Wednesday 8 September 2010

Let The Sun Shine In

Like all good Muslim households in Malaysia, be it in the towns, kampongs or in the sprawling surburbia of the Klang Valley, come end of Ramadhan we start sprucing up our homes for the Raya or Eid celebrations.

It's mainly because during Raya we would be receiving little guests and the not-so-little yet-to-be-employed guests who have come to collect their little gift-packets of money.

But more importantly we would be welcoming guests who have come to wish us peace and ask forgiveness for past incursions. It is a beautiful thing really, as this act of forgiving is almost always mutually rendered.

So we tidy up the house or even give it a paint job because at least if the house is clean and pretty, we will be actually preventing our guests from committing another wrong: that of their hearts whispering negatives about our house maintenance.

We want to lay out our best tablecloths and china for them and serve them good wholesome Raya dishes too, we honour them so their hearts whisper positives about our hospitality.


This mutual forgiving seems to be the practice at Hari Raya in this part of the world and which can be somewhat cleansing too... spiritually, depending on one's sincerity of course.

Like yesterday, when I was having all the drapes in the living-room laundered, that "heart" of the house (according to Feng Shui) looked so cheery with the sunshine flooding in and the gentle breezes wafting through, I didn't feel like having the curtains hung up again.

And I began to think, that's just how our own hearts are. We clothe our bodies as appropriate, but if we still veil our hearts, Ramadhan "cleansing" becomes superficial, just on the outside, the practices just rituals, maybe we had just chalked up "brownie points" for going through the motions only, for the quantity but not the quality.

Actually I meant "me", not you... because I know most of the time my heart needs to be aired, needs to be de-veiled, needs to be dusted and cleansed....  so that the light may shine through

That light that brightens our hearts, that make us reachable, and teachable, accepting, and forgiving, etc.

The light that cleanses...

But how?

That is the question.

Let the sun shine in. De-veil. Or be-deviled.


To all Muslims
Eid Mubarak, Selamat Hari Raya, Mohon Maaf Zahir dan Batin



27 comments:

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Zendra,
EID MUBARAK to you and yours....purrr....meow!

Red Alfa said...

Is it that time yet?

We will invite people to our homes and to our hearts. We will be charitable in forgiving and allowing to be forgiven, free with our money to give and with our food to share.

We are cleaning out our hearts banishing bad thoughts and ill feelings and clothing ourselves only with all the best of intentions.

We are celebrating our freed and renewed selves and together we will feast with friends and kin who feel just as freed and renewed. And we will celebrate one month long.

From next year shall we do it at the beginning and not at the end of Ramadhan?

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Selamat Hari Raya to u, RA, the kids, your kinsfolk & especially Kak Mazenah & family.

Mohon Maaf Zahir & Batin, bowed, cium tangan & the whole works :)

Thanks for your kind hospitality.

Salam,
Tommy

P/S - sunshine, on my shoulders - makes me happy
sunshine, in my eyes - can make me cry
sunshine, on the water - looks so lovely
sunshine, almost always - makes me high. U know this don't u :)

Lili said...

Salam kak Zen,

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to you and your family.

Wan Sharif said...

Kullu a'm bi khair... Taqabbalallahu minnna wa minkum..
Selamat hari raya maaf zahir batin to you, RA and yours..

Anonymous said...

Nice one,nicely put Zen :)

Nak plagiarize Abe Wan punya greetings with apologies...hehe:

Kullu a'm bi khair... Taqabbalallahu minnna wa minkum..
Selamat hari raya maaf zahir batin to you, RA and yours..

Saya

Zendra-Maria said...

Thank you Cats... and to you too :)

Zendra-Maria said...

RA, time seems to fly when we're enjoying ourselves, doesn't it? And there's still another month to fly in celebrations.. WOW... at least no need to get up in the wee hours to prepare pre-dawn meals - sahur puasa enam - self-service! ;)

Zendra-Maria said...

Thanks Tommy... cium tangan some more... what.. you think we are PM and wife kah hahahah???

