“WELL, RAMADAN IS ALREADY OVER,

SO… MERDEKA-LAH!”

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Bismillah,

In general, before Ramadan we make a promise to ourselves that we will try to learn about
ourselves throughout the first 20 days of that Holy Month, and then do our best to ‘erase’ our previous
sinful life during Laylat Al-Qadr or the last 10 nights.

Those who strive, there is no doubt that they could feel Allah’s guidance leading them to life-
changing experiences.

But even with that blessing, not all of us could survive when the worldly temptations from our
jobs, friends, family, entertainment to our own desires reign us in after Ramadan, and it’s because
many of us unconsciously think “Well, Ramadan is already over, so… MERDEKA-LAH (INDEPENDENT).”

In the end, many of us will gradually slip back to our old habits and somehow hope that they will
be ‘erased’ PERMANENTLY next Ramadan.

Do you disagree?

Then try to reflect on some of these typical stories of Malaysian Muslim or perhaps Muslims in
general from around the world, the kind of stories that ‘normally’ happen while celebrating Eid ul-Fitr.

1) HURM…ON AND OFF CHARITY FEVER

“As-Salāmu `Alaykum.. As-Salāmu `Alaykum!” a bunch of primary school kids greet from the
outside the house.

“Wa alaykum as-salām..” a sister in her mid 20’s answer dispiritedly while her eyes fixed on
the TV screen showing a special sitcom for Eid. Then she gets up from the sofa, lumbering to the main
door.

When she sees the children with the ‘cross-body Eid money bags’, she says cynically, “let me
guess, you want ‘duit raya’ (Eid’s money), right?”

“Errr…” the children sheepishly reply all at once.

That sister raises her right eyebrow to show her annoyance..

Ok…. so why does she have to show her annoyance when she was blessed with the feeling of intense
satisfaction in her heart when she had stepped up her charity during Ramadan for the sake of a better
understanding of….

“Whatever you spend in charity or out of love,

be sure God knows it all,” [2:270]

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2) WHAT A WORD!

“F*&@!” a brother yells at the top of his lungs out of his ‘burning’ anger at a ‘mafia driver’ for
cutting swiftly into his lane which is already bumper to bumper with cars on their way to family and
friends visits.

“Ya Allah, be patient,” the brother’s wife advises out of franticness when her husband ‘chases
after’ that ‘mafia driver’ to give him a piece of his mind.

“Be patient…seriously? That could have cost our lives, didn’t you see what have just
happened?” the brother argues exasperatedly.

Well, who doesn’t get crazy ‘sometimes’ with this kind of ‘mafia driver’ right? But… why can’t his
understanding of ..

“The dearest phrases to Allah are four: subhan Allah, wa

alhamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illah, wallahu akbar: ‘Glorified is
Allah, and Praise be to Allah, and There is no God but Allah,
and Allah is most Great, ‘ There is no harm in beginning them
in any order you choose while remember Allah.” (Muslim)

materialized on to his tongue? Why did it not give him a ‘spontaneous reminder’ to not blurt out that
flirty word out of anger? Like the same way that it had inspired him greatly to glorify Allah
‘automatically’ during good and bad times in the Holy Month.

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3) SERIOUSLY, WHY CAN’T YOU SEE?

“Bibik (maid), could you please prepare more tea for the guests?” a retiree sister instructs her
maid with the same order for the fifth time in row as she is still receiving overwhelming visits since
after Maghrib prayer.

“Yes madam,” the maid replies with a patient and tired voice.

“Good, oh yea, please follow me to the wet market next morning, my son wants to eat your
soto (Malaysian cuisine) once he arrives from Mexico!” says the sister happily, totally overlooking her
maid’s tiredness for her non-stop preparation of food, cleaning up of the house and dish washing
since morning on the first day of Eid Ul-Fitr.

Seriously, why does this sister’s excitement to entertain her guest make her ‘blind’ to her
worker’s need for rest when she was the one who unhesitatingly kept reminding the maid not to cook
excessively for the breaking of the fast as she thought that was the very least she could do for her maid
based on her better realization of….

“Everything they do is recorded in their Book (of deeds).

