.:Bullet Proof Read:.

So I have the same mixed feelings every believer has at the very end of Ramadan. Such sadness at the departure of this blessed month, and such happiness in the celebration of ‘Eid-ul Fitr. May Allah accept from us and from you, ameen. I just can’t help but feel a little happier than usual because it means I’m getting even closer to meeting habibtee!!! 9 days Insha Allah… And at the same time, I’m already dreading the time when we have to part. It’ll almost be like, “Heeeeeeey youuuuuuu!”, and before we know it, it’s goodbye :(. And that’s sad, because I’d probably only ease up with her on the second day… And then I’d have to leave… Right at the climax, the best part of our meeting… *poof* back to my mundane life.

I see the same with Ramadan… Although of course I don’t exaggerate the blessings of my dear sister. It’s just how you deal with meeting someone for the first time and falling in love with them, only to part after a brief exchange and never see them for a long time to come. If the love was truly for the sake of Allah, and you have extracted benefit from the meeting, then it’s upon you to continue upholding the love and benefit when you’re apart. The sweet-smelling musk of goodness that has rubbed off on you can remain there til the next meeting, if you make efforts to prevent the fragrance from fading off.

When Ramadan came, you greeted it with the warmest of welcomes, you treated it well, gradually increasing in your devotion towards it, especially in the last ten days, when you knew that it too, loved and cherished your company and hospitality. And when it starts packing its bags, ready for take-off, you cry, begging for it to stay. You claim you will miss it. And you will, when it gets on that plane and disappears out of sight. Then and only then will you realise how much it meant to you, how much you needed it. But time will pass on by quickly, and you might start forgetting about Ramadan. You might forget all the good times you had with it, the happiness that you felt with it, and the tears that you shared with it. All that Ramadan taught you gets chucked into the rear end of your brain, only to be dug up in times of desperation… Until one day, Ramadan rings up and says it’s coming to town again. You get excited, you dig up the photo albums and you realise how much you’ve changed since the last meeting. Was it for the better? Wouldn’t you love for the answer to be Yes? Wouldn’t you feel ashamed if Ramadan came and realised you weren’t prepared for its arrival?

Well, Ramadan is just a month. Yes, it contains the best blessings and rewards, and therein is a night better than a thousand months (I hope we all found it!). But it’s just a month, out of a whole year. Will you be blameworthy if you forget about it for the rest of the year? Sure the sahabah would prepare for Ramadan five months before it, but will it be wrong for you to not do so? Of course not. What would incur blame upon you is if you forget the Creator of this month. And the only way you can maintain the benefits of Ramadan throughout the rest of the year is to remember its Creator. This is the same in meeting a person you love. Did I not mention that it is only with true love for the sake of Allah that the relationship will be of any good effect, whether or not you are apart.

I learnt today that the true believers would approach the end of Ramadan, feeling anxious and worried that their deeds are not accepted. So start recounting, reflecting and doing whatever you can in these precious last seconds…

May Allah forgive us and accept from us our good deeds, and grant us Jannah, ameen.