a fleeting stay ...

The last 10 days of Ramadhan 1439H begin tonight (Monday June 4, 2018) I wrote this post in 2010. I am reposting it to remind myself of the benefits of taking full advantage of the remaining days of this year's  Ramadhan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Life for Muslims begins when the sun goes down during the holy month. Muslims are obliged to abstain completely from drinking, eating and sex from sunrise to sunset. Every Muslim is taught to embrace Ramadhan completely by filling the days with acts of worship and charity, besides getting rid of bad thoughts and deeds. The whole month is full of blessings and rewards but the last ten days have a special status as seen in the recommendations and practices of the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions. See video below. 

Ramadan bazaars sprout up like mushrooms during the fasting month. They seem to get bigger and busier with each passing year. It will be no different this year. Ipoh, the capital city of Perak, is gearing itself to be the best state in Malaysia in terms of providing Ramadan bazaars to Muslims in the city. Apparently, the Ipoh City Council will provide "five-star services" to visitors and traders at some Ramadan bazaars in the city in a project known as the Ibu Bazar Ramadan or Mother of all Ramadan Bazaars. Five areas -- Perak Stadium, Medan Gopeng, Taman Perpaduan, Taman Tasek Indera and Taman Desa Aman -- will launch the experiment today, the first day of fasting. There will be a special marquee for donation seekers and tithe collectors, in addition to the colourful spread of local favourites in stalls dotting the premises of these bazaars. Prayer spaces for women and men complete with ablution facilities are also available. In other words, the Council wants to ma...

If you want to know about staying healthy during Ramadan, The Rakyat Post has a piece on how to achieve that while fasting. Click here . Image courtesy of gulfnews.com

It has been a year since my last post. It is time to be active again.  Muslims across the world will observe the holy fasting month of Ramadan this weekend: for Malaysia, fasting begins tomorrow.  The ninth month of the Islamic calender is special to all Muslims including me.    I invite readers of this blog to get to know Muslims during this holy month. Here are the links to previous postings on Ramadan.

The upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr celebration is a major event which takes many Muslims back to the family home. It is arguably the most important social reunion because it  allows returnees to reconnect either with family members or long-time friends in the old hometown. Such events are called balik kampung in Malaysia and mudik lebaran in Indonesia. The other opportunities for such gatherings are funerals, religious festivals and ceremonies. It is usually an emotional reunion between the returnees and their loved ones. After being apart for some time  -- years in the case of some -- they are coming together to honour the first day of Syawal. As they greet each other, their eyes fill with tears. You feel the affection and tenderness. But life is never neat and tidy. Many of us have had to deal with meddling relatives and/or unresolved family conflicts. Unsurprisingly, the prospect of a family reunion fills some with dread. The interaction may unleash pent-up fru...

A waiting cab takes these Middle Eastern visitors back to their hotel.  Gulf Arab women in flowing black robes dashing through fancy malls in the Bukit Bintang shopping belt clutching bags of cosmetics, accessories, shoes and toys with children in tow seem to have become a permanent fixture in the tourism landscape in Malaysia. They usually go for branded stuff and locals can barely keep up with the high-spending customers from the Middle East. They are Malaysia 's favourite shoppers because they have both money and taste. Malaysia projects an air of warmth and hospitality. It has taken steps to make visitors from West Asia feel very welcome here. Besides English and Malay, arrival and departure announcements at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport or KLIA are also made in Arabic. Many hotels in Kuala Lumpur employ Arabic-speaking staff and there is also an "Arab street" in Kuala Lumpur's "Golden Triangle" which offers all things Arab. Onl...

