Syawal Is Here!

Today is Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Month of Syawal is here.

Woke up this morning with glee, always very pleasantly different from any morning.

A sense of personal accomplishment of spiritual goals set in the month of Ramadhan. I felt I did a pretty good job at all. So did my family.

On the more tangible task, I managed to reduce my weight 4 kg to 66 kg now at the same time. Yes!

I am especially proud of my son for completing another year of challenging fasting as a child. My Wife for having faith in me while she was stuck at the shop most times. The downside to retail.


Went to Darul Ghufran Mosque for Hari Raya morning prayers this morning.

The weather was cool and fresh despite the persistent haze shrouding over Singapore. The sun was out but not hot nor humid.

A respite from the hot and hazy weather we have been having when we got our first rain to cleanse the air and nourish the trees and grasses that have since turned brownish.

Oh, the colours of the male worshipers with their traditional Malay Baju Kurong for Hari Raya.

Cheerful and smiles across their faces. Just like mine. Tired from the spring cleaning and fasting, but the smiles tell a million blessings to be celebrating this day.

Like every year, the number of worshipers grew more as more and more people live in Tampines.


Since we came about 15 minutes before the prayer started at 8:00am, there was full house in the mosque's main building and annexes, so we settled for the makeshift outdoor mats for the prayer.

In fact, I prefer the outdoors to perform the Raya prayers since all other prayers were done in the mosque. A nice change to have done with hundreds others outside, in the open field.

Will take breakfast and get ready to go visiting to our parents place. But before that, we have our own family forgiveness session, where Wifey and our son will seek my forgiveness for the past deeds while I seek theirs.


We will do the same... to seek forgiveness from our parents for our past deeds, of the hurtful or harsh words we may unintended have said to our folks and our siblings too, as we visit their homes.

The children will be the most happy because they get "green packets" once they seek forgiveness. A fitrah for the children when they get money in the packets.