Ramadhan Tribute #5 - The Secret of Sahur
Why is it that some people is more energetic during Ramadhan, while another is weaker? The answer to this very question will help us to not only become fitter but we may be able to lose weight in the process, insyaAllah.
The answer is "Sahur". People from Kedah call it "Soq" :). There's a reason why "sahur" is very recommended to people who fast. In fact, that's the only difference from our fast and the non-muslim's fast.
Let me try to explain it.. We all know breakfast is the most important meals of the day. Yes it provides us more energy to start our day, but there is another secret to it. Breakfast actually gives signal to our body that we are not in starvation.
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Labels: Islam, Ramadhan, sahur, secret
Allah's Secret
Summary - The 4 secrets of Allah and why they were kept a secret
Of course we cannot tell everything about us. There is such thing that is called secret. Unless of course the secret will solve the problem, then by all mean, share it. Now we do know that everyone has a secret, even Allah.
So what do you think is Allah's secret? Believe me that I did not make this up. I read it in a book long time ago. Obviously the following is rewritten based on memory.
Secret 1 - Lailatul Qadar
For those who may not know, "Lailatul Qadar" is a night appointed in one of the nights of Ramadhan. The night was kept unknown to motivate all muslim to work harder in order to get "Keredhaan Allah" by searching it in all 30 nights or at least the last ten night.
Secret 2 - His Saint
Saint or "Wali Allah" are those whose life are devoted only to Allah. He loved them so much that almost any prayer from them will be granted immediately. Obviously they themselves do not know of their status. Their identity were kept hidden so that we will always respect and treat others kindly. Who knows he/she might be one of them. Do you dare to hurt people loved by Allah?
Secret 3 - Soul
It is mentioned in a hadis (correct me if I'm wrong) that when several people came and asked Rasulullah about the nature of soul, they were told that the soul is Allah's secret. Soul is basically what make us alive and concious. It cannot be the brain or heart because some organism like bacteria have neither and yet still alive. So why does Allah keep this a secret?. It is to make us humble that even though we had explore the whole universe and understand everythings, we will still not understand our own body and how we come to be alive.
Secret 4 - Death
The origin of life is a secret, of course death will be another. But unlike life, death is kept a secret in the manner that nobody know how and when we will die. It's not a surprise that somebody who is so healthy died, if not natural cause, maybe due to accident. So.. as you may have guess it, death is kept a secret to allow us to live our life fully by seizing the day. Death is beyond our control and thus why worry. The same death will also urge us to "memperbanyakkan amal ibadat"(hehe I have no translation for this) as we can die any moment in our life.
There's a saying that "work on your life as if you are going to live forever but "beribadatlah" as if you are going to die tomorrow."
Of course this is just an opinion of the past ulama'. In the end only Allah knows the reason behind all matters
Maybe you guys can add to the reason why such matter is kept a secret. And also can somebody please give me an English word for beribadat? :)
--------------- Personal Note --------------------------
My favorite memory on secret, is when I (during my childhood) was fasting in one Ramadhan. I was 10 or 12 years old at the time. Heheh so as what a child would do on his first time fasting, I cheated by eating the currypuff filling my mother made. To cut things short, my brother, filantera caught me. And so we established that this is a secret between us. Everything was going fine and we had break our fast for the day. Somehow, filantera couldn't resist and spoke to me (in an intentionally-raised voice) - "Banji, mama tak tau lagi rahsia kita kan?"
Obviously my mother interrogate him and my secret is all out in the open. heheh so understandbly I was "rotan" by mother. I know that I get him back after that.. but unfortunately cannot remember what :)
You see, our body is very clever. When we are starving, the body does not react by burning more fat. It actually react by lowering down its metabolism and burn less fat to preserve them. That is why we are often weaker when we are hungry for a long time.
So Sahur, will indirectly signal the body that we are not starving ourself. And thus the body's metabolism will switch to normal mode. Which means it burns more fat and giving us more energy to start the day. Thus we will be fitter and stronger the whole day. And since the metabolism rate is not slowed down, more fat will be burn and eventually the weight loss (Of course other factors must be taken into consideration, such as exercise, type of food etc)
Note : The intention to fast is never supposed to be about weight loss. It is our very own bond with Allah, since no one will ever know we're fasting or not except Him.
Waking up for sahur is very challenging indeed. During my childhood, I even have some stages that will occur before I completely aake for sahur. My grandmother will wake me up by calling my name. That almost certainly will not work. She then go very close to me (visible distance) and again call. This time, I will reply by giving some sort of protest that I don't want to sahur. She know this too well and start nagging with high frequency voice :) That should wake me up. And I protestly walk to the dinner table and eat my sahur.
This happen almost every night, and almost everyday.. I will feel grateful to her for patiently wake me up. :) if not... *sigh