THE last few days of Ramadan bear witness to a mass exodus of city folk.
The balik kampung phenomenon has become an annual event when people leave big cities like Kuala Lumpur to return to their home towns.
Big cities virtually empty out. If one wants to see a Kuala Lumpur void of cars, then festivities such as Aidilfitri would be the best time. In any case, the balik kampung phenomenon is at its height when Malaysia has a major festive season during the school holidays.
Balik kampung seems to be a uniquely Asian phenomenon, more apparent among Malaysians. The writer lived for nearly half a decade in the United Kingdom. What can be observed is that balik kampung is not the norm in Europe.
Even among Muslims there, most of the time it is business as usual after the special prayers to commemorate Aidilfitri. The festive mood is not so strongly felt there as it is here in Malaysia.
Most Malaysian Muslims return to their home towns for a variety of reasons. Perhaps chief among these is to spend this auspicious day with parents and other family members. Spending Aidilfitri with loved ones is more gratifying than spending it alone.
The rustic surroundings of a kampung also give a more significant meaning to Aidilfitri. It provides a welcome change for city-dwellers so used to a city environment rushing, traffic jams, pollution and the like. The pace in the kampung is comparatively more relaxed. The air is cleaner and fresher. Traffic jams are almost non-existent.
Whatever the reason may be, spending Aidilfitri in Malaysian style is indeed a unique experience. The way Malaysians celebrate this important day in the Muslim calendar signifies the importance of this auspicious day.
But perhaps more importantly this highlights the good fortune decreed by God to the Malaysian people. The country has peace, harmony and stability � elements that can only be dreamt of in other countries.
It is perhaps wise for Malaysian Muslims to ponder this fact. While we celebrate the first day of Syawal, it is imperative we remember our unfortunate brothers and sisters all over the world, wherever they may be.
Only when we remember the adverse conditions of other Muslims in other parts of the world will we in Malaysia be truly appreciative and thankful for our many blessings.
Of course, we are not perfect and there is certainly much room for improvement, but the reality is that Muslims in Malaysia are better off than many Muslims elsewhere.
We see that despite the global economic slowdown Malaysians can still celebrate Aidilfitri comfortably. There is no shortage of food. Quite to the contrary, in fact. Children can wear new clothes for Aidilfitri. The purchasing power in the country is still high.
And for these we must not forget to thank God Almighty.
Also, we have been blessed with peace, harmony and stability for the past four decades. Despite Malaysia’s multi-racial composition, we can stand united and put aside our differences for the sake of the country.
The festive seasons in Malaysia epitomise this unity and understanding very well. We see that every time there is a major festivity, such as Aidilfitri, Malaysians join hands to celebrate.
This is probably why the tradition of “open house” is very popular in the country. This is a time when Malaysians visit the homes of Muslim friends to share the joy and happiness of Aidilfitri.
Interestingly enough, this tradition is again uniquely Malaysian � something that cannot be seen elsewhere.
And for this, we also should be thankful.
Ramadan is a time of tests for Muslims. Hence, Aidilfitri is, in actual fact, a time for Muslims to celebrate victory for being able to go through these tests successfully.
But in celebrating this victory, we must remind ourselves that the lessons learnt in Ramadan should be continuously inculcated within ourselves.
We are taught to be careful and moderate in spending during Ramadan, and this should be observed even after the fasting month. We should not go overboard when spending in preparing or celebrating for Aidilfitri.
We are also trained to allocate a part of our time for worship. During Ramadan, we can see mosques and musollas full of people congregrating to perform the night prayers of terawih and witir.
While terawih is only exclusive for Ramadan, we should continue to spend time in mosques and musollas for worship, especially for the compulsory Maghrib and Isyak prayers at night as well as Subuh prayer at dawn.
After all, a mosque is a house of God. And we should make it a habit to frequent it on a regular basis. A mosque should be the hub of a Muslim community’s activities and should not be left empty and quiet outside the month of Ramadan.
In Ramadan, Muslims are trained to practice virtuous traits such as patience, tolerance and the like. And these virtues should be observed continuously throughout the year. In essence, these lessons should be observed and manifested within a Muslim even after the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
More importantly however, we should realise that Ramadan teaches us to be thankful to God Almighty. We are reminded during Ramadan that there are people less fortunate than ourselves; people living in poverty, orphans living without the love of their parents and people who struggle to make ends meet. And we should be thankful for the bounties given us by God.
Equally essential is that we should express our thanks to God by sharing and giving what little we may have with others. After all, Aidilfitri is a time for giving and forgiving. That is why it is a must for Muslims to give zakat fitrah as part of the commemoration of Aidilfitri.
The zakat fitrah is a form of sharing what little we have with others less fortunate. So important it is that it is one of the five basic pillars of Islam the others being the proclamation of the Oneness of God and the apostleship of Prophet Muhammad, the daily prayers, the fasting in Ramadan and the performance of the haj in Mecca.
In essence, we can say that Ramadan and Aidilfitri are reminders to Muslims that God’s bounties are indeed plentiful. But the stark and simple reality is that not all people are fortunate or lucky to be blessed with the many bounties of God.
Malaysia, on the other hand, has been very fortunate. We are blessed with many things too many even to be listed down. When one goes through the hardship of Ramadan and when one performs the zakat fitrah, one is reminded of those less fortunate. Celebrating Aidilfitri in a kampung more often than not reminds us of this fact.
The relative hardship of living in the kampung compared to the luxury and modernity of the city strikes the chord of recognition within us that in many ways, each of us is indeed lucky and fortunate. Perhaps that is why most Malaysians instinctively opt to balik kampung during the festive season. And being able to celebrate Aidilfitri with family, relatives and friends is reason enough for us to be thankful to God.