MUSLIMAH’S CHORES IN THE RAMADHAN MONTH

For many Muslimahs in the world, Ramadhan does not represent just  as a month of spirituality but also a lot of extra tasks with constant household chores, preparing food and observing religious rituals which include fasting during the day and praying through the night.

For women who has a career, the routine is different.  Their  duties during Ramadhan have changed dramatically from dawn till dusk.  They have to juggle between work, family, and worship. They have more responsibilities and needs extra attention in going through their daily lives.  For those that are full-time  housewives, Ramadhan month acts as a bonus for them because they do not need to prepare and serve  lunch or tea break for their family during a day.

A typical day for a Mulimah in Malaysia with a career would be to wake up as early as 4 o’clock preparing for Sahur (Pre-dawn meal). Then, after ensuring that the children had gone to school, they have to rush to work. After finishing work in the late hours in the evening, they have to rush again to go home to prepare the food for Iftar (breaking of fast). At night, they spend time in the mosque. They only retire to bed as late as 11 or 12 o’clock after cleaning and preparing for the next cycle of morning.  On an added note, in Ramadhan month, employees are commonly given shorter working hours. They could work seven hours per day compared to the regular 8 hours per day. Despite this, it is not unusual for the Muslimahs to opt  out earlier to avoid traffic jams so that they can reach home in time to do all the preparation and Iftar together with their respective family.

Muslimahs love reading the Al-Qur’an, they love performing  the Tarawih prayers every night.  It is an opportunity not to be missed. Throughout the month they would strive to pray as much as they can enjoying their ‘spiritual quality time’.  A common trend for Muslims in Malaysia , is to spend much of their time at mosques reciting Al-Qur’an and doing Tarawih.  A majority of Muslimah would temporarily leave their homes and families and paray at the mosques within their residential areas.  The prayers during the month would help to solidify their Ibadah and strengthen their Iman.

Ramadhan month also signifies  the coming of Eid ul-Fit (Eidul Fitri) which normally falls  on the first day of  Swayal. Muslimahs  throughout the world would start preparing for this day which is celebrated at the end of the Ramadhan Month. Many will start sewing beautiful new curtains, buying new clothes for the whole family. Guest that come for house visiting would be served with ‘kuih raya’, cookies or cake that is made beforehand during the month of Ramadhan.

By Nida

RAMADHAN 2010

Ramadhan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and sexual activities from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach the Muslim patience, modesty and spirituality. With this, Riseap wishes all muslims and muslimah to rejoice as the coming of ramadhan itself is a blessing with opportunity to do ibadah. [Click image for wallpaper.]

Included a pdf file for reading purposes: Tips on eating healthy in the Ramadhan month. Courtesy of Communities In Action

  Ramadhan Health Tips.pdf (1.6 MiB, 58 hits)

PEHIN SRI DR. HJ TAIB MAHMUD ISLAMIC CENTRE – JEJU

JEJU ISLAND, SOUTH KOREA-  Jeju is a volcanic island, dominated by Halla Mountain, a volcano 1,950 meters high and the highest mountain in South Korea.  Jeju is an autonomous province of South Korea.  Tourism commands a large fraction of Jeju’s economy. Jeju’s temperate climate, natural scenery, and beaches make it a popular tourist’s destination for South Koreans as well as visitors from other parts of Asia.

On the island of half a million residents, there are about 200 Muslims comprising of foreign workers from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and local Koreans.  Then there is Prof. Bashir Kim who is a professor in management (tourism) at Cheju Halla College, Jeju.  Kim is the vice-president of RISEAP for the Northern zone.  He is a Muslim, married and has a son.  His wife teaches French at a local school in Jeju.  His son (Abid)  studies landscape architecture at International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

A few years ago he bought an officetel, 12^thfloor, Junghanofficetel, Nohyoung Dong, Jeju City.      Nested within the city centre of the island, Prof. Kim spends his free time managing the office.  He receives guests from all over the world who are Muslim vacationers, workers and students.  Since there is no mosque on the island, Prof. Kim allows his Muslim guests to perform their solah at the place. He has a collection of books about Islam and thus attracts people to the place. 

Realizing the increasing need of Muslim for a mosque, Prof. Kim converted it as an Islamic center and named it  PEHIN SRI DR. HJ TAIB MAHMUD ISLAMIC CENTRE.  RISEAP agreed to pay back the purchasing cost of the center and transferred the ownership to KOREA MUSLIM ASSOCATION (KMA). 

The Secretary General of Riseap, Hj. Mohamad Marzuki Omar was invited to grace opened the center middle  of  2009 witnessed by friends and members of KMA.  The objective of the center is to serve as the meeting place of the Muslims on the island and to provide information about Islam to locals who may like to know about Islam.  The center will also be a place for meeting and seminars and a place for dialogue with the non-Muslims on the island.  Br. A. Rahman Lee, the Secretary General of Korea Muslim Federation came all the way from Seoul to witness the soft opening.  A few local guests were also present.  Prof. Kim took the initiative to brief the guests (who were non-Muslims) about Islam and the objective of setting up the Islamic centre.