Ramadhan Kareem...

Today is the second day of Ramadhan.
As usual and as it has always been, the month will be flourished with all good deeds and doings and all are racing to pluck credits from God as this holy month is the special month among the months.

I cant help but recall my younger years where during this month I'll be donning a more decent and 'covered' outfit for work, especially. This is the time where the traditional baju kurung or kebayas will be out of the closet more often rather than occasional Fridays or kenduris.

During those 'neither here nor there' or probably rebellion still the main handler of my life, I too try to come to respecting the holy month in my own way. I remember one of them was my trying not to miss praying time of Dzhur and Asr by bringing along my 'telekung' (praying garment) in the car. Due to rushing for meetings here and there, driving and traffic jams in Klang Valley these two prayers can be quite hard to do. No doubt the hardest one for me to perform, unless I'm in the office.

The one incident that I will remember during the Ramadhan was my first attempt to pray at the Kuala Lumpur Masjid Jamek in Kuala Lumpur town centre. Since it was the Asr prayer time, and the traffic was building up, I decided to stop over and perform my obligations. Honestly I don't go to the masjid and I do not know that I have to cover my head to go in the masjid compound then.
After parking by the road side, I walked in to the compound. Suddenly I was taken aback by the sound of someone calling "Cik...Cik"...with a whiff of an angry tone.

Naturally, I looked around to see because there was nobody else there except me. I then noticed this man, who is a guard there walking hastily towards me in the same time telling me to go out of the masjid's compound.
Naively, I told him that I want to go and pray, instead he told me that I cant be walking in without covering my head first!

At that spur of the moment, I wanted to tell him off but managed to take control of my irritation in time before I uttered another word by just turning back and walked to the car. Knowing I don't have any scarf and wanting to just drive off, I then remember the inner head cover I have with the telekung and put it on to 'satisfy' the guard.

I know that it is required by Islam for the Muslim women to cover their hijab...no doubting it, but when I or some other Muslim women out there, who doesn't cover their head but dressed covering the whole body in a respectful ways, wanting to perform her prayers, what is so wrong about walking in the masjid without the head scarf?

Yes, it is a manner required by human to enter a masjid compound BUT does God look at it that way?

I am not a lady who covers her head, BUT I was asked to cheat on myself, and others by having to cover my head just to walk few metres to the woman's praying hall. God almighty damn well knows whats in my heart and obviously know that I don't cover my head, human are making it complicated and asking people to be pretentious. Be whom they are not....or not ready yet.

Do you think God will be smiling an extra inch because I covered my head just to walk few metres to the praying hall?
Or maybe the guard, with that cynical angry face felt I should not even come to the masjid to pray because I can't even do the simplest thing such as covering my hair? No?

But whatever people might think or whatever perceptions they might have towards me and my likes, I know we are in the category of unpretentious Muslims who just want to do what is required of us and doing it slowly, instead of those who only 'feel and making believe' that God is at the work place, or at school and masjids compound only.

Let me tell you what I did after I finish praying....
Admittedly I am quite a sarcastic person and who feels I should make the other party know my like and dislikes by either verbal or body language, I obviously can't let this 'angry' guard to go off with that cynical grin.
So while walking back to the car and still in the compound, noticing the guard was actually looking from afar, I casually took off my tiny white head cover and start finger -combing my long hair freely....HA HA HA