Every matter, no matter small or great, is on record.”
[54:32-33]

4) DEPRESSION RULES!

“Oh what a beautiful dress she got there,” a teenage sister mutters when she encounters her
same-age cousin walking by in a new elegant Eid dress.

“Wow, you look so pretty in that dress,” an auntie compliments the cousin, who immediately
blushes.

“Ugh…” a sister grumbles under her voice, in a mixed feeling of wanting to ‘entertain’ her
jealousy and counting her blessings for the ‘ok-lah dress’ her parents managed to get for her.

Then she falls into the lake of ‘unwanted depression’, drowning until she sees a clearer view
of the ‘suppressed anger’ volcano waiting to spill out its ‘burning disgusted feeling’ lava.

Hurm…honestly, even the matured adults deal with similar conflicts, but in this case, why did
that sister let the sudden depression, that was clearly ‘ignited’ by shaytan’s devious whispers, take
control of her mood, when she had been driven by Allah’s beautiful promises….

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 “This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt,
a guidance unto those who ward off (evil).” [2:2]

to read and finish al Qur’an during Ramadan in order to get its rewards and the answers to her mind
boggling questions?

5) WHAT SORRY...SORRY, HUH?

“Hey… Happy Eid ul-Fitr, I’m sorry,” a brother mutters to his younger sister. She doesn’t reply
and walks pass him as if she didn’t see him standing there in front of her.

When that sister enters into her mother’s room, she cries. “What’s wrong my dear…?” her
mother asks, in great concern.

“I don’t know when I will ever forgive my brother,” she answers, then explaining how she
doesn’t feel strong enough like her mother to forgive his continuous selfish wrongdoings that has
brought countless shame to the family for so long.

“I forgave him before, but he doesn’t seem to appreciate it at all because he keeps
disappointing us again and again, and I’m sick of it, I want to forgive him, but I can’t trust his words
anymore, mom.”

“Yes you will…..” the teary-eyed mother tries to console her heartbroken daughter, though she
knows perfectly it won’t be easy.

“I thought so too when I sought Allah’s guidance to open up my heart to forgive him in my
prayer throughout the 10 last nights of Ramadan, but I guess I have to try again it in the next Ramadan.”

It’s true she feels hurt, betrayed, but why does she have to wait that long to find a way to
forgive him when she has gained stronger confidence in Allah’s beautiful words….

“When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close

(to them); I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when they
call on Me; let them also, with a will, listen when I call, and
believe in Me, that they may walk in the right way.” [2:186]

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that had made her supplicate to Him after every obligatory prayer, night prayer, before the breaking of
the fast and other moments during Ramadan?

And the big question here is how certain is she and us all that we will get the chance to meet the
Holy Month again? Hurm….a scary question with a simple answer, huh – NO!

Now, another big question with a simple answer, how can we make sure that the life-changing
experiences we were blessed with in the recent Ramadan help us stay on the right track till we are given
another chance to taste its sweetness again?

A) AND THE ANSWER IS…

I think I got a perfect answer to that question when I saw a group of brothers sitting in a huge
circle in the International Islamic University’s mosque, and listening attentively to the guest instructor’s
lecture at around 1 am in the morning before performing their night prayers.

Their willingness to learn more about how to be better a Muslim at that hour, gave me further
understanding to His beautiful promise in Surah Al-Baqara, verse 152.

“Remember Me; I will remember you.

Be grateful to Me, and do not reject faith.”

So, besides dhikir, prayer, charity and doing other good deeds, learning the deeper meaning of
Islam also falls under, the “remember Me” category because without it, we won’t be able to continue
practicing our Islamic practices with fully comprehension of the meaning of the shahadah, La ilaha
ilallah.

Then we certainly can show Allah that we take His “I will remember you” words seriously if we
strive to act upon the knowledge we have learned and ‘polish up’ our life-changing experience we were
blessed with during Ramadan.

In the meantime, on “Be grateful to Me”, there is no better way to show our gratitude to Him
than by sharing our blessings with others, even our knowledge we have gained with our fellow brothers
and sisters in faith and InshaAllah, give them a push to start their own journey of discovering the beauty
of being the servant of Allah.

