light upon light in Ramadan.

 It was not long before we were told that Raya was going to be a day earlier than planned and it was only 29 days of Ramadan. Many were devastated as it shows that lesser time to spend with the Holy Month, some because it meant the preparation of Raya needs to be hasten. 

Thus what we need now is not to decide which sadness are we, but to keep on boosting the spirit of Ramadan, most important, the 10th last nigth which meant, the night of Lailatul Qadr. 

I am super super excited but I know that my spirits are being a little burn out. I am starting to have that symptoms of lack of sleep, exhausted during the day, dehydrated, taking a while to read the Quran. My duaas are jumbled i do not know which to priotize, what if i ask the wrong thing, what if i dont ask the most thing that i need and want. 

And i know, this cannot be it, the virtues of Ramadan are so so much but i am just slowing down. This cannot happen (i scream my lungs out as I freak my way out)

I try to not hyperventilate and I try to keep my breath slowly. Inhaling and exhaling. 

Take one step at a time, but do not stop. 

DO NOT STOP. 

And today, my friends came over my house. The usual bundutuhan clan and this time it was so calming when we had iftar, prayed the obligatory prayers along with tarawih. Then we hanged the lamps for raya, and indeed it took some part of the night but it made me ponder with the ayat we shared together in out small sharing session. 

فِی بُیُوتٍ أَذِنَ ٱللَّهُ أَن تُرۡفَعَ وَیُذۡكَرَ فِیهَا ٱسۡمُهُۥ یُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ فِیهَا بِٱلۡغُدُوِّ وَٱلۡـَٔاصَالِ﴿ ٣٦ ﴾

• Dr. Mustafa Khattab:

˹That light shines˺ through houses ˹of worship˺ which Allah has ordered to be raised, and where His Name is mentioned. He is glorified there morning and evening. 

An-Nur, Ayah 36

Not only do ones house shine in bright in the eyes of Allah, but also He ordered them to be elevated in which the houses where remembrance of Allah occurs, are acknowledged by Allah and his angels. 

رِجَالࣱ لَّا تُلۡهِیهِمۡ تِجَـٰرَةࣱ وَلَا بَیۡعٌ عَن ذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَإِیتَاۤءِ ٱلزَّكَوٰةِ یَخَافُونَ یَوۡمࣰا تَتَقَلَّبُ فِیهِ ٱلۡقُلُوبُ وَٱلۡأَبۡصَـٰرُ﴿ ٣٧ ﴾

• Dr. Mustafa Khattab:

by men who are not distracted—either by buying or selling—from Allah’s remembrance, or performing prayer, or paying alms-tax. They fear a Day when hearts and eyes will tremble,

An-Nur, Ayah 37

And the worships are done by the people who give their time to Allah, not only if they have leftover time. And not distracted or carried away by their occupation/dunya activities. 

لِیَجۡزِیَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ أَحۡسَنَ مَا عَمِلُوا۟ وَیَزِیدَهُم مِّن فَضۡلِهِۦۗ وَٱللَّهُ یَرۡزُقُ مَن یَشَاۤءُ بِغَیۡرِ حِسَابࣲ﴿ ٣٨ ﴾

• Dr. Mustafa Khattab:

˹hoping˺ that Allah may reward them according to the best of their deeds, and increase them out of His grace. And Allah provides for whoever He wills without limit.

An-Nur, Ayah 38

And in return what the men hope is reward of Allah, nothing more, and isnt it sufficient to want Allahs reward alone? 

And so the light of that shined outside out house not only looked beautiful but it was like a symbolic of the light that shines out from the houses of the worshippers, subhnaAllah. 

May Allah continue to shower as light upon light and drench us with his Redha and Maghfirah. 

May we all be granted the grand prize, night of alqadr and gain Allah favours, Ameen.