Ramadhan is leaving and we definitely feel the urge to make the most of the precious time we have left. We surely can’t deny the month of Ramadhan leaves behind unforgettable memories each and every time it stops by. Today, the entire YCP family decides to share some of our interesting Ramadhan stories with all of you! Ride along!
So as my sister and I stood for the Maghrib prayer on the night of the first Ramadhan , I called her.
Me: X! (She’d scream if I expose her identity.) Hah, iqamat* quick!
My sister: Because it’s Ramadhan already now, I’m gonna do this Iqamat thingy way better than ever!! (with a very determined look on her face)
Then suddenly, she starts reciting the Azan*!
Me: (confused at first then I just can’t stop laughing)
*Azan: The call to Islamic Prayer.
*Iqamat : The second call to Islamic Prayer, given immediately before the prayer begins.
Aziza Aini
The Hadramawt, an Arabic restaurant fully occupied with the orphanages of Yayasan Ahlul Albab. “Salam. May I join you sweet little girls for breaking fast?” I asked. Then, a cheerful-looking girl, named Aisha started to say something that touched me profoundly, “We all look very bubbly on the outside, because we don’t want anyone to be sad seeing us, growing up without knowing a parent’s love. Though deep down, only we and God know how it feels like inside. It’s almost like sorrow, but not simply sadness because there are so many people who care about us, so many willing to feed us with good food especially in this month blessed month of Ramadhan and our guardian treats us nicely. But sometimes we wonder, having parents would probably be a different kind of feeling. Is it true sis?”
With my eyes glistening, I managed to smile. “You kids are blessed. God did not take your parents because you girls don’t deserve their love. Perhaps, God want you girls to grow up and learn different kinds of love from all kind of people. Because you’ve experienced throughout life, the giving hand is more virtue than the receiving hand, this will help you love others in return.”
Amiera Shakinah
Last year’s Ramadhan was memorable because it marked the first step towards starting a new life with someone. I met his parents last year at the Khalid Al-Walid MINDEF Mosque. I had all sorts of butterflies in my tummy, I was beyond nervous! They wanted to get to know me. Kind of like an interview session I’d say. It turned out alright I supposed, few months after that, we tied the knot. His family became mine and mine became his.
Ayesyah Abdullah
This Ramadhan as we break fast like the previous years, my father is no longer here to celebrate with us. This is the first year without him, it felt awkward at first. Someone’s not there at the table. That someone who usually cracks the early morning sahur jokes is not around anymore. I remember last year while we were taking turns to take care of him at the hospital, it was during Ramadhan too. I used to say to him, how delicious Malaysian hospital food was. I never knew ayam masak kicap at the hospital during Ramadhan could look so tempting. Yet my father had no appetite, he just smiled saying “Well Along, I don’t know if I will be around until Raya”. And yet he survived last year’s Ramadhan and even Eid ul Fitr. But this year, what he said finally became true; he left the five of us behind this Ramadhan. Well, he’s not physically here but we can still feel his presence, every sahur, every iftar, and every moreh. And nothing can be more heartfelt than having a Ramadhan without someone you love.
Maryam Zakyah
For the first time in my years of fasting, I am grateful that I was finally able to give something back to the society by involving myself in a charity project planned by my ex high school mates called Share Your Iftar. As we gathered at one of my friends’ house, we managed to cook 10 kilograms of ‘Bubur Lambuk’ to be given out to the public at one of the train station in Shah Alam and 5 kilograms of Chicken Rice for our own iftar. These friends of mine proved the fact that we do not need an organization to do good deeds as all you need is some good friends with great intentions to put a smile on other people’s face. Truthfully, nothing could beat that feeling at the end of the day although most of us were already hypoglycemic and dehydrated throughout the cooking and distributing process. That was indeed an experience of a lifetime and we would love to make this project as our annual Ramadhan project, if God wills.
Nuha Muneerah
Ramadhan is a time of change a time of repentance to help renew ourselves. The best ramadhan moment I’ve had is each year when I change the things i need to change about myself and the part where I pray for a better year ahead. In contrast to others my new year resolutions are usually made during Ramadhan and just reinforced in the new year. Furthermore, Ramadhan is a month of tarbiyyah or teachings where the teachings in form of generosity, kindness, forgiveness and patience is brought over to the other months in the year perhaps troughout life. In conclusion Ramadhan is the breaking point of change and renewal of the person you previously were. That’s all from me, have a blessed Ramadhan everyone and Happy Syawal in advance.
Izzuddin Azaharuddin
How did my first day of Ramadhan as a HO start? Swamped with admissions and discharges. It was an active day in the ward so patients came pouring in but a bunch of them were going back as well. That meant a lot of paper work and clerking. And I still have afternoon reviews to finish!.Sitting quietly in my chair trying to finish my work, I kept looking at my watch hoping that the day will move faster and it’s time for Iftar. Suddenly I was called to check on a patient. She had premature onset of labour and her contractions were really strong. There was no way she could deliver in the hospital without a ventilator for her baby so I had to accompany the patient to HKL. So I left the hospital at 4pm sharp, escorted the patient in the ambulance praying non stop hoping she wouldn’t deliver in the ambulance. Fortunately we arrived to HKL in less than 30 minutess despite the heavy traffic. And I was back to the hospital in less than an hour. Phew!