The song... is John Denver's. Aiyah here's the youtube link

Sunshine

DrSam said...

Salam kanda. Couldn't agree more with you. The light is all there for those whore are seriously seeking to see, but only with the 'other' eyes the light will be revealed.

Eid mubarak to you, kanda RA and the whole clan. Maaf jika ada tershasyul dan tersilap. Open house jangan lupa jemput :)

Zendra-Maria said...

Lili, Likewise Selamat Hari Raya to you and your family :)))

Zendra-Maria said...

Wan,

Barakallahu fik (betul ke?)

Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir dan Batin to you and your family too :)

Zendra-Maria said...

Tigress, and to you too the same as to Abe Wan... hehe

(Ada buat mihun beriyani tahun ni?)

Al-Manar said...

Who knows Surah Al Nur may have an answer to your question.
Selamat Hari Raya
Pakcik

Zendra-Maria said...

Dinda Dr Sam, sebulan menghilang... have you been sharpening your "mata hati"?

Eid Mubarak to you and your clan too. Also ampun dan maaf atas segala apa jua yer? Berapa lama out of KL?

Zendra-Maria said...

Insya Allah Pakcik, it's there...

Thanks for showing the way :)

Selamat Hari Raya to you and your family... and all the students of Al-Manar...

Naz in Norway said...

Beautiful, Zen.
Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin :)

DrSam said...

will be out of the town for Raya and roaming the planet on official duty until the end of September. Still got one last week to celebrate after that.

Got kashaf will sharpen :)

Capt's Longhouse said...

...just watch the heavenly stars above ! the answer is out there but must come from one's heart.

...kesyukoran indeed.

Anonymous said...

tahun ni tak buat Zen...tapi kalau you mai i buat.special order...hehe

Capten...adoi..miss the stars in Kapas!

saya

Zendra-Maria said...

Naz, thanks for dropping by, belum raya lagi ni tak dapat nak hidang ketupat n rendang hehe...

You n your family have a joyous one OK? and maaf zahir dan batin from me :)

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt, yes... the stars... light upon light...

memang bersyukor kalau difikirkan...


Thanks, and have a joyous Raya to you and family.. plus ampun dan maaf dipinta

Zendra-Maria said...

Dr Sam - ok, noted

Tigress - ok, noted

:)

Lee said...

Hello Zendra, here's wishing you and all at home a selamat hari raya and all good wishes. Ada buat ketupat and rendang?
Happy holidays, Lee.

mekyam said...

zee, i don't remember if i've already wished you and yours "selamat hari raya aidilfitri" on fb.

i think i did but i might have not. what with being constantly distracted by tommy pushing tunes from godknowswhen. [i mean, sir cliff richard singing... can't remember now what the song was... but where the nasi ulam did that come from? hahaha!]

so i'm wishing you and fam again here for good measure. :D

salah silap minta maaf berbanyak2 ya, zee!

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Hi Zen, Hi Mek, Hi everybody just the same :)

Oh now I’m a ‘distraction’, ok. Story of my life; always the scapegoat being blamed & is the reason for others shortfalls.

That my dear came / started from Naz’s liking & loving the whole world & u went ‘likewise’ & I went ‘mind over matter’ (hehehe elephant memory). Btw that Sir C.R song was;

The Young Ones

Cheers,
Tommy

P/S – Hey Mek, u'll be pls to know that I’d put away my broad brush, retired for good…hehehe

Zendra-Maria said...

Hi Lee, Mekyam and Tommy - looks like I've relegated my blogs to the "kampong" category - places where we come back to once in a while.

Thanks for the wishes guys, problem with us FB-city folks bantering over the backyard wall, we do not all have elephant memories like some people - remembering every iconic smile and wink; so if I had not wished you a joyous Syawal Mekyam, here is mine then: Hope you had a Happy Hari Raya with your loved ones and mohon ampun dan maaf atas sebarang kesilapan, keceluparan dan sebagainya :)))

(Must start to tanam some kacang here again)