Far from being promised of “gold mines”, “the moon”, “the sun” or “the stars”, Malaysians have been blessed with prosperity, peace and happiness, since the country achieved its independence 57 years ago. More often than not, we tend to be lulled by the comfort and wealth we acquired. Though we may have forgotten to express our deepest gratitude to God the Almighty for all His blessings, certain occasions do make us feel that it is worth living in this country.
For decades we are able to preserve our tradition in celebrating the months of Ramadhan and Syawal in peace and harmony. During Ramadhan, we have always been able to perform our worship peacefully, and enjoy the food offered at the ubiquitous Ramadhan bazaars. Following the fasting, Hari Raya ‘Eidul Fitri in Syawal has always been feted in harmony and joy; with multitudes of “open houses” held throughout and, at times even, beyond the month. The functions are held at the national and state levels, as well as the various ministries, departments, agencies and also the country’s private sector. Arguably, no other Muslim country celebrates Hari Raya like we do!
In addition, Syawal also marks the beginning of the Hajj (pilgrimage) season. Each year, Malaysia receives a Hajj quota of approximately 28,000 pilgrims from the Saudi government. Yet, such a quota hardly accommodates the increasing number of Malaysian Muslims who wish to perform the Hajj yearly. In a way, this reflects that wealth and affluence in the country have been rising and growing over the years. As a result of the Hajj restriction, Tabung Haji (The Pilgrims Fund) receives thousands of appeals from those who miss out on the annual Hajj quota. In comparison,some other countries cannot afford to fulfil their stipulated annual Hajj quota due to economic and financial problems, political upheavals or civil wars in their respective countries. An increasing number of Muslims here can also afford to perform the Umrah (voluntary religious activities in Mecca and Medina) year after year, and this number burgeons in Ramadhan. Often, Umrah packages are also fully booked during school holiday season.
Such are the few examples of religious obligations or traditions that can be performed when a country is in peace and harmony. As such, we tend to take for granted the importance for a country to be independent, as well as maintaining its peace and harmony, more so of our younger generations who may neither fully understand nor appreciate the blessings of independence as they escape the sufferings and hardships of our forefathers.
Despite all the blessings, God also tests humans with hardship. He pronounces in the Qur’an: “Every soul shall taste of death: and We make everyone of you experience good and bad time to test you; and (finally) you will be returned to Us.”(21:35). The verse is a reminder that God has the power to test us in many ways such as through misfortune, disaster, war, poverty, hardship, loss, epidemics, death and so on, and even through pleasure, prosperity, peace, and harmony. Hence, let us not be arrogant and boastful about what we have achieved thus far. For, it is merely a mercy from God the Almighty and that we should always be grateful for it. We should always bear in mind that the blessings of peace, prosperity and harmony bestowed upon us are a mere test and trial to gauge the quality of our faith—how grateful or forgetful we are to the Almighty. In yet another Qura’anic verse, God proclaims: “And (remember) when your creator announced: If ye are grateful, I will increase (my blessings to you), but if you do not, indeed My punishment is very severe.” (14:7). Thus, we should always be mindful that God can take away the pleasure and prosperity from us overnight or in a split second. Only then will we feel the pain of the loss and regret for our lack of appreciation when we were in possession of it. Thus, should we lose what we have been enjoying in this country for many decades, our future generations would surely not forgive us and they would put the blame on us forever.
For now, we are close to celebrating our country’s 57th Merdeka Day. Thirty first August of this year testifies to the peaceful and harmonious living together of various races and religions in Malaysia, an independent nation, for the past 57 years. Let us pray that we will still continue to be blessed as an independent nation for another 50 or 500 years and beyond.