pluck the Ramadhan's fruits

Assalamualaikum brothers & sisters! It had been too long since I last updated my blog right? Thousands of sincere apologize from me. Well, I'm back again :)

Peeps! I need your help! Could you please help me to define the word Ramadhan in three simple words? Sahur, bazaar & terawih? Sabar, tadarus & al-Quran? Lailatul Qadar? Raya?

27th of Ramadhan, which means that we only have two more days to go before Eid Fitr comes. Eid songs can be heard everywhere while everyone is preparing the best for the incoming Eid Fitr, the most awaited day every year.

While a part of us are busy with Eid's preparation, do believe me that another part of us are grieving because Ramadhan will disappear soon, those pious brothers and sisters.

I'm calling you now, inviting you together with me to evaluate ourselves and determine how much did we benefit from Ramadhan, the month of Barakah? Recalling Allah's words in Surah al-Baqarah,

"O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous." (183)

[Sahih International]

"Wahai orang-orang yang beriman! Kamu diwajibkan berpuasa sebagaimana diwajibkan atas orang-orang yang dahulu daripada kamu, supaya kamu bertaqwa." (183)

[Malay:Basmeih]

I did! Pondering on this verse again and again. Frankly speaking, I never thought about this verse deeply just like today. Yesterday and the days backward, I listened to people reciting verse 183 from Surah al-Baqarah to let every Muslim knows that we have to fast during the month of Ramadhan with very few unavoidable excuses.

"That you may become righteous." & "Supaya kamu bertaqwa." Let me help you to define the word TAQWA to you.

Dr. Aidh Abdullah al-Qarni, in his book, 'Jagalah Allah, Allah Menjagamu' define taqwa as below:

Taqwa dapat diertikan, iaitu kamu takut kepada Allah kerana cahaya daripada Allah, di samping itu, kamu juga sangat mengharapkannya rahmatNya. Dan kamu melakukan kebaikan sesuai dengan aturan Allah, dengan harapan kamu akan memperoleh pahala daripadaNya, dan kamu juga menghindari keburukan, berkat cahaya daripada Allah, kerana kamu takut kepada seksaNya.

Dr. Aidh through the same book also stated the meaning of taqwa defined by Saidina Ali bin Abi Thalib RA as:

Bahawa taqwa adalah takut kepada Dzat Yang Maha Agung, mengamalkan Kitab (al-Quran) yang diturunkan, redha dengan yang sedikit dan mempersiapkan diri untuk hari kematian (qiamat).

While Abdullah bin Mas'ud RA give the meaning of taqwa as:

Taqwa adalah kamu sentiasa tetap mengingati Allah SWT dan tidak melupakanNya, dipatuhi dan tidak diderhakai, disyukuri dan tidak diingkari.

And here is a short story between Saidina Umar al-Khattab and Ubay bin Ka'ab as an anology to define taqwa:

Umar al-Khattab : Sebutkanlah ciri-ciri taqwa kepadaku.

Ubay bin Ka'ab : Apakah tuan pernah melintasi sebidang tanah yang penuh dengan duri?

Umar al-Khattab : Ya!

Ubay bin Ka'ab : Apakah yang tuan lakukan di sana?

Umar al-Khattab : Saya sangat berhati-hati untuk menghindarinya dan menyinsingkan lengan baju untuk menjauhinya.

Ubay bin Ka'ab : Begitulah ketaqwaan itu!

Ramadhan is not the month of competition. Some Muslims competed with each other to recite the al-Quran. "Hey dude! How many juzuk of al-Quran had you recite so far?" Is it? And when Ramadhan comes to an end, everything back to normal. 

Mushaf al-Quran again takes it's place on the shelf while waiting for next year incoming Ramadhan? No more congregational prayer at the mosque? A break from Qiamullail? No infaq to unlucky Muslims? Then, we can do anything just like before Ramadhan came? This is the true meaning of Ramadhan? And every year, we will repeat the same thing again and again.

By referring to the end of that verse, Allah state that fasting can lead us to achieve the level of taqwa. But how many of us ever noticed about that and acted to grab the title? 

Are we ready to pluck the fruits of Ramadhan and become one of those righteous people?

I love the soul of Ramadhan and I wish that the soul will forever remain in me even Ramadhan will leave me soon. Ramadhan is the turning point. Keep the very deep sense of an abdullah within our heart.

"Kalau bukan hari ini dan Ramadhan ini, bila lagi?"