Izrin lovingly feeds Rania with yoghurt which she loves.
Another year passed and syukur alhamdullillah, I am still here enjoying, observing and participating on the goings on in my little world. Aidil Adha reminded me of my Arafat experience during my second Hajj in 2009. I hope things are better there and has improved to make the process of Hajj more spiritually satisfying and fulfilling. I read Aminah Wadud's Hajj blog on her experience of Hajj as a single woman. It was vivid and eye-opening. I love the way she writes, very skillful in explaining her inner feelings and thoughts. She taught in UIA for awhile and I was lucky to have the opportunity to interact with her while she was in Malaysia. I really recommend both males and females to read her account with open minds.
As usual, celebration of Hajj was done in a very small and personal way with my children. Maz, Izrin and Haidi came to the house to celebrate together with Ika, Justin, Rania and me. No cooking for me this year. Ika and Maz worked together and decided to cook rendang daging and roasted chicken. After Raya prayer at Kg. Tunku mosque next door, we sat down together to enjoy our food. Having Rania really made things more cheerful as she became the center of everyone's focus.
Things quietened down in the afternoon when this little angel went in for her afternoon nap and promptly fell asleep. She had great fun playing with her Pak Su, Mak Su and Mak Yang.
Piggy ride on Mak Yang's back.
Laughing gleefully, Rania stomped on Mak Yang's back.
Kg. Tunku mosque solemnized the korban ceremony on 7 November 2011 (Monday) sacrificing 18 cows. People came in big numbers to help but of course, some came with different intention. The women worked hard to cook and to cut the meat and put in 1 kg portion in plastic bags for distribution to needy people.
I stationed myself in one of the groups. We worked non-stop except for lunch, until all meat was neatly packed for distribution to people who helped. Unfortunately, as usual, those who just came without lifting a finger also made a claim. As a result those who really worked received only bones for soup. But they were happy for contributing their time and energy to make this korban process a success.
The women sat in small group to cut and weigh the meat for distribution.
The small group responsible to pack the cow bones for distribution. They were also baffled for not receiving any ribs to be distributed.
The men volunteers cutting cows leg for the women to pact in 1 kg plastic bags. This is a sight I wasn't keen to linger on.
Cutting the meat out with concentration by a man volunteer.
A group of Bangladeshis came to help cut cow bones by machine. Some others maybe made use of this opportunity to make money by manipulating those who were sincere to help.
I left for home at 2.30 pm for zohor prayer and a much needed rest.
I must admit that slaughtering live cows is not my cup of tea but this is korban. I have to grit my teeth and volunteer in the name of Allah and hope He forgives me for shedding tears of pity and sadness in my heart. I have not been actively taking meat or chicken for quite a while, preferring fish, seafood and vegetables most time.
I didn't really know what was going on during the korban. I know that 18 cows slaughtered yielded a lot of meat but yet it was not enough. My neighbour complained, for the last 10 years, nobody knew where the ribs went as none of the workers got their share. She said, a few people saw the Bangladeshi volunteers carted off the ribs immediately after the slaughter and put them in their van. Nobody dared say anything. As usual they grumbled and gossiped after the event. I did ask why there weren't people supervising and monitoring the sedekah so that everyone had his/her share. Nobody could answer that. I wonder why this selfish attitude wasn't mention in the mosque meetings. Maybe I'll bring it up in the women's istiqamah next meeting.
Syukur alhamdullillah, everything went on fine. I salute those men and women who stayed till evening to clear the mess. May Allah bless them. I have to come home early as I expected visitors in the evening.
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