A simple sahur meal of cereal, dates and water. Picture by Jehan Mohd. Non-Muslims often bombard me with this question: how can you eat so early in the morning? They are referring to sahur , the pre-dawn meal practising Muslims take before the fast during Ramadan.  That is an easy one. Actually, I have no problem consuming food at that time. The tough part is getting up at 5am or earlier for the sahur meal. That's why in previous years I have always eaten this meal at around 1am and turn in half an hour later.  I have changed the routine this year and sahur is now at 5am. I struggled on the first day; getting up at 6am is bad enough. It takes a lot of willpower and discipline to drag myself out of bed at 5am, head straight to the kitchen and fix the very early breakfast. But as Zafar Nomani aptly puts it: "To follow the spirit of Ramadan and other fasting traditions, discipline, control and behavioural change are critical." The reason for making the swi...

Ramadan , which begins tomorrow in Malaysia, won't be the same without dates ( see picture above ).  The fruit is part of the ritual of breaking the fast, as was the tradition of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.A.W).   He was reported to have said: "If anyone of you is fasting, let him break his fast with dates. In case he does not have them, then with water. Verily water is a purifier."  Until the late 80s good quality dates were a rarity in Malaysia. People had to make do with inferior quality ones and only the well heeled could afford the best. Today it is difficult to choose from the vast array of varieties on offer.  This was my dilemma yesterday when I had to pick between dates from Tunisia and those from Saudi Arabia at a supermarket near my apartment.  Indeed, the types available in Malaysia range from cheap to expensive. In between is the fresh and gourmet selection. Custom...

It's best to stick to simple meals during Ramadan.   Ramadan , the annual month of fasting, will begin on August 1, this year and preparations to welcome the holiest month on the Muslim calendar are already in full swing. Muslims who observe Ramadan are counting down to the special month by preparing themselves --mentally, spiritually and physically -- for the fast. They constantly remind themselves that Ramadan is not just about refraining from eating and drinking during the day but also a time to be very close to God by offering more prayers than usual and to practice patience, humility and spirituality. Some Muslims began fasting in June for a few days a week to ease their bodies into the month-long fast in August. My late father would do the mini fast three months before the start of Ramadan and when it finally came he grew accustomed to the idea of waking up at 4am for the pre-dawn meal ( sahur) , going without lunch and having a glass of water by his bed at night to...

The countdown to Eid ul-Fitr , the first day of Shawwal which marks the end of Ramadan , starts here. But Muslims must go through the last 10 days of Ramadan before the rejoicing begins. The final 10 days of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month, are finally here. Muslims believe that the Night of Power or Lailatul Qadr  (also spelled Laylat al-Qadr ) falls within this period. They hold that the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet (PBUH) by God through the Angel Gabriel on the Night of Power. Nobody knows when the Night of Power -- which the Quran describes as being "better than a thousand months" -- takes place and Muslims are encouraged to seek it out during the last 10 days of Ramadan by taking part in late-night prayers, Dhikr and spiritual contemplation. According to many accounts, the Night of Power is probably "on one of the odd nights on the last 10 days of Ramadan and most likely to be on the 27th". "It could happen on th...

A Ramadan bazaar in Wangsa Maju, Selangor. If you throw a stone in Malaysia during the month of Ramadan, you are likely to hit a bazaar. Bazaars offering a wide variety of food had sprouted up all over the country since Ramadan began on August 11. Lists of the top bazaars to go to have been drawn up. The more known and established bazaars attract enthusiasts from everywhere. Plans are made early in the day as to which bazaar they should visit. Malaysians enjoy their Ramadan bazaars just as they love their pasar malam (night markets). The tired soul derives great pleasure from soaking up the sight, sound and smell of stalls laden with delicious food. Food shopping at the bazaars is enjoyable but do it wisely. And there is something for everybody at the Ramadan bazaars. The appearance of dishes (such as bubur lambuk or savoury rice porridge) peculiar to the fasting month and normally not seen Malay cakes especially traditional ones (such as tepung pelita and pisang si...

