What Happened in May 2020? - Nia M Wardani | A Logbook of Life Discoveries

Oh, it's June already! And my last post was in April. So, what happened in May?

It's a shame, I don't remember much about May.

It was Ramadan and beginning of Syawal. Ramadan is the special month in Islam, where muslim are all fasting, prohibiting ourselves from eating, drinking, and any bad temptations, from sunrise to sunset, everyday the whole month. Any good acts are counted by multiples of what is normally done in other month. That's why I was so focused on keeping up my targets. I usually only read about 10 pages of Quran everyday, but in Ramadan, I read twice the normal amount.

But this year, Ramadan is different. Thanks to COVID-19. Masjid, which are usually full of people for night prayers, this time is almost empty. People who come should wear mask and they should keep their distance to other people. Let me show you some pictures, so you can imagine how different it was.

Normal Praying Row

(Photo by matin firouzabadi on Unsplash)

Normally when people pray, they will stand next to each other in line. So your left foot little toe should touch the right foot little toe of the person that stand to your left. The rule also applicable for the person to your right. So, everyone is going to make a very compact human row. There is even a story about Fatih Sultan Mehmet or Muhammad Al Fatih or Mehmet the Conqueror's army, when they are making row to pray, the row is sooo compact that it would not let any light falls on the grass.

During the pandemic, people in Masjid should keep their distance away from other people, even in prayers. They should stand one meter from other people. Masjid now have only about half of its normal capacity. Also people tend to choose to pray at home. But yes, there are still people who insist to go to masjid like normal, even after the Islamic scholars warn them, as The Prophet PBUH said, keep away from diseases as if you are running from a lion.

What is sad about May?

This year, we were not able to go to our hometown to celebrate Idul Fitri. It was usually the greatest celebration of the year. People from all over the country would go back to their hometown, gathering with their big family. Very sad for my mother-in-law and father-in-law, because none of their children is coming home. We made numerous amount of video calls to make them nit feeling lonely, trying to console them. Thanks God, they understand. But it is still very sad.

Anyway, I hope June to be much better. We are starting some construction in our house. We are planning for better things at work, also at home. I am hoping yours will also be better. Keep safe, stay home, see you in my next post.