Eid Reflections

Bismillah.

Eid is also about caring for the elderlies whose Eid celebrations are not as festive as that of most other people. Joy and merry-making during Eid gatherings is of course a gift from Allah. So is a moment of awakening on the realities of life and the kind of life some people live. Not that they are worse off or we are better off, for we know not the secrets or the real value which Allah hides behind a person's state of affairs. 

On the second day of Syawal, while many of us put on a beautiful dress, take more selfies/wefies as we visit our friends/families and eat and drink excessively....I came across a man who fell asleep on a wheelchair at a market.

2nd Syawal 1437 Hijri - Penang

On the second day of Syawal, while many of us put on a beautiful dress, take more selfies/wefies as we visit our friends/families and eat and drink excessively....I met a 90 year old woman who was busy selling vegetables at a market and began the Syawal fasting already. In the afternoon, once she's done selling her produce, she teaches Quran recitation to children. She is a glutton for work and good deeds whereas we eat like a pig. 

2nd Syawal 1437 Hijri: Business-as-usual for this 90 year old woman
- Quran Teacher/Greengrocer - and fasting!

  

On the third day of Syawal, while many of us put on a beautiful dress, take more selfies/wefies as we visit our friends/families and eat and drink excessively....I met a man who was alone, who could hardly walk, let alone ride his old motorbike to visit the graves of his relatives as he had originally planned. He proudly told me about his new Eid shirt which he's yet to wear, only one shirt and a pair of trousers which he has been keeping underneath a couch. He actually sat on them so he need not iron them. How many Eid outfits have I got? How many Eid outfits have you got? 

Eid outfit kept underneath a couch

We busy ourselves whatsapp-ing and browsing the internet. He busies himself marking the calendar so he wouldn't miss his hospital appointments. Imagine him, living alone, embracing each day without having much activities except taking care of himself: cooking a pot of fish soup that could last for three days; repeat the routine and cross off the day.  

May Allah grant all of them sihah wal afiah. May Allah grant them a better health and a fulfilling life. May Allah grant them husnul khatimah. 

May Allah grant us the tawfiq to contain our ego, pride, greed and selfishness.

May Allah grant us the strength to assist those who are not as strong or as privileged as we are.

Aslahallahu umural Muslimin

May Allah improve the affairs of the Muslimin.

Ameen.

Note to our foreign readers:

This is an old Malay Eid song showing much empathy to those who are less fortunate and those who have undergone a sad experience, encouraging them to have more patience. It's one of many popular evergreen Eid songs written by Mr Yusnor Ef whom I met on a plane two weeks ago.