Another Ramadhan day that I can’t forget was when I pulled of a 24 hours shift, with red alert during 2 of the shifts. One was in the O&G emergency, where the patient had primary post partum hemorrhage (severe bleeding after delivery) and DIVC (massive internal bleeding/clotting imbalance) so I had to run back and forth to the blood bank breaking my fast with only dates and water. It was almost 10 pm when I finally sat down to take my dinner. 2 hours into the shift, while assisting a delivery, another red alert activated. “Baby stuck! baby stuck!” It was a shoulder dystocia with baby weighing 4.62kg. Some of my nurses labelled me as ‘Jonah’ that night. But I believe things happened for a reason. Every work if preceeded with niat and good intentions will be our Ibadah. So to my colleagues out there who felt lacking because we can’t perform our responsibility to our Lord during this month, remember that we are actually doing it by saving lives. So did I manage to get over my Jonah-ness on my third shift? Definitely not! It was a full ward in Gynae Oncology and I finished my shift later than usual, practically had to stay awake for more than 24 hours. What did I go back with? Feeling if contentment I had done my job well, knowing that fasting doesn’t limit my ability to work. Happy fasting and Selamat Hari Raya.
Dr. Anis Nabillah
These are our stories. I bet you have more interesting ones too. Why not share your best Ramadhan story in Malaysia as a student and stand a chance to WIN a Whitecoat hoodie from WhiteCoat Enterprise, worth RM 90, (on sale now to raise funds for the Malaysian Integrated Medical Professionals Association). Share your stories in the comment section below and include your email address. May the best story win!
Stories by YCP members. Click on to the teams tab for more info on MMG YCP members.
Compiled by Aziza Aini.
As a medical student in Kuantan, I remember we used to have iftar by pooling our food and eating on circular trays (dulang/talam). Everyone would buy 1 dish for themselves be it rice/noodles/rojak etc and we’d just chuck it all in. Initially my OCD side was perturbed at seeing “kuah yong taufu” mixing with “sup nasi ayam” but in the end I got used to it. Everyone got to taste a bit of each other’s food. It made us feel like family despite being away from family. So much so that when my parents did come and treat me for iftar, I missed the dulang & my friends.
My last Ramadhan was in Ireland and it was summer time. I got the opportunity to be in one of the research team at my university. Being the only Muslim in the team it was hard during the summer time and it happened to be one of the hottest summer in Ireland. While I was doing my job talking to the patient while putting on some devices on her, she suddenly kicked me on my head when the device was activated.
Painful it was.
But one thing that abstain me from getting angry and still smiling was because I’m fasting.
And the patient apologized to me and she felt guilty. But I said to her it was okay.
Ramadhan is a joyful month for us muslims, and never shall we forgot it, including me.
The light of the oil lamp brighten up the darkness of the garden in the house.
The muslims recited tarawih prayers, which could be heard from every mosque around here.
Grandma sitting on her bed reciting Al-Quran. Grandpa would be praying alone in his room.
To be able to sahur together with whole family, a plate of rice with scramble egg and soy sauce. Such modest in hard times.
To be able to iftar with family on the cold floor with bowls of delicious food set up on the newspapers.
Dad holding hands to tarawih to teach the young me what is Ramadhan.
We played fireworks, no not the explosive one, just the one with sticks and sparkle like flowers.
Fasting the whole day, school or not.
and to buy food for iftar in bazaar.
Those are already in the past. Around 10, no 15 years ago.
Now everything has change, it is not as cherish as before.
We iftar separately, particularly at each other phase and place.
We rarely talk. Rarely meet since we keep running away from our hot blooded ruler.
Hole at the doors, crying could be heard from time to time.
Arguing about responsibility, about money.
Such sounds and noise break one heart if heard everyday, especially in Ramadhan.
Some people in the family stop fasting anymore.
Tarawih? what’s that..?
Grandma, grandpa, where are you?
Fasting? is it just drinking water before subuh and then just iftar.
Fireworks? what’s that?
No more sound of prayers recited. Only people’s laughing hysterically and the sound of racing motorbike.
One by one member of the family leaving in the house.
Leaving me to maintain the house, with the hot blooded ruler.
Would this be the end?
Everything change so fast.
Is this story true? or is it just a delusion.
True or not, I can’t tell.
What is Ramadhan?
I envy those warmth in other family in this Ramadhan.
rather, I just envy.
My Ramadhan this year is slightly different.
This is my story, as a freeloader in my junior’s hostel, which is in the form of apartment house.
Yup, you hear no wrong, our university is that kind of university, they rent the whole apartment and made it into hostel.
So basically, I am already a graduated student, and having a normal day in this month of Ramadhan.
Everything is normal until, I get a call from my final year project supervisor to come back to university in order to complete my thesis.
Funny right? Some people might not follow the order but the bored me decided to do so.
