Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2007 ( 1428 H )

As usual the Hari Raya Aidilfitri started with our Aidilfitri's prayer . We ( Azman and I ) decided to perform our aidilfitri prayer at the Selangor state mosque in Shah Alam because we wanted to pay our respect to my late father at the Muslim cemetry in Sec.21, Shah Alam . We reached the mosque at about 7.30 am and it was already crowded . By 8.00 am it was already full . The ladies prayer hall which was at the ground floor was also extra ordinaraly crowded ,the majority of whom were Indonesian factory workers who came by the buses . The Sultan of Selangor and his entourage came slighly before 8.30 am , that was when the prayer was about to begin . It was extremely cold inside the mosque because the airconditoned was set full blast . The prayer went well .However the khutbah was a little bit bored as if the Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor ( JAIS ) who prepared the text ran out of ideas . Some of the Bangladeshis and Indonesians left the prayer hall perhaps because they were either bored or they did not understand what the imam was mumbling .Everything was over by about 9.30 am.

After that we went straight to the Muslim cemetry at Sec.21, Shah Alam . We wanted to reach the place earlier because we wanted to avoid being caught in traffic jams . Unlike the previous years I did not find any difficulty in locating my father's grave . I recited the 'surah Yassin' and read the doa for my late father so that he would be among the faithfulls , rest in peace and be spared from whatever punishment . I miss my father so much . Although he might not be the best father , he had performed his responsibilities to the best of his ability of which I must be very thankful to him .

We came back home at about 10.30 am. Once everything was settled there was this yearly ' ritual ' of asking forgiveness . My wife ,children and their spouses and grand daughter would come to me to beg forgiveness and the young ones would get their angpows .

After that visitors started flowing to my house . Unlike last year the number of visitors were more because my old non Malay friends had found out that I am now living in Klang . I hardly had any time to rest . Close relatives like my brother and sisters in law with their families also came to visit us .

However the second day of Hari Raya was a quiet one and so in the afternoon we went to Puterajaya to visit our niece Asrina and her children . Brothers in law Mahadi and Hassan and uncle Pak Rashid were already there . From time to time the 3 room apartment was buzzing with laughter because the two brothers in law were real jokers . I think they are fit to have a slot -clown programme of their own on our TV .

In the evening after Maghrib prayer we came to Shah Alam at my wife's eldest sister - Cik Cah. There was a big crowd there and there was hardly any space to sit . We were quite contented when we finally managed to sit on the floor at one corner of the house . Again the two jokers cracked some jokes and we laughed heartily .

We came back home late at night .

On the 3rd day of Hari Raya some visitors came in the afternoon . My wife's cousins Raha and Yati and their families came . Later Azman's mother in-law from Penang came with some relatives from Langat . They came in 3 cars .

I have yet the time to visit my immediate neighbours .According to the ' hadith ' of our Prophet Muhammad ( pbh.) our immediate neighbours should be nicely treated .Infact the Prophet ( pbh.) said , it is our responsibility to ensure that our neighbours are having enough food to eat . Each time I asked my wife to accompany me to visit them she would find excuses . I do not know what is wrong with her . She expects people to come to her first . I think she has got some inferiority complex in her which nothing much I can do to help her . I guess I just got to give her an ultimatum - either she follows me or I may go without her . If that is the case I am sure she would never go on her own .