Reflection Essay on Usrah 2 (CCUB 1062)

This semester is very mentally challenging for me due to online classes difficulties because of Covid-19. However, classes of Usrah do release some mental stress because it can be fun and stress-relieving as we are just having a chill conversation with a fellow sister named Sister Shakirah Norhan. I was being reminded of my faith a lot from these Usrah classes. I was reminded of the beautiful reasonings in applying the basic principles of Islam which are Salah, Sawm, Zakah or Sadaqah, and Hajj or Umrah. I am very grateful to be reminded of the most basic things in Islam because I tend to forget about some of the knowledge regarding it and I also can be oblivious or careless when it comes to doing my own occasional Ibadah abide by the teachings of the Quran and scholars. 

Honestly, It has been hard for me to concentrate and achieve Khushu' in Salah. I also find it hard to pray on time even though it looks like a simple thing to do especially during Covid-19 where we are always at home and have fewer outside activities or work. I think it is because of my lack of responsibility, knowledge, and awareness for the most important thing in my life which may seem as simple as being in concentration during Salah. I realize that I took things for granted during this quarantine time as I often pay attention to other things than polishing my own faith such as playing games, doing assignments, and mostly sleeping. I find it very helpful when my classmates presented how to concentrate on Salah during one of the Usrah classes. I became more prepared just to do one simple thing as doing the Salah. I noticed that doing the basic Ibadah such as Salah also needs a lot of preparation before, during, and after the Salah. I used to just go ahead and do my Salah without any preparations at all. I realized that I need to be more prepared for my Salah.

I like to fast during the Ramadhan because the idea of cleansing my whole body inside and out is very satisfying. Sadly, it is hard for me to have a complete one month of fasting because I am a female that has menstruation. I feel like I want to fast more even outside of the month of Ramadhan. I would like to make fasting on Monday and Thursday a regular or occasional thing for me. It would be very beneficial if I do so since it is a Sunnah and it gives a lot of health benefits as well. After one of the Usrah classes, I came to know that fasting can help with my weight balance, detoxification, blood pressure stability, and mental health improvements. I did a little research of my own as well and I found out that the autophagy process occurs when we fast. According to Linberg (2018), Priya Khorana, Ph.D., in nutrition education from Columbia University said that autophagy is the process of cleansing old and unhealthy cells in order to regenerate newer and healthier cells. The meaning of autophagy is self-eating as Auto means self and phagy means eat. It is very fascinating that our body can cleanse itself naturally just by fasting. I am planning to fast more as I can cleanse my body and be healthier.

I always knew that zakat can bring a lot of assistance to other people, especially the ones who are not capable of taking good care of themselves and their families. In today's world, money is so important to the point that we are holding onto it just to survive by buying and consuming food and beverages. Without money, one can barely survive in this world because everything comes with a price. Zakat is mainly to assist people in need and give them a head start in life. Without many realizing that it doesn't only give benefits to other people but it also gives benefits to ourselves and the givers themselves. I acknowledge this factor in one of the Usrah classes I joined. I learned that a giver of zakat can be more generous and sincere of faith as the act of zakat will avoid us from selfishness, avarice, and miserliness. I remember till this day that I once was given sadaqah when I was in Surau at IIUM Gambang. I didn't know who was it from but maybe it was from one of the lecturers. I took a nap in Surau after praying and studying. I found a note when I woke up saying that I can keep the money which is RM10 as a sadaqah and I was filled with an enormous amount of joy! I used the money to buy myself food and it was a really great feeling since I was low on pocket money at the time as well. A small act of sadaqah can really make a difference in a person's life or even day. I hope that she would feel my happiness from afar as seeing other people happy can also spark a great feeling within. I also tried to give a small amount of money to the mosque every day but it is really hard to stay Istiqamah. I think I stopped for a while after a few days or so cause I also rarely go to the mosque at one point. With that being said, I hope that I can be more Istiqamah and give more to people Insha Allah.

One of the Ibadah in Islam that I tend to forget the rulings is the pillars of Hajj or Umrah. I am very blessed that I was being reminded of it by my friends in one of the Usrah classes that were held. I have been to Umrah before but unfortunately, I had my menstruation at the time so I can't join my family to do the Umrah. I stayed at the hotel while they do their Umrah which is Tawaf and Sa'ie at Mecca. All I can do is watch Ka'abah from the television screen and imagine myself being there. Nonetheless, I got to visit many holy places of Islam there like the Makam of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W and so much more. I felt the closest to Allah is when I visit these holy places. I realize that it is a real blessing to feel close to Allah and what better way to show the love than by doing Umrah or Hajj there which is why it is important to know all of the steps accordingly and do it with Adab. I can't wait to have another chance to go to the holy places and do my Umrah and Hajj Insha Allah. The concept of Al-Tadhiyyah (Sacrifice) and Taqwa (God Consciousness) can be acquired and executed by Muslims who does the Hajj or Umrah with true intentions and take good care of the terms and principles of Hajj or Umrah. I hope that one day I come to a point where I can sacrifice (Al-Tadhiyyah) my wealth, time, and others to obtain the pleasure of Allah and achieve the utmost honorable state which is god-fearing (Taqwa). I really hope that I can be a better Muslim and do all of the Ibadah properly with all my heart, Insha Allah.