Dates, dried kiwi fruit and apricots as well as pistachio nuts could make up the meal that breaks the day's fast. Dates "provide a refreshing burst of much-needed energy," notes Ramadan health guide. Serendipitous. That is the word I would use to describe a discovery in my mailbox last week. A friend had emailed me a file on Ramadan health guide, compiled by Communities in Action . It was exactly the thing that I had been looking for. About a month before Ramadan, which began on August 11, I had been searching for materials on staying healthy during the fasting month. Then came Ramadan Health Guide, which hopes to create awareness of the health matters connected with  fasting. What concerns many Muslims is staying healthy during Ramadan, a point noted by the Ramadan health guide. The booklet guides readers through physiological changes that occur during fasting, offers examples of beneficial and harmful foods, examines potential medical problems and remedies ...

Guest blogger Jehan Mohd had her first taste of Malay fine dining at a berbuka puasa (breaking of the fast at sunset) event hosted by Commercial Radio Malaysia. Ibunda , the venue for the evening, offers a delicious mix of traditional Malay cooking dressed up in the trappings of the gastronomic equivalent of haute couture. Here are her thoughts on her experience. Our starter served in four bowls -- there was (from the left) lemang (glutinous rice soaked in coconut milk and cooked in bamboo over a slow fire) and rendang (stewed beef in coconut milk), rojak mamak  (Indian Muslim style salad with peanut sauce), some really nice fish in unidentified yummy sauce and bubur lambuk (savoury rice porridge).The rendang had a strange aftertaste but the fish and bubur were lovely! Also in the picture are my first air sirap bandung (a concoction of rose syrup water and evaporated milk) for the year, a vintage glass bottle of ice-cream soda (!) and dates dished up in a boat-like porcelein...

Some 300 orphans from five welfare homes and orphanages in the Klang Valley ( pictures ) were treated to berbuka puasa (the meal which breaks the day's fast, also known as iftar in some cultures) at Nikko Hotel, Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Members of the media were also invited to the event, which was organised by Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), Malaysia's biggest fund management company. It is a yearly occurrence. The special guests received duit raya (the customary cash gift for Eid ul-Fitr , the first day of Shawal that marks the end of Ramadan ), dates and cookies for Eid ul-Fitr. PNB is among many corporations in Malaysia that organise berbuka puasa for the underprivileged sections of the community in Malaysia. While I laud the move by these corporations, I could not help but wonder why hotels are chosen as the venues for these social functions? What is wrong with community halls, mosques or school halls? Other members of the community -- rich, poor, th...

Muslims will do without food and drink from dawn to dusk during Ramadan , but after a day of fasting, they will want something refreshing to quench their thirst and good to eat. When people have been starving all day long, they expect cooling drinks and tasty food at the breaking of fast which takes place just after sunset. Watermelon juice is a popular thirst quencher for breaking fast. A long menu of Malaysian delicacies such as bubur lambuk (savoury porridge especially prepared for Ramadan), mee rebus (noodles with thick gravy), the various types of soups, piping hot rice eaten with ikan bakar (grilled fish), sambal tempoyak (fermented durian condiment) and ulam (local raw greens) are usually hot items on the buka puasa  (which means breaking of fast in Malay or iftar in some cultures) table while the best-liked thirst quenchers include cold sirap bandung (a concoction of syrup water and evaporated milk), coconut water and watermelon juice. Mosques and suraus ...

Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims, is here once again. Muslims in Malaysia began observing Ramadan on Saturday (Aug 22, 2009) and will do so for a month until the dawn of festivities known as Hari Raya here. Ramadan is special for many reasons: savouring dates (as in the picture above) and traditional food, strengthening family ties and initiating gloomy and not-so-gloomy rounds of introspection. The last activity is particularly important because examining my own thoughts, feelings and motives will motivate me to improve myself when I understand my obligations as a human being on Earth. Prayers are important throughout the year but there is something about Ramadan that makes prayers even more meaningful. Performing specific additional prayers that aim to bring the faithful closer to God is highly encouraged. Selamat Berpuasa!