"Heat" is coming

Ramadhan. In Arabic, literally means the hot month.
"If you think Singapore is hot already, boy you should be in Syria during the fasting month," quoted by Ustadz Fizar Zainal, Education Manager Masjid Al Iman.
Speaking at an event organized by SyababSG, mainly targeted to our younger generation, the Terawih Cup was held at Masjid Sultan in conjunction of welcoming the month of Ramadhan which is around the corner with its main goal in mind; to help prepare our youths for this 'quest' or 'journey' to match with their ever so busy lifestyles as a student or even working aduts.

Ustadz Fizar defined Ramadhan as a "Summer Institute". Just like a normal institute, you need classes, teachers, mentoring, remedials, mock exams and of course finally the real exam itself. The human body needs time to adjust when one is fasting, therefore in the month of Syaaban or more so during Nisfu Syaaban, Muslims are encouraged to fast. It is also to commemorate Nisfu Syaaban, where
"It is the special night of seeking forgiveness and repenting to Allah, remembering past sins and sincerely settling the mind that one will never commit sins in the future. All the deeds that are against Shari’ah must be totally avoided so that our Du’a and Istighfaar, hopefully, will be accepted." - Wikipedia.

Ustadz Fizar also shared to his young audience why do Muslims need to fast.
For 3 simple reasons:
1) "Laallakoom Tattaqoon.
As it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.
2) Laallakoom Tashkuruun.
Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for your hardship and wants for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for which He has guided you and perhaps you will be grateful.
3) Sin Eliminator.
"Whoever prayed at night out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah then all his previous sins will be forgiven." - Abu Huraira."
He then posted a question which left many several doubtful faces in the audience,
"Is fasting special for Muslims?"
Many nods and uncertain "yes, it is,..." were heard from the audience.
And Ustadz Fizar simply answered,
"No, fasting is not special for us. Other religion fasts as well. Christian, Hindus, etc. So fasting is not special, our solat is,"
and then there was an outburst of "ahhhhhhs" from the audience in enlightenment.

So how do we maintain our daily routine while fasting? Just like a battery, we need to 'charge' our body in order to carry on with our daily routine while fasting.
Ustadz Fizar gave us 3 keys to keep in mind of: 
1)Physical Recharge - to purify the body.
This means to get rid or to stop bad eating habits such as eating fast food, smoking, etc.
2)Mental Recharge - to discipline the mind.
With our body purified, now comes the mental challenge to remain purified. Challenges such as the urge to smoke, time to eat and lowered gaze will be easily overcome when we achieved a purified body state.
3)Spiritual Recharge
Now this stage is the most difficult. Spiritual Recharge can only be achieve through practices of patience, perseverance, prayers, ibadah, etc. This is what keeps us close to Allah.

He also cautioned the member of the audience of the challenges from within that one will face. As they say, during the month of Ramadhan, all the Syaitans are tied up; so why are there still wrongdoings occurring in this holy month?
Hence, he explained to us that it is the forces of Iman, Taqwa and Ihsan playing a huge role for this to occur.
Iman - is the remembrance of Allah; where is He in our heart? And the constant "what will Allah say?" before doing a certain action.
Taqwa - the fear of Allah. This fear is nothing but the conscious mind thinking of wanting to do good deeds so as to be placed with whom Allah love.
Ihsan - the absence of sympathy/ insensitivity. This Ustadz Fizar explained with an example.
"Its almost break fast and you have a Ramli Burger, chicken murtabak, air katira and nasi pattaya. And there is a guy sitting next to you and he can only afford a loaf of bread or even a glass of water. And you do not even care about that guy. Now that is absence of ihsan."

To sum up his speech, Ustadz Fizar gave us 6 tips for us to make full use of during the Ramadhan.
1) Do not see what displeases Allah.
2) Do not speak of what displeases Allah.
Always chant "I am fasting, i am fasting" to remind ourselves to not speak ill.
3) Do not hear of what displeases Allah.
4) Do not do of what displeases Allah.
5) Avoid overeating.
6) Look to Allah with fear and hope.


"Dating in the month of Ramadhan is allowed. Date with who? With Allah, Quran, terawih and Lailatulqadar," said Ustadz Fizar as he ended his speech.

Now that is a lot of tips and reminders for us to take note of. In Islam i believe, it is never difficult. Islam is easy; easy to understand, easy to do. If you do not know, ask. If you do not understand, seek knowledge. So friends, let us prepare ourselves with the challenges that we might meet in Ramadhan and let us use it wisely by performing terawih and reading of the Quran. And hopefully our deeds performed will be accepted by the Al-Mighty, Insyallah.

Source - Terawih Cup, SyababSG