The problem here is the place to stay, since my name was cancelled out from the hostel months ago, and I have no key to my old hostel room.
I decided to live into my junior’s hostel house, each of them are 3 years old apart from my age.
So, I just simply send a sms a day before I arrived, with no avail, no reply from them.
Still, I will intrude their house, was what in my mind.
The house has 3 rooms, and each room having 2 students. Basically the room’s full so I have to live in the small living room full with cooking equipments. Thus, begin my life as a freeloader with daily visit to my supervisor’s office.
During my stay as a freeloader for 2 weeks, my Ramadhan’s somehow changed.
Normally in my normal life, I will wake up for sahur with food prepared by dear mother and break the fast with the food bought from bazaar.
Yup, most of the time, if my family ain’t around, I sahur and break the fast alone with foods bought from bazaar.
Bored? Not so, quite serene and peaceful for me.
I slept at the living room with a pillow and mattress I borrowed.
There, I will be woken up with the noise of wok and the aroma of fried rice, cook by different person everyday as scheduled by the members of the house in agreement.
One of the person in charge in cooking will wake up as early as 4.00 am to cook.
Since I freeload their living room (which is also their kitchen), I was scheduled into tea-maker, and cup-washer person everyday with a small fee (RM 5.00 to be exact for 2 weeks).
Once food for sahur is prepared, we have to wake up the rest of house members.
Easy task? Never.
Trust me, one of them sleep as dead as log.
Some even locked the door but the rules in this house stated that everyone must sit together for sahur so we kick the door hard, to the point it almost break until he unlock the door in a sleepy manner.
Then, we sit together in the circle for sahur.
We eat, laugh at small jokes;
at how the menu for sahur never change for days,
at why the tea color look strangely light in color.
We ate and talk, keeping our sahur alive.
All of us sit there in the circle until Subuh.
We break the fast at mosque almost everyday, after forced by the juniors since I prefer to be alone during iftar.
“economically economic in this economically challenged world”,was what one of my junior said to convince me to follow them for iftar
Yup, the mosque prepared a lot of food packed in the polystyrene foams.
It’s strange for me, since we eat packaged food in the circle.
We sit and eat, listening to elders teasing other elders in different dialect while eating our food since we are the only teenagers there.
I smile at how simple life can be and how it can bring some happiness.
At the same time, I was also sad,thinking that this would be my last time for this kind of life.
My 2 weeks end without me realize that I have to return home.
With that I bid my juniors my last farewell since there’s a chance I won’t meet them anymore..
My Ramadhan this time is somewhat different.
When I am at home, I missed the life there, even if it just 2 weeks.
For the first time, I missed the Ramadhan this month.
I hereby end the story, the story of a…
Freeloader’s life in Ramadhan 2014.
Congratulations Hezry!
Your story was chosen to be the winner for the Best Ramadhan Story contest. Please check your email for details on how to receive your hoodie.
Thank you.
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu. May peace, mercy and blessing of Almighty God be on all of you and Selamat Hari Raya!.
As a student in a local Malaysia university, i would like to share my unforgettable memory of celebrating Ramadan as a student. It was during my third year of DVM training when we were ordered to fulfill our semester holiday for practical attachment for one month. It was compulsory for every vet student to experience non-ruminant industry whether it be swine farm or avian farm. I was chosen to go to one of the biggest pig farm.
It was very difficult for me at first, knowing that pig farm is a “big phobia” especially for majority of Malay Muslim due to our religious issue and i’m not sure that i can survive living in such condition for even one week. We have to accept that, Malaysia did have many pig farms and it is our responsibility to understand the correct management of pig industry, the biosecurity level of the farm, good animal husbandry practice, the common diseases of pig, the correct disease prevention measures and so on. It is our responsibility to make sure that at animal level, disease prevention/treatment can be control before it could jump into human health especially in handling with zoonotic diseases. As we all know, Malaysia did involve in Nipah Virus outbreak in kampung sungai nipah in 1993 before and it was incidence that teach us a lot the importance of disease control and monitoring
Ramadan for on that year was very challenging, i live in Chinese village which is so far away from the city. But, people there are very friendly and what’s different were:-
1. There is no Azan!
Everytime we iftar, (and 5 times salaah) i have to depend on the clock, or the sun position.
2. I cook my own meal!
Because i don’t have transport to go to the nearest city, and most of the food served by the local restaurant were non-halal.
3. I have the experience to do sertu everyday
Please know the difference between samak & sertu ya guys. ;p
4. Very-very slow internet
As a student and teenager, i think internet was one of the basic human need ;p
5. Village is dead at 9 pm
at 9 pm, basically everybody in this village sleep. so there is no hang out outside, no moreh round 13 and such.
6. Last but not least, everybody in this village look at me with a different look (pandang lain macam). And i have to answer the same question like, every single day. Their question was “orang melayu boleh pegang khinzir?”.
So i explained to them patiently. In Islam its not Haram to touch pig or dog, but after you touch them, its compulsory for us to do sertu. (wash your hand with 1xmud water 6x clean water)
It was a new different experience for me which stay fresh in my memory. Thanks for reading.