Ramadan - A month of reflection

It has been more than a week since I last updated.

I am feeling what flyboy is feeling. Ramadan is about to leave us and I am feeling the sadness already. I pray that I be given the chance to perform my duty again. Amin.

Mr BR had a short post about 'ziarah kubur' or 'visit the grave'. Hamba Allah's reply caught my attention and he reminded his muslim brothers and sister that "... that this world we live in is just a stepping stone to a greater life."

While others are busy with politics and personal issues to make their life more interesting we should all remember that life can leave us at any time and are we ready?

Last Friday I went to visit my late grandparent's graves on my father's side. We did the usual - arrived at the grave at 7 a.m. and cleaned the tombs - picking up the dry leaves, wiping of the dirt and making sure that the whole area near my grandparent's graves were clean. We then recited the Yasin and Tahlil.

As I poured the 'air asah-asahan', my eyes were fixated on the engraved 'jawi' on my late grandfather's tomb. It all came rushing back to me.

I was 15 years old and it was the fourth day of raya. It was a day that my sibling and myself along with my cousins on my father's side would go house visiting with our grandfather. He had promised to take us house visiting to the 'important' peoples houses which for us back then meant 'big angpaus'.

My elder brother woke me from my slumber to tell me that my grandfather had passed away. I managed to smirk and told him not to lie and joke about it. I had lost my grandmother two years before that and I started to cry.

I managed to hold my tears on our way to my late grandfathers house but as I met up with my cousins we all started to cry. We were all in shock.

I cried after I poured the 'air asah-asahan' last friday. This year will be 11 years since my late grandfather had passed away and I started to miss him. I said a special little prayed in my heart and I tried to wipe away my tears so that my father would not question me in the car. I kept quiet the whole way and all day I though of him.

I pray that His Al-Mighty bless both my late grandparents and semoga roh mereka dicucuri rahmat.

Amin.

AL-FATIHAH.