{"id":29393,"date":"2021-05-15T09:14:17","date_gmt":"2021-05-15T01:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/new-wp\/?p=29393"},"modified":"2021-05-15T09:14:17","modified_gmt":"2021-05-15T01:14:17","slug":"significance-of-the-holy-month-in-curbing-the-covid-19-infection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/significance-of-the-holy-month-in-curbing-the-covid-19-infection\/","title":{"rendered":"Significance of the Holy Month in Curbing the COVID-19 Infection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s\nthe second year running that Muslims in Malaysia, in particular, fast\nin the month of Ramadan and celebrate Eid ul -Fitr<\/em> during the\nMovement Control Order (MCO) period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The MCO\nand its attendant restrictions have to be implemented as\nthe country is still grappling with the fight against the pandemic which has\nyet to be defeated, and in fact, has become more aggressive and violent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Holy month of Ramadan is closing, and Eid ul Fitr<\/em> is now taking its turn, the\nnumber of COVID-19 infection is increasing somewhat drastically. The trend\nshows that the daily infection is reaching toward a total number of more\nthan four thousand, and this warrants the urgency of the government to continue\nimplementing the MCO 3.0. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The daily numbers somehow indicate that the pandemic is likely\nto be out of control. As a consequence, many activities are put on hold. This\ninclude mainly several economic and social sectors that involve mass human\ngatherings where the risk of infection is believed to be higher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The COVID-19 virus as it is recognised is highly\ninfectious and poses fatal risks to groups of high risk people, and in the\nworst situation, the potential of infection is extremely high when mass\ngatherings are involved.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, social restrictions are not easily acceptable\nand they are contrarian to human nature. As humans are social beings, they need\nto socialise. However, putting social sanctions is the best alternative available\ncurrently to curb the infection even though it is currently not the popular or\nfavourable alternative being made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another alternative in the prevention effort is abiding\nto the existing Standard Operating Procedure or SOP. However, this too\ndoes not seem to go down well with some people as they find it hard sometimes\nto follow. As such, this has been the main reason why the MCO 3.0 is being\nimplemented. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as mental health is concerned, situations like\nthis would trigger some highly uncomfortable reactions emotionally as well as\nbehaviourally and physically. People would react with full emotional turmoil\nsuch as feelings of anger, frustration, and sadness that finally lead to\nemotional problems like anxiety and depression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a situation too would certainly create uneasy\nfeelings emotionally as well as socially. This happens when their expectation\nto perform Ramadan rituals like fasting and the tarawih<\/em> prayers in congregation cannot be fulfilled due to the restrictions\nimposed. As a result, long lasting feelings of despair, hopelessness and\nhelplessness about the situation linger around the corner with the belief that\nthere is no more light at the end of the tunnel. Further worsening the\nsituation, people might finally lead to feelings of self-isolation, loneliness\nand grief due to the loss of the rituals. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            In fact, for some individuals, this\nis the type of emotion they have experienced over the past two years following\nthe pandemic on a daily basis and is now becoming more ingrained in them. For\nadults, although affected, they can still accept the situation sensibly. However,\nthe situation poses harder on children for them to accept and understand,\nunless being helped wisely by parents and family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Even though such a type of emotional\nreaction is considered normal, and should be recognised wisely, some\nprecautions are recommended, so that the reactions are within the normal limit\nqualitatively or quantitatively. Good emotional management is highly important for\nevery individual to ensure their quality of life and wellbeing is composed\naccordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Consciously or not, God’s Grace to\nall His servants in conjunction with the blessings of Ramadan and the glory of Eid ul Fitri <\/em>is enough to guarantee and\nguide them to enjoy a life full of gratitude and contentment, especially during\nthe pandemic that is currently raging. This is because the month-long period of\nfasting has trained them to be more patient and resilient against any\neventualities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            As such, Ramadan is known as the\nmonth of testing and patience training. It is also known as the month of\nthanksgiving because they will be rewarded with greater joy after that which is\nthe celebration of Eid ul Fitri<\/em>. This\ncoincides with a hadith of the Prophet S.A.W narrated by Imam al Tarmizi which\nmeans \u201cFor a person who fasts, he will\nattain two joys. First, the joy when he breaks his fast and second, the joy\nwhen he meets his Lord.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The training of patience is further\nstrengthened with a sense of gratitude when one believes that all problems\nshould be accepted as a test that finally increases one\u2019s faith and dignity. The\ntraining of patience will also determine their success to receive the rewards\nof heaven in the Hereafter. Indeed, this will make them stronger and more invulnerable\nto continue through the pandemic season without much difficulty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Subsequently, while celebrating Eid ul Fitri<\/em> during the pandemic season,\nthey are still able to practise some patience. As they have been patient before\nin resisting hunger and thirst, they can still be patient and abide by the directives\nof the MCO implemented during this festive season. They are patient in taking\ncare of themselves to avoid the virus infection by always maintaining good personal\nhygiene. They are also able to be patient to refrain themselves from being\ninvolved in any social activities that violate the SOP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Finally, they are also more patient\nin adhering to the existing SOP such as maintaining social and physical\ndistancing, frequently washing their hands and always using the sanitizer. The\npatience training they have received during Ramadan is now being continued in\nthe run-up to Eid ul Fitri<\/em> and it\nshould help them from getting infected and subsequently help in breaking the\nchain of infection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact is, Eid\nul Fitri<\/em> can still be celebrated amid the pandemic, but with full of patience,\nprecaution and vigilance about the risk of infection. Indeed, a long month of Ramadan training is sufficient enough\nto guide the Muslim spiritually in helping them to break the chain of\ninfection. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s the second year running that Muslims in Malaysia, in particular, fast in the month of Ramadan and celebrate Eid ul -Fitr during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The MCO and its attendant …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-straits-times","category-139","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29393\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}