid goodies that we had hoped to get, but the day of reckoning will not be a success if we hadn’t manage to prepare appropriately (may Allah save us from destruction on that day and accept us amongst the true Believers, Inshaa-Allah Ameen!)

So this reminds us once again that our preparation for things in this world should be nothing in comparison to our preparation for the Hereafter. We should not spend our lives preparing for various things in this world, while forgetting to prepare for what is still to come. When we put things into perspective, nothing in this temporary world is a big deal, because everything passes. And this is contrary to the Hereafter, where things will last forever.  

May Almighty Allah guide us all and save us from futile pursuits and may we be granted success in the hereafter and in this world Inshaa-Allah!

Image from here 

Ramadaan is almost here!!!

It’s an exciting time for Muslims all around the world. Everywhere people are talking about the month of Ramadaan which is almost on our doorsteps. Alhamdullillah! It’s so beautiful that Muslims make such a big deal of this month, as we should!

Ramadaan is indeed the month of blessings and the peace and tranquillity that we feel in this month is undeniable. Allah’s mercy definitely transcends more on us during this blessed month. Allahu Akbar, this is a gift above any other.

There’s something else that you can’t miss when associating with Muslim women though. This is of course the other type of Ramadaan Preparation- You know, not the spiritual or even the physical preparation. This is the FOOD PREPARATION. I’m not sure how things are in other parts of the world, but in South Africa, where I am, this has taken on new meaning.

As if samoosas, pies, half-moons, spring-rolls and mini-pizza’s are not enough to make, now there’s also mini samoosas, crumbed samoosas, square samoosas... see even I have lost track. Last year I was actually told that a certain savoury was “in fashion” for Ramadaan. It’s quite crazy, isn’t it? The amount of time, energy and money that goes into preparing all this food really makes one wonder. Now, I’m really not saying that people shouldn’t prepare anything at all, especially when you have hungry men (and women) eagerly looking forward to breaking their fast and eating these savouries shortly thereafter. Getting all of that food preparation out of the way before the time is also wise because then people don’t have to be bothered with that during the month of Ramadaan and there’s more time for Ibadah. All I’m saying though is that it should not get so out of hand. Women shouldn’t spend so much time preparing food for Ramadaan. When we focus all our energies on food preparation we don’t have time for the spiritual and physical preparation that we should also be making.

Besides, keeping it simple is always better, and if we look at our Iftaar tables we can never say that we are not extravagant. We should also always remember that it was a Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) to break his fast with only dates and some water, so even though this is difficult, we should slowly begin to implement this Sunnah in our lives. May Allah make it easy for us all.

Basically what I’m trying to say is having balance is good. Don’t overdo the food preparation and don’t become so engrossed in preparing savouries beforehand that you don’t have enough time to prepare yourself in other ways.

Ramadaan is Indeed an joyous time and a precious gift, may Allah make it easy for all of us to make the best of this month, in every way. Insha'Allah Ameen!

Image taken from: towardsenlightment.wordpress.com/2007/09/
Bismillah Image from: picsdigger.com/keyword/islamic%20places/