Literally speaking, it’s my 23rd time celebrating Ramadhan as a Muslim homo sapiens. Yet as far as being in UiTM is concerned, it’s my 6th. And now here in Section 17, it’s only the 3rd time. Talk about dwindling numbers eyh? Not quite. Fasting month I regard as the ‘flushing’ month where THIS is the time for me to flush down not only the detrimental eating habit, but also to kick away bad habits I otherwise casually portray during every other month. Generally speaking, fasting month does not really equal to money-saving month since being the ever-gluttony me; I find it inevitable not to spend lavishly on the seemingly scrumptious food I am yet to taste. Talk about being deceived by the eye candy!

Ramadhan is especially a melancholic month for me to reflect on the less fortunate people whom barely have food on their table. And it sadden me to witness how the riches tend to spend unnecessarily, attending the ‘buka puasa’ feast and all in 5-star hotel, oblivious and all too proud of themselves to be more grateful and more philanthropic to the rags. It is also the time for me to reminisce on what I am left of the memory of fasting with my late dad. It is quite heartbreaking since I barely remember anything related to Ramadhan while he was around. And it is even mellow to bear in mind how after Ramadhan, the Syawal is taking over. And instead of celebrating the winning against the ‘nafsu’, my family and I would pay respect to my father’s grave and dedicating Yasin to him for his well-being in the afterlife.

A lot of people say that Ramadhan is the time where you would tone down yourself in respect of the holiness it conveys. Though the idea is there, I am quite skeptics over people who pledge such oath ONLY during this Ramadhan. If it’s for the good cause, why not prolong it? This I find to be disturbing since out of the blue some people tend to be more decent than the word decent itself only to resort to being their old self as soon as the month is over. This is why I dare not promise anything till I am fully ready to take the plunge into the better kind. This is just my opinion, though. I don’t want to end up being labeled as hypocrite when I only want to show respect to someone or something, while still wanting to retain my identity.

As of late, well, since a long time ago till now I think that the food sellers are actually taking advantage over the customers. The advantage-taking is either in the form of bad-tasted food they sell, or simply by the rather drastic cutting of the portion of the food they would otherwise provide in larger serving during any other month. Are such actions justified, if the holiness of Ramadhan is to be taken into consideration? I guess that’s just how the food sellers operate these days. Even through this seemingly subtle fact one could decipher how people DON’T really change during Ramadhan. Profit-motivated put aside, another disturbing fact revolves around the food sellers would inevitably be the balance of the unsold food to which most probably end up in the drain or in the garbage bin. What a waste! To think that people all around the world are starving to no end, eating barely for survival, and here the food sellers casually throw away the now useless items of their selling. There is the truth and the virtue in not keeping the stuffs for longer than its edibility, but at least could you not donate the food and ensure it goes to the more needy stomach rather than of the bin? I guess I could never be a food seller myself if I stay with this kind of thinking.

To talk about fasting in UiTM in particular, studying in Lendu provided me with experiences money can’t buy, with great friends I would never trade for any other thing. Being in Lendu for 3 years brought about different kind of fasting experience. To start with, in my freshman year there, we first had the dining hall where foods were provided for free. How it was all still fresh to me how my friends and I would go walking up the hilly terrain to where the dining was located for our sahur meal. How I missed the ‘akak2’ who were in charge of the food. How we built rapport with them with us standing out over the rest. It never fails to make me laugh whenever I would think of the old days.

Being the ever-sentimental me, I relate each experience to the previous. In other words, I never view this Ramadhan in isolation. I would reminisce it to the previous Ramadhan I had had and stored in my memory vault all the archives of the memories I would treasure for the rest of my life. And being a person who could not live off by myself (though I am very much independent), I inevitably cling to those memories for it is indeed a constant source of inspiration to my life and will never fail to be one. To befriend me is to befriend my friend as well. However twisted I may look on the outside, the only thing that differentiate between me and the others is the way I carry myself. As with previous Ramadhan, I would be grateful enough if I could live off this Ramadhan with my family and friends in peace and harmony. Let us pledge to uphold the divinity of this month and together carving even better memories each year. Happy Ramadhan Al-Mubarak.