Wed. 6.4.2022.
Today is the fourth day of Ramadan for this year of 2022, or the Hijri year 1443 - or 1,443 years since the Holy Prophet's migration to Medinah at the age of 50. This is year 3 since Covid 19 shut all the mosques in Malaysia (and many other countries). Ramadan brings back a lot of memories, of the rite of fast itself, and of other events that happened in the Holy Month for me.
I've written elsewhere about Ramadan. I recall those stories. The surau tinggi Bukit Temensu, the brick surau Tanjong Malim, the Ampang Jaya surau, the temporary surau Damansara Utama, and the surau Taman Dato' Shahbandar were some of the suraus that served my Ramadan prayers. Then there were the mosques - Sg. Besi, University of Malaya mosque, Kampong Baru mosque, Datuk Keramat mosque, Alam Shah mosque Circular Road, Mujahiddin Mosque Damansara Utama, Mesjid Sendeng Seremban, the State Mosque NS (surprisingly no special name) and Mesjid Sg. Landak. There were other suraus and mosques, but these were those I spent a lot of time with in the course of my move through the years.
2020 and 2021 were Covid 19 lockdown years. From April 2022, the rigid sop on congregation has been very much relaxed. Now our prayer mats can touch each other, although scanning-in and the face masks are still required. I don't think the epidemic is any less contagious or any less rampant. Governments all over the world are probably just tired of the sops, and the people, too. Too much political consideration has caused governments to make these relaxing changes. The peril exists.
Surprisingly, in spite of the much talked of previous anger at the curtailment of public religious activities, Mesjid Negeri, Seremban for the last 6 days of Ramadan is only half-full, or even less than that. I count no more than 5 rows each time. I wonder why they are staying away.
This year the terawih prayers have been cut to 10 rakaats, when the State Mosque, quite different from many others, practiced the full 20 rakaats. There are different versions, of course, over these rites. They are not compulsory after all. I've always chosen the lesser rakaats from the early days. Usually it was the 8-rakaat version, said to be the minimum practiced by the Holy Prophet in the mosque, although he performed more at home. My belief is that religious rites should be in moderation whenever allowed. This should prevent boredom from creeping in. Every prayer and every other religious rite should not be carried to any extreme. Instead we should perform them with full awareness of their meanings and maqasid each time. The depth of our piety is more meaningful than the quantity of the physical acts.
A few days before Ramadan Hank called to tell me that he had driven himself at almost midnight to Hospital Tuanku Jaafar and got admitted because of chest pains. He has IJN history, and HTJ treated him for a few days before, he said, getting to IJN for subsequent treatment. He has been discharged from HTJ, but I don't know if he has gone to IJN. He declined my offer of assistance on discharge, because his children were attending to him. I posted about him on the FMC 1962 site the day he spoke to me, and immediately saw the response and concern of our OPA members. The 1962 boys are all around 76 years of age !
Like Ramadans in past years, this one is no different when it comes to the home activity. There is the frentic search for food and supplies for the break of the fast. All the favourite food and drinks are given serious consideration each day. In the end, like always, so much is left uneaten. It's against the spirit of Ramadan, these wastes, but food preparation is during fasting, when enough is never enough. This is one aspect that never changed because of Covid 19.
Those childhood fasting were somehow more trying, but in the end more fun. Not much thought was given to the deeper understanding of the ritual. We looked forward to the food at the end of each day of fast, and to the Eid at the end of the month of fast. It was like reward for the brave face against thirst, hunger and fatigue, and for Raya, victory for the sacrifices endured for the whole month.
I especially remember Bukit Temensu. Maybe because these were early schooling days. In fact the whole thing, the break of fast, the terawih prayers, the Raya prayers, became imprinted practices that stood out when other styles were introduced later when we moved away from Bukit Temensu. Those days, the terawih prayers did not start until well past Isyak. And there was only one version - the long 20 rakaat one. That meant it didn't end until midnight. Not only that, there were a lot of breaks in between each 2-rakaat. But the takbirs and wirids were melodious, long and loud. Just now in the State mosque only the bilal could be heard, murmuring curtailed takbirs. Not knowing Arabic, us children pronounced the words as we perceived them, not as grammar dictated. Holy Arabic words became rude Malay ones. But it was fun.
But the highlight of the evening was always the food everybody brought from home. You should remember this was NS and nogori food. My God, the variety of the gulai lada api (real Negrian don't say cili api), the sweet broth and cakes, especially kelepongs, and the fruit in season (no purchased fruit, ever) which would include durians. It was reward indeed for the puasa earlier in the day. As I said somewhere else, my mother even called me Lebai Kelepong because of my love of attending the surau prayers in Ramadan. For the food, really. She was just joking, but the title stuck longer than necessary.
Md. Noh suggested that we resume our takbir raya this year, but I demurred. Is it safe ? I asked. He agreed to reassess it. This was good fun when I was small, too, and I memorised the words from that time. In Seremban before Covid 19, we could only do 8 houses each night to not exceed 1 a.m. Raya morning. Boy, by the time we broke up, we were half-asleep but fully sated !
Our 3rd Raya day gathering in the house had been affected by the lock-down in the 2 previous years, over 4 Rayas. It still looks doubtful this year. But at least the 4 kids and families should make it the night before Eid, and stay until the 3rd Raya get-together. This is my 78th Raya. I don't know how many more I have.
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