Window

With this tiny window left of Syaaban, I hope it is not too late to wish Ed-Mubarak to all Muslims. May we get the best of Barakah & Rahmat from Allah swt in this great month. And may we pray from this tiny window, it will open up to a wider perspective of beautiful Islam for all of us.

Allah swt may have given us another chance to meet Ramadhan again this year. Praise to Allah for the health and opportunity.

I was on a roller coaster ride for the past few weeks. The central nerve system crashed at the very last moment prior to Ipoh Century Ride. Though, mentally I was in a lower anticipation of the ride, a small residue of spirit rode away with friends completing the distance. Truth be told, I was not so disappointed from the absence. Only Allah swt knows what is best for me.

Recovery took ages for this old module. I was mentally weak with only enough memory to run the task of an employee. Not even a gigabyte. Being so tight with work schedule, I have only a handful of mind left for the remaining task and chores for the family. Not a single glimpse of thought was managed for my love of cycling. The evening was only spent following what remains from the stages of Tour de France. If I fell asleep with only 10 km to finish, the morning shall be spent watching the race highlights. However, the spirit of it was not as high as before. Adding to the calamity, I found more favorite riders abandoning the tour, be it due to injuries from crashes or from failing doping tests.

Allah almighty. He gave me strength to recover just in time for Ramadhan. From the burnt out spirit of cycling and the flu, I was re-fresh for Ramadhan. As a human, the building blocks of Rejab & Syaaban went pass me in a brief. I pray that I have the strength for the powerful Ramadhan challenge.

Allow me to shed some light from tonight’s message of tazkirah.

In this early chapter of the holy month, we were reminded to be prepared for it. We are being given this chance, this year. We should cherish the moment in full swing and take advantage of  the capital given by Allah swt for the investment.

1.    Aqidah. It is a strong word. We should embrace the definition. We should look back and recuperate our beliefs and faith. Make it stronger. Put it deep into our hearts that Allah swt is the only God & Muhammad s.a.w. is his messenger. Faith in the science of al-Quran. Faith in Malaikat. Faith in the afterlife. And even in Qada’ & Qadar. How far have we embrace the Rukun of Iman?

2.    Knowledge. Grab this chance to go deeper into the knowledge of Islam. Start from the simplest things of wudhu’ and solat. Or even our perspective of aurat. An even the meaning of salawat is a very strong insight. Or even we may need to define ourselves to the task of Tarawih. Knowledge brings us closer to being Taqwa, as we do not want our sacrifices goes down the drain without knowing the right knowledge.

3.  Physical. Stay healthy and strong. No it’s not for the races and challenges after Ramadhan that we so looked forward to. Not the KOM. Not Powerman. Not even for that 10K race a week after Aidilfitri. We need the stamina to embrace the 30 days with plans and workout schedule for Ramadhan. Tarawih, Tadarus, Tahajjud, Hajat, Dhuha, Tafsir, Tazkirah. This is one great building block.

4.    Focus. Ramadhan comes only once in a year. Chasing the glories of PBs and podiums or even logging dailymiles for the rest of the 11 months had to make way. This is the true and reality of the eternal life. We might want to consider cutting down time spent on day works and workouts. Go moderate. Forget about those hill repeats for a moment. Cut down on those training talks. The amount of amal is so small compared to the life that we chase on this surface of earth. How do we justify that? Are we prepared to answer for the judgment day? Allahu akbar. The almighty and nothing comes close to Him. Not even the 20k carbon frames, or the 15k Lightweight wheels.

It is still not too late. We are provided with the chance. Again. For this year. Some souls were not. They have returned to the Creator. Last year’s Ramadhan was their last. We? We don’t have the slightest idea of what awaits around the corner. We might not be able to see Aidilfitri after all. Or even that race we have signed for. Hence, this window is our chance.

These may sound so harsh for some but I’m just shedding some lights of the importance of the true fight that we should be thinking of. May Allah swt have mercy on us and give us strength to fight our place for the ‘podium’. Amin.  :]