WELCOME RAMADHAN

God willing, tomorrow (22 August), Muslims in Malaysia and the world over (there will be a one-day difference between countries) , will start performing Ramadhan fasting.

Fasting is not merely refraining oneself from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. It entails much more than that really. We have to perform all the recommended good deeds and refrain from those that distant you from Allah and His blessings.

Fasting has a few grades, to put it simply...ranging from the lay-man / man-on-the-street's fasting right up to Prophets' fasting.

Of course we want our fasting to be up-graded as we age. How to do it is up to us all.

Allah has promised that good deeds performed during fasting would be rewarded many times compared to the same performed in other months.

God's special offer is opened to all, All we have to do is grab it. But sadly, not many is attracted and take the offer, because of reasons known only to them.

If there are special sales in town, people will come running to grab the offer...but the Ramadhan's more than true offer, most of the times is left to be eaten away by time.

For many, Ramadhan fasting is just a culture...of feasting....lavish collection of food and drinks at the breakfast...They engorge themselves with so much food and drinks that most of the night good deeds are left undone.

To many, fasting is just a practice of postponing meal time...the missed breakfast, ten-o'clock tea, lunch and four-o'clock tea are lumped together at a big breakfast at dusk!

Then there is the preparation for Aidilfitri (Eid celebration). Too much money, time and effort are put to get cookies, new curtains, new dresses, etc etc that most often during the last two weeks of fasting mosques would be forgotten....There will be only a few rows of people at Tarawih prayers after breakfast...

Allah has also promised a very very special night called Lailatul Qadar...a night full of blessings that it is better than 1000 other nights...

Then again, there is the six-day Shawal fasting....

Welcome Ramadhan and let us all pray that we all perform Ramadhan fasting well this year...we'll never know that may be this is our last Ramadhan...