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.
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