Aiman Azlan's Blog

Bismillah. I went to my first Eid Dinner organized by UTM MSA . Sheikh Alaa' Elsayed, an Imaam from Masjid ISNA, gave a tazkirah about "A New Beginning". The title of the tazkirah was also the theme of the dinner. He asked us what have we learned having went through 30 days of Ramadhan. Did we "graduate" the "school" of Ramadhan with flying colours? Sheikh Alaa' is the kind of sheikh who can do stand up and tazkirah at the same time. Very funny guy. Even with all the jokes that he did, he managed to drive his point home. His talk really struck me hard. It took me 30 days of Ramadhan, a week of Eid, and a lot of screw ups to come to a point where I put my foot down and say, "Ya Allah, it's time." What better time to change than now? I just hope this time, it'll be for good. [ Aside ] A bit about the dinner, some memory notes, the food was awesome! We had chicken, mash potato, this thingy with mayonnaise ( I don'...

Bismillah. When you celebrate Eid without your family around for the first time, surely there will be a story to tell. But I don't like to write long posts. So, here's what happened in 2 days...summarized. Eid in downtown Toronto. Slept at Salman's. Last iftar went to a restaurant in front of U of T. Ate burger. So delicious. Cook for Eid (nasi lemak, kebab, and rendang). Eid day. Wake up. Planned to pray at CNE. Rendezvous at Union Station at 9.00am. 8.10am still in bed. Managed to get ready anyway. I borrowed Salman's baju Melayu. Took pictures. Walked to the subway, eyes on us. We were colourful. Group photo in front of Salman's house At CNE, whollotta people! All colours and all kinds of dress. Takbir was very energetic, not like Malaysia. Met Naim, a Pakistani man who lived in Malaysia for 10 years. Fluent Malay. Prayed. Khutbah was about giving to the needy. Muslims of different backgrounds all together for Eid prayer Went out to meet the r...