Chasing the Perfect Ramadhan

By Zarifah Anuar As a child, Ramadhan was presented to me as a special, sacred month. Fasting was supposed to not only help us gain an insight into the lives of the poor, but to also test one’s faith and connection to God. Ramadhan to me wasn’t merely a month of fasting and prayer –…

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Fasting – A Test of One’s Mettle

By Farheen Ferdhouse Fasting is expected of every practicing Muslim during the holy month of Ramadhan. It is that time of the year where we get to seek the pleasure of God (our creator), by performing extra prayers on top of our obligatory prayers coupled with the act of abstaining from eating and drinking for…

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Ritualism in Religion – Some Thoughts

By Nurul Fadiah Johari It is the time of the year again when Muslims are promised with the reward of a thousand nights, when Satan is locked up, thus putting Muslims on a rewards spree. For some, Ramadan is the time to stock up on religious rewards; it becomes an obsession to perform rituals due…

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Balancing Routine and Rituals

By anonymous Here’s how an evening is like for me during Ramadhan: 5.00pm: Leave work, fetch mom, visit bazaar (any bazaar), buy kueh (cheap cheap, 1 packet $1), buy rice, buy noodles 5.30pm: Feel guilty for buying so much food 6.00pm: Reach home and wait… 6.30pm: Still waiting… 6.45pm: Dad comes home and we brace…

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A Veiled Question I Get Asked Often

By Zubaida Ali One question that I get asked now and again is “Are you Malay?”, and in case I missed the meaning of that, the person asking clarifies “you don’t look like a Malay.” Although seemingly innocent and often dismissed as one of the peculiarities of a multi-cultural society, this statement is loaded with…

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Hello, I Do Not Have All the Answers

a.k.a. Do I Look Like a Walking Information Counter? By Nur Diyana When I decided that I wanted to wear the tudung, I imagined that my father would be furious. He was. To this day, I romanticise the premise of my decision to rebel against him. That, however, is not the standard textbook answer that…

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