Ramadhan

Assalamu'alaikum! All praises to Allah the Almighty, the ar-Rahman, the ar-Rahim. =)

It is finally the month of Ramadhan, and alhamdulillah, Allah still gave us the chance to live in this

moment and celebrate Ramadhan and chase His blessings. MasyaAllah... We are indeed in loss if we don't

take this Ramadhan as a way to go back to Him, clean and new.

Ramadhan is indeed awesome! =')

This is the third year I'm spending the first day of Ramadhan away from my family. Other people might find it sad that I'm not together with my family on this very day, but to me, I find it as a blessing. I might be far away from my family, but that doesn't mean that they are not close to my heart (sounds so very cliché, doesn't it? Typical.). Being far away from them means that I get to (finally) learn how to live independently. It gets lonely, but then again, sooner or later, baby birds have to leave its nest too. And I think, studying far away from home really helps me a lot. It was sad at first, but as time goes by, being away from home doesn't sound or looked as scary as it used to be. In fact, I feel ever more ready to face the world head-on! (Well, exaggerating a bit, but hey, can't a girl have a positive say about herself? Meh!)

To me, the month of Ramadhan is a month to learn about tarbiyyah dzatiyyah. We are in control of our desires, our nafs. And we should take Ramadhan as a day to really put our hearts, our desires, our needs, our cravings only to gain His satisfaction, only to gain His heaven. Jannatul Firdaus! If we fail in this month, surely, we will fail in the other months. It sounds scary to me. Sigh. (T-T) Tarbiyyah dzatiyyah, tazkiyatun an-nafs, mujahadah, istiqamah and most importantly, niat (intentions). These elements are essential in the month of Ramadhan, because it is up to US to make the changes that we want happens -- slowly.

When talking about change, what someone used to tell me, change happens slowly, and with perseverance, change will happen. IT WILL, with patience and effort. That is what the month of Ramadhan is for. A month where Allah gives us the chance to repent, to go back to Him, put the world aside and put Him first in everything. A month where we learn to go back to our core, go back to our Creator. A month of gaining eternal tranquillity and a month to learn about how to maintain that tranquillity until death do us part. The beauty of Ramadhan is indeed HUGE and it is all thanks to Allah for giving us this chance to still be alive to celebrate this month. I just hope that I can make a change in my life as well.

# Let us all work hard to stay istiqamah, to be engaged with the efforts of tazkiyatun an-nafs, commit ourselves cleanly in tarbiyyah dzatiyyah, and learn the true meaning of mujahadah in this holy month. Indeed, the light of Allah is not gained just by sitting down or just praying for it to come, it is WE who have to go look for it and chase for it. Allahua'lam. May Allah accept our pure intentions towards change, and may Allah bless us in this holy month. Biidznillah!

Before that, I wish you all a blessed Ramadhan al-Kareem, and may Allah shines each and every single one 

of us with His light and hugs us with His love and mercy. Indeed, He is truly the Most Loving and the Most Forgiving! Allahu akbar! =')