Raya came Calling

It was not going to be the same compared to the previous year. Ba was no longer with us. We spent the evening before at my Mum’s place at Bukit Antarabangsa welcoming some neighbours dropping by for takbir after the Isya’ prayers.

I woke up early on the Raya morning, and it was raining heavily outside, cancelling my plans to visit Ba’s grave. The prayers came after that, also at Bukit Antarabangsa. Ba usually manned the Zakat desk. Since he was no longer around, the Imam was there in his place. I took some time talking to him and everybody mentioned that they missed Ba especially during Ramadan when Ba helped to manage some of the Surau events.

Prayers and then a short tahlil. We were off after that.

More food at Mum’s followed by the obligatory photos. I then set off to Gombak to join Anita’s parents before setting off for my long drive to Kota Bharu after noon.

Another Berbuka at Bukit Antarabangsa

Last weekend came my turn to sponsor the berbuka at the Surau near my parent's place. I was on call that day and was lucky that there was not that many admission around late afternoon. I managed to get things sorted out and spent a couple of hours at Bukit Antarabangsa.

Anita and the boys had been with my Mum instead since mid afternoon. The boys helped with some chores but spent most of the afternoon just dozing around. Their cousins unfortunately could not make it as my brother-in-law was also on duty.

Patiently waitingSome kueh for startersMy Dad being the "amil' at the surauApart from the food we catered, my Mum cooked her famous "gulai ikan kering", which was popular that night. Luckily we got some set aside to take home. I could not wait until Isya' since I had to go back for my evening rounds. The turn out was good and my Mum was really happy.

Berbuka at Bukit Antarabangsa

It was Julia and Salleh's turn to sponsor the berbuka at Bukit Antarabangsa on the second day of Puasa. It was a yearly tradition - my turn would be next weekend.

I went there only with Anita since the boys had tuition and mengaji that afternoon. We got there early, greeted by my Mum who prepared something extra for me, my favourite Gulai Ikan Kering. It was to die foot, with extra portion for sahur later.

Almost time Time for prayers More people than expected turned up and the food was finished 5 minutes before berbuka. We hang around until after Maghrib prayers after which in had to send Idlan for his tuition.

Mum's Kenduri

Inspired by our recent kenduri for Idlan's khatam, my Mum decided to have a quick kenduri as well for Maulud Rasul and my niece's and nephew's exam results. Unfortunately due to maid issue, we could only attend the kenduri and just hang around.

Since the boys missed their breakfast, they were rather grumpy and I decided in the end to leave half way to take them for lunch somewhere while the crowd died down. Only after that I could actually have a chit chat and just enjoyed the afternoon.

Since the last time my Mum had a kenduri was quite a while back, it was very well attended. The place was filled to the brim when I arrived. The weather was also very kind that afternoon. However, we could not hang around for too long since we had still to sort out our maid's flight ticket, and also the boys needed some major haircut!

Qurban 2015

This year, it was with my parents at Bukit Antarabangsa. The local surau had 11 cows and the ceremony had to start early for fear of dragging on till late. two of the cows were huge - one donated by the local singer who happened to live my Mum's area. That took some doing!
The weather was nice, and the haze were almost completely gone with no rain in sight. A perfect weather for Qurban.

It started at around 10, and when I left at around noon with Irfan especially making noise, our Qurban was due next. There were plenty of helpers around and it was a big occasion for the folks in the area, with my Dad being one of the organiser.

They took the security arrangements seriously with the area for the Qurban cordoned off, and the children were put on one side. The event went on orderly although there was a slight delay. Once the Qurban was downed, the meat were taken to designated area for futher cutting and later distribution. Some of the meat were also cooked at the Surau for a feast later in the day while some were distributed to the needy!

Judging from the size of the cows, this years Qurban was a lot better compared to few years back where the meat were too lean and skinny. This year, each portion of Qurban - 7 per cow - weighed in at 5kg.

I just wished that I could hang around a bit more, but the combination of the hot weather, the delay and the crowd put my boys off! They should toughen up for next year ….