VOX POPULI III

 

As-salam alaykum. I am Mufulihat, a member of Al ‘Ilaaj Editorial Board. Kindly introduce yourself briefly, please.

Waalaykumus salaam. I am Hameedah of the2017 class.

Na'am. What department are you?

MB;BS,2017 class, UCH.

The Board appreciates you making time to take this interview. How have things been with you and everyone at home, especially since the lockdown began?

Alhamdulillah, we have been fine. It has been different since we spend most of our time in school, but Alhamdulillah, we get to spend more time with family this time.

Alhamdulillah. How has Ramadan been considering the lockdown?

Alhamdulillah, Ramadan has been going well. The lockdown has been a blessing in some aspects. Apart from spending more time with family, it has provided me with the opportunity to connect more with Allah, perform more acts of Ibaadah which would have been difficult if we were still in school. It has also given me time to self-reflect.

 

With all that has been said, would you say this feels very different from Ramadan of previous years?

Yes, it is very different.

If we were in school, we would have been organising a lot of programmes at the mosque ranging from tafsir to iftar, itikaafetc however, with the whole lockdown in place, tafsir has to be online now. Iftaar is now indoors and as regards itikaaf, the whole of Ramadan is now spent in isolation.

Hmmmn

Let's not forget taraweeh prayers at the mosque too.

Can you compare your sahoor and iftaar to the ones you have in school?

Well, sahoor at home is definitely better than when I am in school. However, I do miss the togetherness during the iftaar sessions we used to have in school,whether the ones at the mosque or those organised by the doctors. With the whole coronavirus pandemic, movement is very restricted so no more iftaar sessions.

Apart from the iftar sessions organized, is there any other thing you miss about fasting in school?

Taraweeh at the mosque.

And just being with friends during fasting.

What type of meals do you prefer for your sahoor and Iftaar and why?

Any meal apart from pap and tea is fine for sahoor because they tend to digest too quickly.

For iftaar I like to break with dates, then a little serving of fruits. And then after maghrib I can take rice and beans. Pap and akara is also fine for Iftaar.

 

Nice choice of meals.

If you had enough money and resources for charity, how would you give it out and why?

Hmmn.

(Time for Asr. Both parties take a break to observe Asr).

I would like to use it in either building a school,a mosque or as a patient relief fund.

A school and mosque so that the more knowledge imparted, the more it serves as sadaqatulJaariyah

Hmmmn. May Allah make it easy. Aameen.

Ramadan is a month of self discipline, how does this relate with you?

Fasting in the month of Ramadan is not just about abstinence from food, it also means abstaining from bad behaviour, hurtful speech etc. No one is perfect, Ramadan has given me the opportunity to reflect on various aspects of myself that needs improvement and has enabled me to apply discipline in those aspects. I pray Allah continues to make it easy for us all to apply discipline in all aspects of our lives. Aameen.

 

Aameen.

The end of Ramadan is near. What advice would you give fellow muslims as regards how they utilise the lockdown and the rest of Ramadan.

The month is drawing to an end, let us not miss this opportunity in getting closer to Allah, let's perform as much good deeds as we can, give as much charity as we can. We should also try to search for LaylatulQadrin the odd nights of this part of Ramadan as it is a night better than a thousand months.Ask Allah for anything and everything we need whether small or large, significant or insignificant, possible or impossible in our eyes for there is nothing impossible for Allah to grant us. And finally, let us ask Him to help put an end to this pandemic soon and also make us among the dwellers of aljannatulfirdaus. For the lockdown, I would say we should not forget our books but also -we should explore other areas which we have always had interest in but could not explore due to the workload at school and finally we should try to connect more with our family and check up on one other. May Allah make it easy for us. Aameen.

Aameen.

The Board appreciates you sparing your time and sharing your experiences and advice with us. Jazaakumullahukhayran.

Wa anti fajazaki Llahu khayran.