Thursday, August 29, 2013

The Case of the 6

Just what is “the 6”? It’s what I’m calling puasa sunat Syawal. Unlike the one month mandatory fasting all Muslims observe during Ramadan, the 6 is optional and it is to be observed anytime during the month of Syawal except for the first day of Syawal.

Since one or two years ago, I’ve started observing the 6. The main reason is because I’m always rushing to replace my fast before the next Ramadan comes around. Let’s say I didn’t fast for 8 days last year due to that time of the month, usually I’ll be replacing those days right before the start of the next Ramadan. Most of the time I make it but the gap is usually too close for comfort. If I don’t manage to replace those days before the next Ramadan starts, the days I would need to replace will be multiplied by 2!

So, to counter this situation, I thought it would be best to do my replacement fasting early and this is where the 6 comes in. I get to replace my fast early in the year and if I really have some last minute replacement fasting to do before the next Ramadan comes, I would only need to fast around 3-4 days, which is quite manageable.

After Raya this year, I have 10 days to replace and I plan to offset some of those days with the 6. I didn’t start the 6 after the first week of Syawal like the rest of my family members because that time of the month was around the corner. It was also a busy period at work. Due to these two factors I decided to start the 6 on 26 August. That didn’t pan out. I had an office open house on 26, department open house on 27 and team lunch on 29 (I managed to start the 6 on 28 August). I now have 5 days left and I can only resume on 2 September. The last day of Syawal is on 6 September. I would have to fast from Monday to Friday next week. Theoretically possible but work might come in the way because there is a product launch on 6 September. Nonetheless, I am determined to complete the 6. Let’s hope I can make it.

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Venus

 I see fireworks, as Venus hangs low on the horizon.