Moments of Raya

Ramadhan
This Ramadhan has been a wonderful month for me. A blessed and filled one indeed. Not too busy with works for Ikram Siswa and studies. Every night was a free night for me. Few nights helping Aqsa Syarif Penang to raise funds at mosque and evenings with Hidayah Centre for their Majlis Iftar Perdana. Alhamdulillah, Ikram Seberang Jaya even sponsored ikhwah UiTMPP a thousand ringgit worth 'meja' for that night's charity dinner. Occasionally, we also will have iftar at the nearby surau and help pakciks wash the dishes.

This Ramadhan was also a unique experience. It was in this Ramadhan I got the initiative to buy foods for beggars for them to break fast. It was very meaningful to me personally. If people questions about the money and the syndicate those beggars work for, I guess giving them foods would be helpful. I just couldn't stand the look in their eyes. If people ask me what would Ramadhan mean to me, humanly speaking, is so that I could understand what poor people feels. Not only to endure hunger the whole day, but to reflect what if we ourselves have nothing to eat after Maghrib. We often choose to neglect it because we know we will be having a wonderful and often wasted meal during iftar.

YDP Ikram Penang, Ir Jamaluddin (kiri) dan Timbalan Ketua Menteri P.Pinang 1, Haji Rashid.

Got targeted i'adah (revision) of Al-Quran. This year I reduced the number of khatam, and went for something more meaningful to me - i'adah and tadabbur. The book Khawatir Qur'aniyyah I bought was so helpful. It introduced fresh ideas and perspectives in tadabburing the Quran. Iktikaf also had been a must on nights of Ramadhan. Although among my housemates, I was the least to go on an iktikaf. Still, the last nights of Ramadhan had been exceptionally great. I've got to spend the nights with wonderful figures - my naqib who always had his time free for us even though he was a doctor, Ustaz Syazali who was an outstanding ustaz especially for his Ulum Quran, and even Imam Muda Gaza Tariq came to our house!

Ramadhan in KL was also wonderful. The mosques were even merrier than last year. Alhamdulillah. Again, things wouldn't go really smooth when you are going iktikaf with a lot of siblings. You will have someone oversleeps for over an hour after Subuh at a well-hid corner of the mosque while the others are waiting in the car. You will have someone unintentionally drops important things at the mosque. Even small brothers who want air kotak and botol susu in the middle of the iktikaf. That's the wonder of a family.


Balik Kampung
Balik kampung was one of the most awaited annual events for me. The long journey (up to 8 hours) from KL to Kelantan was a tiring but wonderful drive. We will have quiz revolving the nasyid played on the playlist. For example Epik by Rabbani. So I will ask Ayaz and Saif what was the song about. Often, funny answers will come out from their mouths. And the whole family would burst to laugh. Sometimes, the mood changed. When I was driving with my mum besides me, and others went asleep, we would have a serious chat about my life.

Sometimes, my dad will ask the names of places we were passing through. All names (often ridiculous) would pop up. Well, it was just a happy moment.


Raya
As most guys at my age will face - question of life and death - 'Bila nak kahwin?'. It's a wave-off answer.

As an eldest son, I took the initiative to catch up on my siblings. I managed to have a one-on-one eating session. It was planned but I doubt they realized. I even had Ayaz to eat alone with me. He hated easy math. As he said lol. He said he could solve hard questions but stuck at easy questions. As funny as it sounded, a good brother should take serious of what his sibling said. It's the way you develop your sibling's self-respect.

Duit raya was not much. I decided to give duit raya too. Rasa dewasa sikit haha. Ziarah raya this year felt more significant. All in all, this year's raya went smoothly and happily. Even the latest gossips of my aunties, mom and grandma did not have any tearful impacts.

Have been visiting so many relatives. Even relatives I have never met before. Two of them were even my students at Al-Amin. We were also visiting our parents schools. My dad made a remark on how our children would be if in years to come we decide to bring our children to Al-Amin. I asked why he asked that. He said because we seemed so indifferent. I laughed. We seemed indifferent because we couldn't relate to their memories. How could I expect my children to have sentimental values as I would have when passing through Darul Quran? Or to be happy when I visit Tbun one day?

I don't really feel sad leaving Ramadhan. Although I am hoping to meet Ramadhan next year. I feel that if we are told to be happy during Raya, we should be. We usually feel sad leaving Ramadhan because we might feel there won't be any chance like Ramadhan. But we want the chance for the sake of Allah. Therefore, being happy during Eid is also an act of deed. Wallahu a'lam.

There's no picture yet. All still in the cameras.

The International 3 - Dota 2
Besides that, I have been updating Dota 2 biggest tournament, The International 3, 2013 from my kampung Kubang Kerian. This year's tournament was very exciting. If people who plays football will get excited when great teams gather and fight, so do gamers. The International 3 was one of the biggest e-sport events in the whole world. The spectators were over 500,00 around the world.

The interface of player

The top prize was over 1 million USD. And the matches were very blood-pumping. They have great pro players from all over the world. One team from Malaysia even managed to qualify. That was an outstanding feat. The tournament added a different spice in my raya this year.

The players in the sound-proof box playing against each other. One team vs another team. There are commentators commenting the match, just like football commentator.

Crowds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZQINOLkx5Q

Watch. You'll know how thrilling it was.

Salam.