Lastly, we can show our understanding of the “do not reject faith” reminder when we use the
knowledge to strengthen our faith so we won’t end up fooled and in distress due to shaytan’s tricks and
empty promises.

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 With all of this, InsyaAllah we will be always inspired to keep perfecting our actions, sayings and
of course the way we repent, with humility and the hope of meeting Ramadan again. But should He
decides to call us for good, hopefully our effort on perfecting our lives after Ramadan will be on the
same level as it was during the last Holy Month.

B) ALMAGHRIB INSTITUTE IS READY FOR YOU, ARE YOU?

And InsyaAllah, THE ALMAGHRIB INSTITUTE will help us make those necessary preparations....

What does the name AlMaghrib mean?

Even to a seasoned Arabic ear, the name AlMaghrib carries with it a collage of connotations
and images. To some, it may remind them of a land, ancient Andalus or the Northwest lands of
Muslim Africa.

To others, the name may offer a feeling of heritage, a heritage of advanced Islamic Scholarship
and discipline.

And yet some, perhaps this is what you pictured “envision the sun embracing the ocean
announcing the beginning of a new Islamic day…”

… you’re like, Umm… no, actually I was thinking Maghrib prayer..

To study overseas is a very enriching experience, but not everyone is blessed with such an
opportunity. Our hectic schedules often sideline our in-depth study of Islam.

It is for this reason that AlMaghrib Institute was established, and has dedicated itself to
providing courses on Islam in a six-day, two weekends, and intensive seminar format. These trademark
double-weekend university-style seminars carry students toward a bachelor’s degree in the Islamic
Studies.

Alhamdulillah, AlMaghrib Institute currently has the largest Islamic Studies student body in
North America!

If you are skeptical on how ‘deeper knowledge’ you could get from AlMaghrib Institute’s
instructors, InsyaAllah one of the students’ favourite instructors, Shaykh Yasir Qadhi will change your
mind. Watch the video together with this eBook!

And… if you are STILL SKEPTICAL, well, be convinced once and for all when you attend our very
first course coming very soon! InsyaAllah….

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ABOUT THE WRITER AND EDITOR

Sis Nur Ainne is a dynamic writer who InsyaAllah has provided entertaining, practical, and critical-
thinking writing for local's English tabloid entertainment desk, The Malay Mail and local’s news radio
station, Bernama Radio24 for its news and programme desk. She is currently completing her first book,
“NOW I KNOW WHY SOMEHOW, THE GERMANS ALWAYS GO THROUGH” based on how Germany’s 2010
World Cup team has helped her to understand more on how to relate Allah’s beautiful promises in
Koran with her past, present and future life, with hope it will help Germans Muslim to learn to be more
a part of the German society, while the non-Muslim Germans will get better understanding of “Islam is a
peace religion” famous slogan, InsyaAllah.

Sis Ikhlas is an American-born Malaysian who has a background in Communications & Media and is
currently pursuing a Masters Degree in TESL at IIUM. Alhamdulillah, she’s very committed in assisting Sis
Nur Ainne to produce more quality articles through her meticulous editing skills for all of you,
InsyaAllah.

About Banu Malizi

We are AlMaghrib Institute’students based in Malaysia who had a tremendous love for the institute.
And we crave for more quality Islamic knowledge from our beloved teachers/instructors. We hope to
taste that sweetness of seeking Islamic knowledge again. Hence, we are working to get those instructors
and courses here at our home sweet home, MALAYSIA!

What is the goal of Banu Malizi?

Our goal is to have the AlMaghrib Institute instructors to come and teach us the amazing courses here in
Malaysia by Two Thousand Eleven

What is AlMaghrib Institute?

AlMaghrib Institute is an Islamic institution founded in 2001 by Muhammad Alshareef in cooperation

with Dar-us-Salaam in College Park, Maryland. The Islamic Institute offers double weekend degree style
seminars to Muslims located in Canada, the United States, and the UK.

To learn more, visit or contact:

Website: www.banumalizi.com
Blog: www.blog.banumalizi.com/
Discussion Forum: http://forums.almaghrib.org/forumdisplay.php?f=356
Email: almaghribmys@gmail.com