The Start

Day 7 of Ramadhan 2015. Almost a week in now.

The sisters in the prayer hall of my university initiated a tadarrus circle. Basically it's where we would almost literally sit in a circle, take turns to read one page of the Quran, until we finish one juzu' in one seating. This is to be done everyday, for the whole month of Ramadan. The plan is to complete the whole 30 juzu' of the Quran by the end of Ramadan. Alhamdulillah, the circle had been consistently on so far.

Being the nature of a university, though the circle is consistently on, the people who join the circle are not. Some people attended just on the first few days, some came for one day and not on the other days, some join the circle midway everyday, etc. Whereas I, having no commitment yet (as I have not started my summer work), alhamdulillah, managed to attend everyday ever since it started (excuse the lateness sometimes) and what I observed throughout this one week was beautiful.

As how the prayer hall is very inclusive, the circle is too. Anyone who wants to be in the circle are well accepted. Regardless of your background, so long as you're interested in reading the Quran or listening to its recitals, you're very much welcome. In the circle, we have those who are very fluent in reciting the Quran, those who are not so, those who really struggle to read aloud each word, and those who cannot read at all. Whoever you are, we'll help each other in getting our recitals right. This concept is so welcoming that people are not embarrassed that they're not good. Even if they are corrected for almost every verse, the environment is so welcoming that they're willing to come again.

Having being "cikgu mengaji" [Quranic recitation teacher - for kids] several times before, I can tell if someone's recitation is not smooth due to honest non-fluency or due to lack of practice. Regardless, it still never fail to get me whenever I see someone progressing from being such a poor reader to a rather smooth one. My heart feel so warm at the sight of such event. If there's anything I would ask from that point on is for that person to continue reciting the Quran to at least maintain his/her fluency. After all, we would want the Quran to be as close as we can have it to be.

Isn't it beautiful how Ramadan gets people to come back to the deen? Be it as small as wanting to read the Quran more.

Courtesy of my friend, for allowing
me to take a picture of her Quran

To me, one of the biggest joys of Ramadan is the fact that the shayatin are not around. Because what better time to start improving other than the time when your biggest enemy is away from you? It's like a reset button after a year of going pass the ups and downs of life. Sure, it's not going to be that easy. You can't compare the ONE month of the absence of silent whisperers with the remaining ELEVEN months that they groom the dark side of you. Allah is Merciful enough to allow us to get back on our footing whilst the enemy being locked up but we need to be quick and efficient as there's not much time to prepare ourselves to deal back with them for the next coming year.

Change is never easy. But with the right intention and loads of prayers, inshaAllah He'll guide you home. Start small, and progress from there.

If you've been missing dhuha, start maintaining it.
If all this while you only read mathurat once daily, start doing it twice.
If the last time you did qiamullail was last year, start doing it regularly.
If you never know the meaning of the Quran, start reading its translation.
If you hardly go to the masjid, start going.
If you like to shop so much, start giving.
If you've been talking a lot, start doing silent dhikr.
If you never read he Quran in arabic, start learning.
If you never prayed before, start praying.

There's always room for everyone.
Ramadan is not called the festival of ibadah for no reason ;)