Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah.
I am presently at my birthplace in Gelugor, Penang. I wish I could write well enough to impart my feelings this moment as I have got tears welled up in my eyes, thinking about life - people's lives.
Having visited some relatives, family friends and new friends - mostly elderly people, I have gained a better perspective on life and have become a little somber but in a positive way. That we should be grateful for this borrowed time and be wary of how fast time flies.
I attended a mawlid this morning Alhamdulillah. I thought there was no mawlid in Penang to attend this weekend and then I chanced upon this poster and Allah Kareem the venue was walking distance from my place. SubhanAllah that meant a lot because I was car-less. So walk I did gay-fully. While walking I thought of my great grandfather whom I never met - Tok Arif who died when he was 110 years old.
Tok Arif used to walk some 20 km just to visit my grandparents. According to my mother, Tok Arif would often arrive as early as 9 a.m. On occasions he would ride his lepau (flat-bottomed boat) from Permatang to Gelugor. So I learned, walking or traveling for a good cause is no big deal. But the mawlid host upon knowing that I had walked to his majlis, insisted that his driver send me home! MashaAllah. And I appreciated it because it was scorching hot that would take a bottle of body lotion to recover from sunburn.
And his wife was equally thoughtful mashaAllah. She told me they would host another majlis in March for their 50th wedding anniversary. Yes 50. I was like "What? 50 years wedding anniversary! I am not even married yet! Heh...heh.." So she made me write down my name in her notebook and promised to make a special prayer for me. MashaAllah how sweet and motherly!
Later during the day, I visited my aunt. You might remember my posting about her house being partially demolished by the local authority. Alhamdulillah a group of generous people/NGOs had restored her house. And then I visited Mak Na. You may recall the posting on 'The price we pay for love' http://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2012/06/price-we-pay-for-love.html how she lost her dear son and last month she suffered from another tragic loss - her adopted daughter died in a car accident. Allah Hu Allah!
The daughter had been married for about 10 years and her two children are now in Mak Na's care. Think about it. We have got a couple who will celebrate their 50 years anniversary. There are people who lost their spouse after 10 years of marriage. There are people who are in their 40s and still not married. There were people who died at the age of 20, 30 and there were people like my Tok Arif who lived for more than a century. MashaAllah all kinds.
So what have I learned today? That His af'al (actions) are beyond myriad and therefore we all live a life of all sorts.
- 15 Rabi'ul Awal 1434 H
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